Charles Oliveira is more than ready to throw down in the middle of the Octagon with Max Holloway.
Oliveira squares off with Holloway for the BMF championship belt in the main event of UFC 326 on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
UFC 326 Holloway vs Oliveira 2 | SUN 8 MARCH 1PM AEDT | After 11 years removed from their first encounter, Max Holloway will face the former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira for the BMF Championship, in Las Vegas. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
Holloway claimed the BMF crown with a spectacular last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, famously pointing to the centre of the Octagon and daring Gaethje to come in and trade blows.
Gaethje took the bait — and paid the price.
He tried the same stunt on Dustin Poirier at UFC 318, but Poirier wasn’t having it.
“Sure [I’ll trade with him],” Oliveira told Fox Sports Australia.
“I’m an MMA fighter and I’m ready for whatever happens inside that cage. Whatever happens, I’ll be ready for it.”
This isn’t the first time the two former champions have met.
They fought back in 2015, with the bout ending early with Oliveira suffering a mysterious neck injury that left fans scratching their heads.
The Brazilian, who was taken away on a stretcher, said he lost all movement on his left side and feared the worst.
“I didn’t think I was going to walk away from that,” he said.
“I wasn’t thinking about my career. I was thinking about my health.”
In the decade since, both men have carved out legendary MMA careers. Oliveira rose to UFC lightweight glory, while Holloway claimed the featherweight belt, before stepping up to lightweight to snatch the coveted BMF belt.
The rematch in Las Vegas this weekend is a chance for Oliveira to settle unfinished business – and prove he’s a different fighter now.
“Back then I was just a boy who did Jiu-Jitsu,” he said.
“Now I’m a man and an MMA fighter. It’s very different.”
If Holloway wants to keep the BMF belt around his waist, he’ll have to do something nobody else in the UFC has managed — beat ‘Do Bronx’ in a rematch.
On the four occasions where he has fought a rematch, Oliveira has won every time.
Holloway, by contrast, has a rematch record of just 2-3. Thanks in no small part to Aussie legend Alex Volkanovski.
During fight week, Oliveira has become known for dyeing his hair platinum blond – a ritual he says signals “war mode”.
It began as a joke in 2020 but stuck.
According to Oliveira, it might also be making him go bald.
“No, I don’t care about that at all,” he laughed.
The former champ’s dad is a big part of his Fight Week preparations for the BMF title.
He says if he wins he wants his dad to wrap the belt around his waist.
“That’s the plan,” he said.
“He is here with me. Afterwards we will go out and eat together – that’s how we celebrate.”
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With Holloway’s recent form and iron chin, many fans and pundits see the Hawaiian as the favourite.
Alex Volkanovski is among them, predicting that Holloway finishes Oliveira this time around.
“Max Holloway, you go 100 percent,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel.
“Now he is going to get you tired, and he’s one guy who knows how to capitalize on someone being tired.
“If he sees you tired, he’s going to make you pay more and more and more, and he can definitely mentally and physically break you down.
“Does that give him opportunities to get the finish? I’m going to say yes.
“I think he can get the finish. I think the later rounds he gets the finish.”
Oliveira isn’t buying it, though.
For the past week he has predicted he’ll be the one to knock out “Blessed”.
Volk wants quick turnaround | 03:19
Asked for his official prediction four days out, he smiled.
“All I know is that my arm will be raised afterwards.”