Charles Oliveira

Overview

Seventeen UFC submission wins, and the most recent one came in a main event against an opponent our model tiers as elite. Charles Oliveira, "Do Bronxs," fights at lightweight and carries a 25-11 UFC record (plus one no contest), with 21 finishes in those 25 wins.

Anyone filing him under pure grapplers should look at the other column. Five of his 11 UFC losses came by KO/TKO, and four by submission. He has also beaten elite opponents six times.

He debuted in 2010 and carries a two-fight winning streak into his next fight.

UFC Career

Oliveira's first UFC fight ended in 41 seconds. He submitted Darren Elkins in the first round on the debut card in July 2010, then beat Efrain Escudero by third-round submission two months later. Jim Miller stopped him by first-round submission in December of that year. It was the first of many swings.

The early years were uneven. A 2011 fight with Nik Lentz was ruled a no contest. Donald Cerrone, Cub Swanson and later Max Holloway all beat him by first-round KO/TKO, and Frankie Edgar took a unanimous decision in 2013. In between came submissions of Eric Wisely, Jonathan Brookins, Andy Ogle and Hatsu Hioki. The Holloway loss in August 2015 was his first main event.

Then came 2016: submission losses to Anthony Pettis and Ricardo Lamas back to back. A first-round submission of Will Brooks in April 2017 followed, and then a second-round KO/TKO loss to Paul Felder in December 2017.

What followed is the run that defines his career. He won 11 straight, his longest UFC streak, starting with Clay Guida in June 2018. It included a rematch win over Jim Miller (first-round submission, 1:15), a 28-second finish of Kevin Lee in a main event, and a unanimous decision over Tony Ferguson, an opponent our model tiers as elite. It ran through Michael Chandler (second-round KO/TKO, 0:19), Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. All three of those last fights were main events.

Islam Makhachev ended the streak with a second-round submission in October 2022, another main event against an elite opponent. Since then the results have split. He knocked out Beneil Dariush in the first round, lost a split decision to Arman Tsarukyan, beat Chandler again over five rounds, and was stopped by Ilia Topuria in 2:27 of the first. He then beat Mateusz Gamrot by second-round submission in a main event and Holloway by unanimous decision over five rounds.

Eleven in a row, then a long stretch of fighting the elite. That is the career.

Fighting Style

Oliveira is a submission hunter who gets fights to the ground more often than most. He shoots for takedowns often and goes after submissions at a rate well beyond the rest of the UFC, which fits a record built on finishing rather than decisions. When he does stand, his accuracy is among his strengths, and he takes fewer strikes than most fighters.

The finish pattern backs it up. Of his 25 UFC wins, 17 came by submission and four by KO/TKO. Only four went to a decision. Nine of his finishes came in the first round, seven in the second and five in the third, so he finishes across the full length of a fight.

His losses show the other side. Five came by KO/TKO and four by submission, so opponents have finished him both by strikes and by submission. His volume, striking defense and takedown defense sit around the UFC average, so he is not a hard man to hit or take down by comparison.

Notable Wins

• Dustin Poirier — submission, round 3, UFC 269 (2021)
• Justin Gaethje — submission, round 1, UFC 274 (2022)
• Michael Chandler — KO/TKO, round 2, UFC 262 (2021)
• Max Holloway — unanimous decision, round 5, UFC 326 (2026)

Quick Facts

• Division: Lightweight
• UFC record: 25-11, 1 no contest
• Professional record (all promotions): 37-11-0
• UFC debut: 2010
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 5'10" / 74"
• Team: Bronx's Gold Team
• Born: State of São Paulo, Brazil