How Many Title Defenses Did Charles Oliveira Have? All About the Ex-UFC Champ’s Opponents, Fights and Title Reign

The people who witnessed Charles Oliveira’s childhood years never imagined that he would make it to the UFC one day. Apart from the daily challenges of life in the favelas, Oliveira also faced a few major physical issues while growing up. He suffered from persistent body pain and had trouble walking at times. Doctors also diagnosed him with rheumatic fever and abnormal heart murmurs, both of which took a severe toll on his ankle. But this was far from being Oliveira’s worst point in childhood. In an interview with ‘ESPN MMA’, the 33-year-old revealed that a doctor said he would never be able to walk again when he was seven years old.

However, UFC fans currently know him as the former UFC lightweight champ. This, in itself, bears testimony to the sheer amount of hard work that ‘Do Bronxs’ put in to become what he is today. Most fans might remember how the Brazilian got the better of his American rival, Michael Chandler, at UFC 262 to claim UFC lightweight gold. But they may have noticed that he wasn’t the reigning lightweight champ anymore when he took the Octagon at UFC 280. Hence, a large chunk of fans might be unaware of the number of times he defended his title to date. Let’s learn a bit more about the same today.

Charles Oliveira’s title victory against Michael Chandler

The noted UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan, once talked about the earlier stages of Oliveira’s UFC career. The 56-year-old described Oliveira aptly when he said that he was a sort of “quitter” back then. But this narrative changed entirely after Oliveira’s loss against the former UFC lightweight, Paul Felder. ‘Do Bronxs’ transformed into a beast post his defeat against Felder at UFC 218.

The Brazilian went on an eight-fight win streak and stayed undefeated for the next three years, portraying himself as one of the strongest title contenders in the division. The UFC finally heard Oliveira’s call at UFC 262. He took on the famed Michael Chander for the UFC lightweight championship on 15 May 2021 in the main event of the night.

But the 33-year-old had to go through an unruly first round. He got dropped by Chandler and spent a large chunk of it on the ground absorbing his rival’s strikes. However, the Brazilian completely overturned the situation in the second round.

After starting off the round strongly on his feet, Oliveira dropped Chandler with a vicious left hook. ‘Iron’ also couldn’t answer the subsequent blows that ‘Do Bronxs’ landed, which had the referee calling an end to the bout. Oliveira claimed the UFC lightweight gold for the first and only time in his UFC career to date with this TKO victory.

First title defence for Charles Oliveira against Dustin Poirier

The Brazilian got his first opportunity to defend his lightweight title against the noted former UFC Interim lightweight champ, Dustin Poirier. ‘The Diamond’ who is widely considered one of the best boxers in the UFC, found himself in some serious trouble with Oliveira’s superb BJJ game at the UFC 269 main event. In the third round of the bout, Oliveira managed to secure a top mount on a standing Poirier.

He put all his weight on Poirier, refraining him from fighting Oliveira’s hands. The Brazilian finally secured a rear naked choke, even though Poirier was still on his feet. But, ‘The Diamond’ found it impossible to hang on to this position and eventually tapped out at the 1:02 mark of the third stanza. Oliveira secured his first title defense with this victory over Poirier via a submission. However, subsequent events sadly turned this victory into his only title defense to date.

Why did Charles Oliveira lose his lightweight belt at UFC 274 against Justin Gaethje?

Most of Oliveira’s fans are aware of the fact that he has been through the disgraceful act of missing weight multiple times. But even ‘Do Bronxs’ couldn’t have imagined that missing weight would ultimately take such a heavy toll on him. The UFC authorities fixed his second title defense bout at UFC 274 against the current ‘BMF’ of the UFC, Justin ‘The Highlight’ Gaethje on 7 May 2022.

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But, Oliveira’s old foe, the weight cut, returned to bite him back right at this juncture. Oliveira missed the 155 lbs mark as he weighed in just half a pound more than the required mark. Most fans might be aware of the fact that UFC grants a one-pound overweight leverage to each fighter. But the combatants aren’t provided with any such freedom for title fights.

The UFC authorities also provided a one-hour window and asked Oliveira to cut down to 155 lbs. But, the Brazilian’s failure in this compelled the UFC to strip him of his title. But their ‘one-pound overweight leverage’ rule also made it clear that the Gaethje vs. Oliveira fight was still on. However, it won’t involve the UFC lightweight championship anymore. ‘Du Bronxs’ put on a dominating performance against ‘The Highlight’ and submitted him inside the first stanza of the bout. But this victory became just like any other one since it didn’t involve the title anymore.

Title fight loss against Islam Makhachev

After the Brazilian’s triumph over ‘The Highlight’, the UFC authorities got a clear indicator that Oliveira still was at the top of his game. They granted him another shot at the then-vacant title at UFC 280. The UFC lightweight champ, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s bosom friend, Islam Makhachev, had also amassed a remarkable 10-fight win streak by 27 February 2022. Quite apparently, the UFC authorities found no one better than him to stand before Oliveira.

The Dagestani and the Brazilian locked horns in the main event of the night. After a favorable first round, Makhachev got Oliveira down with a fierce right in the second round as well. He didn’t waste a single second to mount Oliveira and secure a tight arm-triangle choke. Although ‘Do Bronxs’ tried to offer some resistance initially, he eventually gave up with a tap at the 3:17 mark of the round.

Quite understandably, Oliveira was heavily disappointed by his miserable performance. He also asked the UFC authorities to provide him with a rematch against the lightweight king, Makhachev, in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. Well, as almost every UFC fan knows, he now has that opportunity awaiting him at the upcoming UFC 294 on 21 October. But, Oliveira will be fighting inside enemy territory this time as well. It’s a fact to note that nothing except the date and the PPV will change.

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Do you think that the Brazilian will be able to create a difference in the outcome of the bout amidst all of these similarities? Or will it be Islam Makhachev winning it again to add a similar outcome to the list of similarities between the UFC 280 and UFC 294 main events?