After dominant win at UFC Rio, what’s next for Charles Oliveira?

The UFC was back in Rio this past weekend with arguably the country’s most popular fighter headlining the card. Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira (36-11) was back and he looked to bounce back against top ten contender Mateusz Gamrot (25-4).

Originally, Oliveira was supposed to face elite striker Rafael Fiziev. However, after Fiziev pulled out with an injury, the always-ready Gamrot jumped at the opportunity. In my opinion, this was a much better fight for Oliveira coming off the knockout loss to Ilia Topuria.

While Gamrot has improved striking, he’s not on the level of Fiziev and didn’t present that much danger on the feet. That said, Gamrot is an elite grappler and many thought that he could take Oliveira down and control him at UFC Rio. Well, he tried and Oliveira was having none of it.

Gamrot landed a takedown in the first round but was almost immediately reversed. Oliveira dominating the grappling in the first round and nearly finished the fight a couple of times. In the second, Oliveira got the fight to the ground again and he secured the back of Gamrot.

This time, he was able to find the finish. Oliveira sunk in a rear naked choke which forced the tap and the crowd at UFC Rio went crazy as their hero got back in the win column.

What’s next after UFC Rio?

I said before the fight that this would tell us how much Oliveira had left in the tank. Prime Oliveira would run through a guy like Mateusz Gamrot, but if Gamrot was able to control him and get the win, it would tell us that prime Oliveira is no longer here. Well, he still might be around after UFC Rio.

There are times where fighters make callouts and you really scratch your head at the names they say. Earlier in the week, Oliveira said he wanted to fight Conor McGregor at the White House and he was honest saying that he wanted to fight him there because of the money that would come with that fight.

With that, I fully expected a McGregor callout after UFC Rio. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the perfect callout by Oliveira. He called for a BMF title fight and a rematch against Max Holloway. The two fought ten years ago with the fight ending just after 90 seconds due to an Oliveira injury.

Both men are coming off big wins and both are in the top five at lightweight. Neither is likely getting the next lightweight title fight so if you ask me, it’s the perfect time for the UFC to pull the trigger on this one.