Charles Oliveira Confirms Rafael Fiziev Out of UFC Rio Main Event

Charles Oliveira has confirmed that his fight against Rafael Fiziev is off.

Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) had been scheduled to face Fiziev (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in the main event when the UFC returns to Rio de Janeiro on October 11. Speculation mounted in recent days that Fiziev had suffered an injury and would be unable to compete, prompting a handful of lightweight contenders to lobby for the opportunity to step in at the Farmasi Arena.

Renato Moicano, Mateusz Gamrot, and Benoit Saint Denis have all expressed interest in facing Oliveira, but the former UFC lightweight champion dismissed those callouts as little more than performative posturing.

“Everybody knows my UFC Rio fight is off,” Oliveira said on Instagram Stories, “But don’t fall for the talk of these guys out there (saying) ‘I’m here, I’ll go,’ because the UFC is calling and they’re all saying, ‘Oh, there’s not enough time to make weight. Oh, I can’t.’ They’re posting this on the internet to get hype.

“Stop it, it’s not a good look. I saw one saying this, another saying that, but when the UFC calls, what do they say? ‘Oh, I can’t. I got belly ache. I broke a finger. I hurt my hand.’ Enough with that, it’s not a good look.”

Oliveira had been hoping for a quick return to action after he suffered a first-round knockout defeat at the hands of Ilia Topuria at UFC 317 in June. Despite losing Fiziev as an opponent, “Do Bronx” hopes to still compete at UFC Rio.

“I want to fight at UFC Rio, I asked for this fight,” Oliveira said. “My opponent got hurt, then 10 guys show up saying they would fight. So far, every time the UFC calls (asking) ‘Let’s fight?’ (they say) ‘I can’t.’ So stop with that because it’s not a good look. Do you want fame? Do something else. Don’t come saying you’ll fight when it’s a lie, OK?”