Charles Oliveira has an answer for anyone who thinks the BMF title obligates him to plant his feet and swing: keep the belt. Speaking to MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz, the Brazilian said that if the strap is meant for two men breaking each other up, he wants no part of that arrangement. “Then, honestly, brother, here’s the belt,” Oliveira said. “Take it somewhere else. That belt is not for me.”
The comments are a response to the criticism that followed his March win over Max Holloway, when Oliveira took the BMF title by out-grappling and dominating one of the most beloved brawlers in the sport over the full distance. Some fans online called it boring. Oliveira laughed at that, and he didn’t soften his view of the people saying it.
“Someone saying my fights are boring? Sorry, but you’d have to be pretty stupid to say something like that,” he said.
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He also rejected the idea that a wilder performance would have landed him the fight Holloway got next. Holloway went on to rematch Conor McGregor in a huge headliner, while Oliveira sat and waited, hoping for a lightweight title shot that never came. “Would Conor even have accepted a fight with me?” Oliveira asked. He argued that no one in the division has done to Holloway what he did, saying his best punches and kicks landed and that he got every takedown he attempted.
The résumé gives him plenty of standing. Oliveira holds UFC records for most finishes, most submissions and most bonuses, and he has finished 21 of his 25 octagon wins since arriving in the promotion in 2010. His philosophy on wins and losses is about as plain as it gets. “What I want to know is what’s on Sherdog,” he said. “It’s right there, a win or a loss.”
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Next up is his first BMF defense, against fellow Brazilian Diego Lopes at UFC 335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. There’s no bad blood between them, but Oliveira was clear he won’t be wading in “to see who goes down first.” He credited Lopes with jiu-jitsu, wrestling and heavy hands, said his team is studying him from every angle, and described his own approach in the simplest terms available. “I’m going in there to mix the martial arts,” he said.
MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew put it bluntly on X, writing that he doesn’t know what the BMF title is for beyond giving the promotion another belt to leverage. I land in roughly the same place. The BMF strap has always been a vibe more than a division, and a vibe can’t hold a man with Oliveira’s finishing record to a code of conduct that the rulebook doesn’t contain. He came up the hard way, through losses and a long climb to the lightweight title, and he earned the right to choose his tools. If fans want fireworks, Lopes is a fine candidate to supply them on Dec. 12. Oliveira will be the one deciding where the fight happens.
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