Charles Oliveira's partner Vitoria Brum says UFC 309 nearly 'took his soul' in heartwarming tribute: "Weight cut wasn't as it should have been"
Charles Oliveira's partner, Vitoria Brum, recently took to social media to share a heartwarming tribute for the former UFC lightweight champion. She revealed that Olievira's UFC 309 weight cut was a harrowing ordeal that pushed the Brazilian to his limits and brutally tested his mental strength.
Oliveira faced Michael Chandler at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York in a highly anticipated lightweight contest. The Brazilian dominated the fight and imposed his will on the former Bellator champion. While Chandler had a few moments of brilliant opportunities in the fifth round, it wasn't enough to beat Oliveira, and 'Do Bronx' won the bout via unanimous decision.
In a recent Instagram post, Brum posted some videos of Oliveira's weight-cutting journey and penned an emotional tribute for her partner. She outlined his struggles and wrote:
"Only those who have been with you during these last 30 days know the emotion of this victory, nothing was easy... We went through an injury and many nights of pain... Several days turned upside down because we couldn't sleep at night, and the weight cut wasn't as it should have been.
"[It] took your soul along with the kilos in that sauna, but even if for a moment you thought about giving up, I always knew that you could make it was just another mountain you were climbing."
She continued:
"Don't forget how much we love you, and we'll always be with you to remind you how amazing you are and deserving of all this, I love you, champion."
Charles Oliveira slams referee for not dealing with Michael Chandler's fouls during UFC 309 fight
Charles Oliveira recently slammed the refereeing at UFC 309 and pointed out that Michael Chandler's fouls were consistently overlooked. In the final round of the Oliveira-Chandler fight, the American happened to poke the Brazilian in his eye before launching multiple back-of-the-head shots that went unnoticed.
Addressed the fouls in the UFC 309 post-fight presser, 'Do Bronx' slammed the referee and revealed that he even tried to get the in-cage official to take notice. However, that didn't happen, and Chandler was allowed to continue. He said:
"I’m not here to criticize. But I wanna tell you something: there were a lot of blows to the back of the head, a lot of fence grabbing. There was also some eye pokes. And I was telling the ref what was going on; I was calling for his attention, and nothing would happen. I hoped that he would intervene, but nothing happened."