For the first time in a long time, Charles Oliveira will fight in his native Brazil.
The UFC announced on Thursday that the No. 4-ranked lightweight will take on No. 10 Rafael Fiziev in the main event of UFC Rio on Oct. 11, marking the former champ’s first bout on home soil in over five years.
Oliveira’s last fight in Brazil came in March 2020, when he submitted Kevin Lee. The Brazilian can expect a much warmer homecoming this time around, however, as that victory came inside an empty arena due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His last fight in front of a local crowd came back in November 2019, when he earned a first-round knockout win against Jared Gordon.
Regardless of the circumstances, “Do Bronxs” has always fared well in his home country, as he’s 6-0 fighting in Brazil under the UFC banner.
And Oliveira will have to hope for more of the same as he aims for a return to the winner’s circle when taking on Fiziev.
The 35-year-old last stepped into the octagon at UFC 317 in June, when he was knocked out by Ilia Topuria in a bout for the vacant lightweight title. It was Oliveria’s second attempt at regaining the lightweight title that was stripped from him three years ago. His only other title bid since then also ended in a loss when Islam Makhachev submitted the Brazilian in the second round at UFC 280.
Meanwhile, Fiziev enters the Fight Night main event with some momentum after a bounce-back win in his very own homecoming at UFC Baku in June. The 32-year-old picked up a unanimous-decision win over Ignacio Bahamondes to snap a skid of three straight losses.
Although the final of those three losses was a majority decision against Justin Gatheje, the others weren’t as damning, considering Fiziev’s TKO loss to Mateusz Gamrot came due to a knee injury and his previous decision loss to Gaethje before that was for a fight “Ataman” accepted on short notice.
Both Oliveira and Fiziev are regarded as talented strikers in a division chock-full of them. Expect each of them to offer more of the same in their main event bout as both fighters aim to put the other to sleep.
No other bouts for the October Fight Night card at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro have been announced at this time.
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