LAS VEGAS – When Charles Oliveira fell victim to Ilia Topuria’s right hand at UFC 317 last June, the assumption was that the MMA world saw one of its greatest stars in a generation effectively get put out to the pasture. After all, he was about to be on the wrong side of 35 years old and had just suffered a third loss in five fights.
Less than a year later, you almost have to laugh at the fact that we ever could have counted Oliveira out. With the symbolic BMF title on the line against Max Holloway at UFC 326 on Saturday, the now 36-year-old registered a dominant grappling-heavy performance that was somewhat antithetical to the stand-and-bang spirit of the belt but demoralizing nonetheless.
Holloway entered Saturday’s fight as a -225 favorite at the time of closing, which seemed like a fair price at the time considering the usual nature of BMF title fights and Holloway’s status as the self-proclaimed best boxer in the UFC. While Dana White acknowledged that even he was surprised by how Oliveira fared in the fight, he made it clear that winning is far more important than preserving the sanctity of a gimmick title belt.
“I don't know if anybody was expecting that,” White said. “I didn't. I mean, the way he body-locked him and took him down so easily and absolutely dominated him on the ground. I thought there'd be a lot more stand-up and I thought that Max would do a better job at defending the takedown … The goal at the end of the day in every fight is to win. (Oliveira) did exactly what he needed to do to win.”
Not only did Oliveira clock 20:49 of control time, over 80% of the fight, he also landed 50-of-66 significant strike attempts and put Holloway in dangerous spots with his striking early in the fight. Oliveira even attempted four submissions, all of which would have finished a lesser opponent. The plan was simple and perfectly executed.
“I wanted to do what I do best,” Oliveira said. “Which is, like they say in Brazil, make nothing out of people.”
Mutual Respect
Aside from the fact that Oliveira and Holloway finally got to make good on their 2015 fight that ended after Oliveira suffered an unfortunate first round injury, Saturday’s bout was special for UFC diehards because it pit two of the sport’s most universally beloved fighters against each other before one or both of them is no longer in the sport. Although Oliveira dominated the fight to the point of near boredom, the silver lining was that their widely overlapping fanbases didn’t have to see one of the fighters face down on the canvas.
As Oliveira was officially crowned the fourth BMF champion in UFC history, the respect the two had for each other was apparent. Oliveira waxed poetic about his opponent during the post-fight interview and acknowledged that they were the last of a dying breed in the sport.
“For real, man, I respect you so much,” Oliveira told Holloway. “We are different from other people. My biggest pride is to represent my family just like you. These dudes come in here and talk a lot of crap, we come in here and do beautiful things for our family. If this division has two BMFs, those BMFs are Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway.”