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Brett Okamoto
Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will now face Mateusz Gamrot in his highly anticipated homecoming next month.
Oliveira (35-11) will square off with Gamrot (25-3) in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Oct. 11 in Rio de Janeiro, officials announced Tuesday. It will mark Oliveira’s first appearance in Brazil since March 2020. He was originally supposed to face Rafael Fiziev, but Fiziev withdrew last week due to injury.
The UFC looked into several replacement opponents for Oliveira, sources told ESPN. For his part, Gamrot publicly called for Oliveira on short notice. Gamrot is 4-1 in his last five appearances, with his only loss coming to ranked contender Dan Hooker in August 2024. Gamrot holds notable wins over Rafael dos Anjos, Fiziev and Arman Tsarukyan.
Oliveira is looking to bounce back from a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in a vacant title fight in July.
The UFC ranks Oliveira and Gamrot the Nos. 4 and 8 lightweights in the organization’s divisional rankings, respectively. The UFC Fight Night event will take place in Farmasi Arena.