Order UFC 280 "Oliveira vs. Makhachev" exclusively on ESPN+ On May 6, the day before his scheduled title defense against Justin Gaethje, “do Bronx” missed the championship weight limit by half a pound, rendering the next day’s main event a one-sided title fight; if Gaethje won, he would be champ, while a win by Oliveira would leave the title vacant. For fans who remember the Oliveira of a decade ago, the talented but mercurial 23-year-old who could defeat anyone on any given night but was prone to baffling losses and chronic weight problems, it seemed a confirmation of their worst fears.
The last time we saw Charles Oliveira in action, at UFC 274 in May, he delivered a two-day seminar on how bittersweet mixed martial arts can be.
Charles Oliveira, Grappling With Legacy
