Charles Oliveira’s latest victory continues to reinforce the perception that the Brazilian veteran is still evolving, according to Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood.
Speaking on the JAXXON Podcast this week, Wood offered his analysis of Oliveira’s dominant win over Max Holloway in last Saturday’s BMF title main event at UFC 326.
Oliveira (37-11 MMA, 25-11 UFC) defeated Holloway (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) by controlling much of the fight with grappling and physicality across five rounds, capturing the BMF belt in the process.
Wood praised the performance of Charles Oliveira, noting that the former champion appears to improve every time he returns after adversity.
“Oliveira looked great,” Wood said. “Each time he has something, comes off a bad loss, whatever, and comes back and just always seems to get better.”
Holloway entered the Saturday’s contest in good form at lightweight. The former featherweight titleholder had recently moved up to 155 pounds, where he scored a knockout win over Justin Gaethje to win the BMF title at UFC 300 in 2024. He later defended the belt with a decision victory against Dustin Poirier last July.
Despite the Hawaiian’s success in his new weight class, Wood believes “Blessed” may not possess the same physical strength in the division as he did at featherweight.
“I think that Max is a big guy, but I don't know that he has the strength at 55 that he does at 45,” Wood said. “We know he fought Poirier and he fought Oliveira here. It just feels like the guys that are willing to get physical with him, they out-physical him pretty bad, you know? And he looked pretty big. He looked like he put some muscle on for this fight.”
Wood emphasized that his critique does not diminish his admiration for Holloway, who remains one of the sport’s most respected fighters.
“Max is one of my favorite fighters. I love watching him fight,” Wood said. “It just sucks watching him get handled like that. But, you know, Oliveira is also a phenomenal fighter.”
For Wood, Oliveira’s ability to continue evolving even after setbacks is what makes the Brazilian particularly dangerous in the lightweight division.
“He’s just a guy that keeps getting better,” Wood said. “Oliveira is one of those guys that you just never know what the ceiling is going to be with him.”
