"Weight made with excellence"- Charles Oliveira's coach annouces that 'do Bronx' has already made weight for his fight at UFC 280 after one of their best cuts so far
According to his head coach, Diego Lima, Charles Oliveira reportedly made weight on Thursday afternoon.
Oliveira was stripped of the lightweight title at UFC 274 after missing weight. Therefore, the MMA community has been holding their breath, hoping ‘do Bronx’ would not let it happen again. MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz reported that Lima confirmed the former lightweight champion had reached 155 pounds.
Lima also posted a picture on Instagram with Oliveira cutting weight while the entire team stood around him. The caption was roughly translated by Instagram, saying:
“Thank you so much my Lord… We are going to bed mission accomplished weight beaten with excellence one of our best weight loss to date... the worst part is already over, now let's go with everything, towards VICTORY!!! Congrats @charlesdobronxs what a sensational weight…” [Translated via Instagram]
Oliveira making weight early also puts the backup controversy to rest. Alexander Volkanovski was named the UFC 280 main event backup, which confused Beneil Dariush, who thought he was the backup. That said, 'do Bronx' needs to officially weigh in at 155lbs before Volkanovski can relax.
Coach: Charles Oliveira already on weight for UFC 280 title fight with Islam Makhachev mmafighting.com/2022/10/20/234…
Charles Oliveira comments on continuously fighting outside of Brazil for UFC title fights
Oliveira has fought all three title fights on his opponent’s home turf. Fighting in the U.S. against Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje was not surprising, but going up against Islam Makahachev in Abu Dhabi was intriguing.
During the UFC 280 press conference, Oliveira was asked about fighting Makhachev in Abu Dhabi and had this to say:
"I'm home, I like to be in places like this. I always invite them to come to my house, they never come to my house so I knock on people's doors and go to theirs."
If Charles Oliveira can emerge victorious at UFC 280, an opportunity to fight in Brazil will be available in January. There are still two primary issues for this scenario to play out - ‘do Bronx’ has to win and be healthy enough for a January card.
The UFC is also heading to Australia in early 2023, with Alexander Volkanovski allegedly getting the next lightweight title shot, according to Dana White. Nonetheless, Oliveira fighting in Brazil as a reigning UFC champion would be an unbelievable sight to see.
Watch the UFC 280 press conference featuring Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev below: