Charles Oliveira picks fellow Brazilian as the UFC Fighter of the Year
Charles Oliveira has picked one of his compatriots as the UFC's Fighter of the Year for 2022.
On Twitter, Michael Bisping posed a question, asking who his followers think deserves to be recognized as the promotion's top athlete for this year. 'Do Bronx' retweeted Bisping's post and said that his vote belongs to newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira.
"Alex Poatan @AlexPereiraUFC The man beat a great & very talented champ to capture the 185 belt"
Check out Charles Oliveira's post below:
Alex Poatan @AlexPereiraUFC
The man beat a great & very talented champ to capture the 185 belt twitter.com/bisping/status…
It's undeniable that Pereira has had a breakout year in 2022. His campaign started with an impressive unanimous decision win over Bruno Silva, followed by a knockout over Sean Strickland. He then stopped Israel Adesanya to capture the middleweight belt.
Before transitioning into the cage, 'Poatan' was a world-renowned kickboxing champ with 33 wins under his belt. However, Pereira is a relative newbie when it comes to MMA, with only eight professional bouts under his name.
Pereira is expected to defend his title against Adesanya in a rematch sometime in 2023. He has already beaten 'The Last Stylebender' thrice in their meetings across two different combat sports.
Coach debunks claims that Charles Oliveira turned down Islam Makhachev rematch
Reports recently surfaced that Charles Oliveira turned down an immediate rematch against newly minted UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
However, his coach Diego Lima shut down the reports. In a recent post on social media, Lima clarified that Oliveira was offered a different fight for the upcoming UFC 283 card in Brazil, which the former champ declined:
"Guys, the rematch was not offered to Charles as some websites are saying, this information is not true. Charles would have the opportunity to fight in Brazil, but it would not be a rematch. It would be another opponent."
Check out Diego Lima's tweet below:
| Diego Lima has corrected previous reports that Charles Oliveira was offered a rematch with Islam Makhachev at #UFC283. 
🚨| Diego Lima has corrected previous reports that Charles Oliveira was offered a rematch with Islam Makhachev at #UFC283.
Lima claims Oliveira was offered a new opponent in Brazil.
#UFC283 #UFC #MMA https://t.co/g4Mnau41mt
UFC 283 will feature a rare tetralogy bout between flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno. Meanwhile, the card will also see the return of Brazilian legend Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua against Ihor Potieria.
Oliveira captured the lightweight belt after defeating Michael Chandler in the main event of UFC 262 in 2021. He impressively defended the title against Dustin Poirier. He defeated Justin Gaethje, but lost the title on the scales.
Most recently, the Brazilian failed to regain the belt in a headliner against Makhachev.