The UFC gave Charles Oliveira arguably the greatest test of his career back in late June, when he fought former UFC Featherweight Champion, Ilia Topuria, for the 155 lb belt.
Unfortunately for Oliveira, it went about as bad as it could have gone, with the former lightweight champion failing to regain his crown and getting knocked out after 2 minutes and 27 seconds of the first round.
Despite getting knocked out for the first time since 2017 – and in a pretty violent way – the fighter was keen to fight again as early as November or December – less than 6 months after his knockout loss.
But now it seems like he will come back even earlier than that already fast turnaround for a man who was fully out cold at UFC 317. Charles Oliveira will fight Azerbaijani lightweight, Rafael Fiziev, as the headliner to the October 11 fight night in Rio De Janiero – first reported by Laerte Viana.
BREAKING NEWS! Charles do Bronxs vs Rafael Fiziev por cinco rounds no UFC Rio de Janeiro, dia 11 de outubro. Gostaram dessa luta? Vale o ingresso? ð¥ð§ð·#charlesdobronx #rafaelfiziev #ufcrio #ufc #mma pic.twitter.com/QaaeqVf4O2
â Laerte Viana (@laertevianamma) August 7, 2025
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This was then confirmed by the UFC on their official X page.
RIO ARE YOU READY?? ð§ð·@CharlesDoBronxs will fight in Brazil for the first time in over 5 YEARS in the #UFCRio main event against @RafaelFiziev! pic.twitter.com/S5aNZo1lW3
â UFC (@ufc) August 7, 2025
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Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira Set To Face Rafael Fiziev
Do Bronx remains one of the most popular fighters in the UFC, despite having lost three out of his past five fights, since former lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, snapped his 11 fight win streak back in October 2022, when the Dagestani won the UFC Lightweight Championship.
Coming back just three-and-a-half months after suffering arguably the nastiest knockout of his career – and aged 35 – is perhaps not the most recommended course of action.
Fellow Brazilian, Gilbert Burns, argued that the former champion should take at least six months to get right after the Topuria fight, back in July. But it seems like Oliveira feels good enough to get going and fight once again in his home nation of Brazil, just a few hours from his home town of Guaruja.
Fiziev Presents A Stern Test For Oliveira
The #10 ranked Fiziev, who has already fought twice this year; most recently beating up-and-coming Chilean talent, Ignacio Bahamondes in his home country of Azerbaijan, will be the lowest ranked fighter that Oliveira has faced since beating the unranked back in November 2019.
However, don’t let that fool you. Fiziev is one of the most technical, elite strikers in the lightweight division: it takes quite the practitioner to defeat a 6’3 behemoth like Bahamondes, as a 5’8 man.
On the ground, Oliveira is undoubtedly a better grapper – there a few that can match up to his jiu jitsu ability and submission threat on the mat – but Fiziev is certainly capable of defending takedowns capably and keeping the fight on the feet – something that will certainly give him the advantage.
There are few fighters who have been favored against Justin Gaethje in two separate fights – although he did end up losing both.
Expect the line to be fairly close on this one. More importantly, expect this to be a very entertaining main event.
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