Jun 28, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Ilia Topuria (red gloves) fights Charles Oliveira (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

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Charles Oliveira Struggles To Find Opponent For UFC Rio As Top Contender Rejects The Fight

Jun 28, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Ilia Topuria (red gloves) fights Charles Oliveira (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Brazilian fans love their fighting heroes, and Charles Oliveira is one of their biggest stars right now. The former lightweight champion has been through quite a journey in the UFC. Oliveira holds the record for most finishes in UFC history, which tells you everything about his fighting style. He’s aggressive, dangerous, and always looking to end fights in spectacular fashion. So when the UFC announced that Charles Oliveira headlining UFC Rio, it created a lot of anticipation and hype. But now, he is standing with less than a month to go without an opponent.

The backstory here involves some bad luck and timing issues that seem to follow Oliveira around. He was supposed to headline UFC Rio on October 11th against Rafael Fiziev, which would have been perfect. But then Fiziev had to pull out of the fight, leaving the former champ without an opponent just weeks before the event. Oliveira was coming off a tough knockout loss to Ilia Topuria back in June. This Brazil fight was supposed to be his chance to bounce back in front of his home crowd.

Benoit Saint-Denis Says No Thanks To Short Notice Fight

The most obvious replacement seemed to be Benoit Saint-Denis. He had just bounced back from two straight losses by submitting Mauricio Ruffy at UFC Paris in September. It was exactly the kind of dominant performance that gets people talking again. The fight made sense from every angle. Saint-Denis needed a big name to get back into title contention, and Oliveira needed someone willing to step up on short notice.

But Saint-Denis’ manager, Guillaume Peltier, shut down the idea pretty quickly. He posted on Instagram that they respect Oliveira too much to take the fight on such short notice. Peltier said this kind of fight needs proper preparation, which is actually a smart business move even if it disappointed fans. Saint-Denis and his team probably looked at Oliveira’s highlight reel of submissions and knockouts and decided that three weeks wasn’t enough time to prepare for someone that dangerous.

Mateusz Gamrot Ready To Step Up Against Charles Oliveira

While Saint-Denis backed away from the opportunity, another lightweight contender seems much more interested in the challenge. Mateusz Gamrot, ranked #8 in the division, jumped at the chance almost immediately after news broke about Fiziev’s withdrawal. The Polish fighter posted on social media that he was ready and hungry to jump in, showing the kind of attitude that gets fighters noticed by the UFC brass.

“I’m ready and hungry to jump in!! Come on @ufc.”

I'm ready and hungry to jump in!! Come on @ufc @MMAJunkie 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/SfksZFFtE0
— Mateusz Gamrot (@gamer_mma) September 20, 2025

Gamrot has been working his way up the lightweight ladder for a while now. A fight against Charles Oliveira would be exactly what he needs to break into the top five. At 33 years old, he doesn’t have time to wait around for perfect opportunities and facing a former champion in Brazil is definitely a risk worth taking. This kind of last-minute matchmaking is part of what makes MMA exciting but also unpredictable.

Gamrot has the skills to make this an interesting fight, and his wrestling background could give Oliveira some problems. Plus, he’s shown he can handle pressure situations before, which will be important when fighting in front of thousands of Brazilian fans who want to see their hero win!

(Image Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie – Imagn Images)

Benoit Saint-Denis

Charles Oliveira

Mateusz Gamrot

Rafael Fiziev

UFC Rio

Zaid Quraishi

mma

I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!