May 08, (THEWILL) – Charlies Oliveira’s dominance continued on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 274, with a spectacular first-round submission victory over Justin Gaethje.
Throughout the bout, Oliveira attempted to lock Gaethje in a triangle choke after the two men traded initial blows, which saw each of them fall to the canvas three times in total.
Gaethje avoided the triangle, but Oliveira was able to get his back and lock in a rear-naked choke for the tapout with little over 90 seconds left in the first round. Of course, the joy of this victory is tempered by what happened at the weigh-in on Friday. Oliveira’s lightweight title was stripped after he weighed in at 155.5 pounds, one-half pound over the limit.
He was the first reigning champion to have his championship stripped before a fight due to failing to make weight.
As a result, UFC officials declared Oliveira ineligible for the title. If Gaethje had been able to win, he would have won the lightweight title.
As THEWILL reported, Oliveira has failed to make weight before a fight five times in his UFC career, but this is the first time he has done so as a lightweight. When he participated in the featherweight division, he missed weight four times in ten fights.
While Oliveira put himself in this difficult predicament, he is in the midst of his most dominant run in the Octagon. Since 2018, the Brazilian superstar has won 11 consecutive fights. In his previous bout against Dustin Poirier, he set UFC records for most career finishes (18) and submissions (15).
The lightweight championship will stay vacant, and Oliveira will most likely face an opponent later this year to crown a new champion.
While being interviewed by Joe Rogan inside the Octagon, Oliveira issued a challenge to Conor McGregor. He quipped: “Hey, Conor McGregor you coming up or are you gonna run away?!”
Oliveira was hired by the UFC in 2010, but his first shot at the 155-pound title would not come until May 2021, when Khabib Nurmagomedov officially retired to vacate the title. He made the most of his chance, defeating Michael Chandler to capture the title at UFC 262.
At UFC 269 in December, Oliveira successfully defended his championship by submitting Dustin Poirier.
During a pre-fight press conference on May 4, Gaethje did not appear impressed with Oliveira’s resume: “The same Charles that fought Cub Swanson. The same Charles that fought Donald Cerrone. The same Charles that fought [Anthony] Pettis.
“Choices were made by him and the choice to quit was made, and I’m going to give him that choice on Saturday night. Once a coward always a coward. I’m not calling him a coward, but I’m saying that’s—you can’t just take that away. It’s there. Khabib never showed you that, and that’s why you can’t compare those two.”
When Gaethje defeated Tony Ferguson at UFC 249, he held the interim lightweight title for five months. At UFC 254, he was defeated by Nurmagomedov in a title unification fight. In March 2021, the Eagle announced its retirement from competition.
The Highlight earned his shot at the title by defeating Chandler in a dramatic fight at UFC 268. He won by unanimous decision in a battle widely regarded as one of the best in the promotion’s history.
Oliveira is one of the UFC’s most experienced competitors. He fought for the organisation for the 30th time on Saturday. Since returning to the lightweight class in 2017, he has only lost once in 13 fights.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
