UFC 317 takes place this weekend where Charles Oliveira looks to recapture the lightweight title.
International Fight Week has already been eventful with the aftermath of Jon Jones’ retirement and the inaugural UFC BJJ event, which Dana White recently provided more details on.
However, for many fans, it’s all about the main event on June 28 where two of the most popular and dangerous fighters in MMA will collide for the vacant 155 pound gold.
While his opponent, Ilia Topuria, has had a rapid ascension to the top of the sport without encountering any major setbacks, Oliveira’s journey couldn’t be any more different.
The holder of the most finishes in UFC history took some time to really hit his stride inside the Octagon but when he did, he cemented himself as one of the best fighters in the sport.
Here are the five best UFC wins from Charles Oliveira’s unforgettable career so far, though a win at UFC 317 will certainly shake up this entire list.
5. Beneil Dariush – UFC 289
It’s not a huge spoiler to say that this is the one entry that came after Charles Oliveira’s loss to Islam Makhachev, which served as a changing of the guard at lightweight, at least temporarily.
After being beaten by Makhachev in convincing fashion, there were a lot of questions surrounding the former champion heading into UFC 289.
He had to prove that his remarkable winning streak wasn’t just a one-off and to do it, he’d need to halt the 8-fight streak of Beneil Dariush, who probably should’ve fought for a title.
With a first-round finish, Oliveira proved that his incredible career turnaround wasn’t over yet just because of one defeat.
4. Tony Ferguson – UFC 256
Though he’d already won seven fights in a row heading into UFC 256, Charles Oliveira needed to beat one more big name to solidify that he was one of the best lightweights in the world.
A win over Tony Ferguson may not seem so impressive in hindsight, considering that ‘El Cucuy’ would go on to break the UFC record for the longest losing streak, but this wasn’t the case at the time.
Ferguson was looking to bounce back from his defeat to Justin Gaethje and while that fight was a beating, the former interim champion had been on a tear for years before that devastating loss.
Oliveira dominated Ferguson for three rounds and though it wasn’t the most exciting display, it was the validation that his career needed to show that he had arrived.
3. Michael Chandler – UFC 262
Michael Chandler may not have the best UFC record but following his knockout of Dan Hooker on his debut, the former Bellator star’s stock was red hot.
It was always going to be difficult for the lightweight division to move on from the great Khabib Nurmagomedov but in one fight, Charles Oliveira showed fans that they were in good hands.
In an incredibly entertaining title fight, ‘Do Bronx’ took his opponents back, nearly got finished and then responded at the start of the second round by hurting Chandler and putting him away.
Most importantly, this fight dispelled the myth that Oliveira would quit when being faced with adversity.
His emotions after stopping Chandler to win the vacant belt made for an unforgettable celebration.
2. Justin Gaethje – UFC 274
A similar theme carries across the top three entries on this list with Charles Oliveira getting hurt, recovering and finishing some of the most dangerous men in the sport.
He may have been stripped of his title after missing weight by half a pound but that didn’t make the Brazilian’s display against Justin Gaethje less impressive.
In his fight before UFC 274, Gaethje put on a classic against Michael Chandler where he showed once again that getting into a brawl with him is a bad idea.
Oliveira did just that and somehow, he came out on top, submitting Gaethje in the first round following a chaotic fight from start to finish.
1. Dustin Poirier – UFC 269
In his first defense of the lightweight crown, Charles Oliveira faced a Dustin Poirier who had just recorded back-to-back wins over Conor McGregor.
Since his loss to Michael Johnson in 2016, ‘The Diamond’ had only lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov with many believing that he would finally achieve his dream of becoming UFC champion now that ‘The Eagle’ wasn’t around.
Oliveira had other plans as you guessed it, he overcame some significant adversity before submitting Poirier in the third round.
‘Do Bronx’ consecutively produced three of the most entertaining UFC title fights of all time.
Oliveira is no stranger to battling the odds against incredibly dangerous individuals but no opponent has been able to solve the puzzle that Ilia Topuria brings to the table as of yet.