A decade later, Charles Oliveira’s injury suffered against Max Holloway remains a mystery: ‘Nobody knows what actually happened’
BMF champion Max Holloway and former UFC lightweight king Charles Oliveira will meet again inside the octagon more than a decade after their first encounter, a main event clash at UFC Saskatoon, and there are still unanswered questions from that night in Canada.
Two featherweight young prospects headlining a Fight Night show in Canada, “Do Bronx” and Blessed were battling it out on the feet until Oliveira shot for a takedown. Holloway defended it and wasted no time on Oliveira’s guard, getting back to his feet. When Oliveira stood up, he immediately put his right hand over his left shoulder and signalized something wasn’t right. Referee Herb Dean stopped the bout right there, only 99 seconds after it started.
A day after the bout, the UFC announced on its official site that Oliveira suffered an esophagus tear during the fight. Diego Lima, who wasn’t his head coach at the time but already a friend, was in Canada that week to accompany Felipe Arantes on the same card. He became Oliveira’s head coach some time later, and said what happened to “do Bronx” that night still remains a mystery.
“It was all very strange,” Lima told MMA Fighting. “Really crazy how it happened. So much so that even today nobody knows what actually happened. The hospital wouldn’t let him leave or return to Brazil because they couldn’t detect exactly what the problem was, he still had that paralysis. It was something very serious that no one ever figured out.”
Lima said “it became an issue left in the past” but likely won’t ever have an answer as of what really went on. So many years later now, Oliveira and Holloway prepare to meet a second time in the main event of UFC 326 on March 7 in Las Vegas, battling for the BMF strap.
“If you watch the fight, he didn’t get hit, nothing happened,” Lima said. “He backs up, feels something and leans against the fence. It’s not like, ‘Man, he’s getting beat up in this fight.’ Nothing like that. The fight hadn’t even really developed yet. It was just starting to find its rhythm.”
“It was very scary precisely because of that,” he added. “If we know what it is, we treat it. But since no one knew exactly what it was, there was nothing to treat. He stayed hospitalized, and the hospital didn’t want to release him at all because he wasn’t improving. So once again it was God in Charles’s life, just like since his birth and all the health problems he’s had. And he didn’t just get through it, he went on to achieve everything he has achieved.”
Oliveira was released from the hospital two days after the fight and returned to Brazil, and a lot has changed since. Holloway went on to win two more and then earn a shot at the interim 145-pound belt, beating Anthony Pettis before unifying championships against Jose Aldo. Years in the future, the Hawaiian star beat Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier with the BMF title on the line.
Oliveira struggled as a featherweight, bouncing between and losses until he’s finally moved up to lightweight and rose to the top to become UFC champion with championship victories over Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. In his most recent bout, “do Bronx” dominated and submitted Mateusz Gamrot in Rio de Janeiro to insert his name back in the conversation for a shot at the 155-pound gold.
“Both of them have evolved tremendously,” Lima said of his protégé and Holloway. “That’s why they’re both giants. If we look at their careers from 10 years ago, many others fell by the wayside, and both of them stayed at the top. The BMF belt is around Holloway’s waist and Charles is going to fight for it. Charles was champion and dominated the division like a year ago. That means they are the two fighters who have evolved the most in the division. If you look at the whole division, who else has been around as long as they have, with the achievements they have? Maybe nobody. Just the two of them. That proves they really are giants.”
Oliveira again chose to stay in Sao Paulo for the duration of the camp instead of traveling 120 miles every day between the capital and Guarujá. He has done that in his past camp for Gamrot — and original UFC Rio opponent Rafael Fiziev —, and Lima said it gave them a chance to evolve immensely.
“Charles is an MMA fighter,” Lima said. “I know a lot of people say, ‘He should just go in and shoot for the legs,’ but that’s not how the game works. Charles will be ready for wherever the fight develops. He’s going in to fight MMA. The fight starts on the feet, and Charles is extremely aggressive. Then people say, ‘Yeah, but this might happen, that might happen.’ The world lives on speculation.
“Charles is a giant precisely because of how he fights. He’s a guy who truly excites people. There’s no denying it. His fights are thrilling from beginning to end. I know that for the fan watching, that emotion is huge. Imagine for me, who can say I’m his fan, his personal friend, right there beside him. It’s an emotion like no other. But we definitely want to make the smartest fight possible, knowing it’s an MMA fight, and we believe in Charles’s victory in every area where the fight goes. I believe in Charles winning in on the feet, against the fence, and on the ground.”
Holloway is a well-rounded veteran — “if one of his skills were terrible he wouldn’t be where he is” —, and Lima expects them to give fans an exciting battle March 7 at the T-Mobile Arena.
“I believe it will be an extremely technical fight and extremely aggressive because they are two fighters who give themselves completely inside the octagon,” Lima said. “They both go for the victory, and that’s extremely important. Why? Because some fighters fight not to lose. These two don’t. They fight to win. I think it has everything to be, even this early in the year, one of the best fights of the year.”
And if Holloway points down to the ground inviting Oliveira for a wild exchange in the final 10 seconds of the bout, Lima said his protégé will welcome violence.
The bigger question is: will the fight last that long?
“I don’t think we need to wait until 24 minutes and 50 seconds for that to happen,” Lima said. “That’s what Holloway has been doing. [Ilia] Topuria himself did it early, and Holloway didn’t go for it. But I don’t believe the fight lasts 25 minutes. Honestly, I really don’t, because they are fighters who finish fights. If you asked me the probability of this fight going to a decision, I’d say 10 percent.”
