For Charles Oliveira, the biggest challenge for UFC 309 besides fighting Michael Chandler is behind him, and he can now fully focus on the fight. This ‘challenge’ has haunted the Brazilian fighter ever since his days as a UFC featherweight, and even cost him his biggest achievement in the organization. What is this challenge we’re referring to? Well, it’s none other than the brutal weight cuts ‘do Bronx’ subjects himself to, before every fight.

While Charles Oliveira’s legacy is defined by greatness, and incredible comebacks, it’s also filled with botched weight cuts, where he visibly struggled to make weight especially as a featherweight fighter. Now that he’s successfully made weight for the November 16th bout, Oliveira’s partner expressed a sigh a relief.

In an Instagram story uploaded by his girlfriend Vitoria Brum, she thanked God for helping Oliveira through yet another brutal weight cut. She wrote, “Thank you, my God, only we know what a relief this moment is.” in Portuguese. This means that ‘Do Bronx’ fulfilled his commitment at the official weigh-in of UFC 309 and sealed his bout with Michael Chandler in the ‘co-main event’ of Saturday’s event at MSG in New York.

The Brazilian fighter’s rival was the first to appear at the official weigh-ins, where Chandler – ranked #7 in the lightweight division – weighed in at 155.5 lbs. A few minutes later, Oliveira – No. 2 on the division’s top 15 list – clocked in at 156.5 lbs. If this was championship bout, Oliveira would have been in serious trouble.

However, this isn’t a title fight so we as fans are on our way to witness a rematch for the ages. In 2021, with  vacant belt at stake, Oliveira defeated Chandler by technical knockout and became the 155-pound UFC champion. Now that this rematch is all set and ready for the fans, Charles Oliveira will use that extra pound as an added advantage over the ever-dangerous Michael Chandler.

But why was meeting weight such a major hurdle for Oliveira as evidenced by his partner’s Instagram story? Well, because the fear stems from the his history of missing weight, and as a result, eventually losing something hard-earned in the process. So what actually happened? Let’s find out!

Back when Charles Oliveira was stripped of the title after an unusual event during weigh-in

Considering fighters spend time recovering and rehydrating after brutal weight cuts, missing weight is problematic on several fronts, the first being give an undue advantage for the heavier fighter. Furthermore, fighters have to be serious about their weight cuts as they risk losing a portion of their hard-earned fight purse to their opponent. In championship bouts, the title-holder can lose his title if they don’t make weight in time.

This is exactly what happened to Charles Oliveira when he was stripped of his lightweight championship belt after the weigh-ins, prior to his UFC 274 title defense against Justin Gaethje back in 2022. It was the first time in the company’s history that a champion lost a belt for not making weight.

‘Do Bronx’ weighed 200 grams above the weight limit for his category. Despite being given an additional hour to shed those last 500 grams, he was unsuccessful in his attempt, leading to the UFC stripping him of his world title. The fight proceeded as scheduled, but the only one with a chance of taking the belt home was Justin Gaethje.

However, the UFC issued the following caveat, “If Oliveira wins, he will be the number one contender for the vacant lightweight championship and will fight an upcoming challenger for the undisputed title, on a date and place to be determined.” Such was the cruel fate of the match that Charles Oliveira actually ended up winning it via submission in the very first round, but despite it, he no longer was the champion.

Making weight for the UFC 309 weigh-in was a major achievement for ‘do Bronx.’ What do you think? Will Oliveira be able to beat Michael Chandler at UFC 309? Let us know in the comments.