Charles Oliveira: the UFC’s submission and finish record holder | Ultimate Fighter Reunion

Why fans still care

CHARLES OLIVEIRA is the UFC’s great finisher. Nobody in UFC history has more submissions or more finishes. He took years of losses in his early UFC career, then put together a winning streak that took him to the lightweight title. He gets hit, gets knocked down, and keeps coming.

Early life

He was born on 17 October 1989 in Guarujá, on the coast of São Paulo state. ESPN reports he grew up near the Favela da Prainha and Favela do Caixão. As a boy he dealt with a serious illness, and he talks about his career as getting past poverty and sickness. “Nothing and nobody will beat me more than life already has,” he told ESPN. A family friend took him to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and his gym mates’ name for him, “the kid from Do Bronx”, stuck. It means the kid from the ghetto.

Getting started

His professional debut came on 15 March 2008 at Predador FC 9, where he won three bouts in a welterweight tournament. He was 12-0 when he reached the UFC, and on 1 August 2010 he armbarred Darren Elkins in the first round of his debut.

Career chapters

1. 2008Professional debut in Brazil
2. 2010UFC debut, an armbar of Darren Elkins
3. 2015Loses to Max Holloway at featherweight
4. 2017Back at lightweight, beats Will Brooks
5. 2018 to 2020Wins eight straight
6. 2021Wins the UFC lightweight title, then defends it against Dustin Poirier
7. 2022Stripped at the weigh-in, submits Justin Gaethje, loses to Islam Makhachev
8. 2026Beats Holloway for the BMF title

The long road 2010 to 2020

His early UFC years were up and down. He lost to Jim Miller, Cub Swanson, Frankie Edgar, Anthony Pettis and Ricardo Lamas, and in 2015 a throat injury ended his first fight with Max Holloway, Who’s Who number 3 in the first round. In April 2017 he moved back up to lightweight and submitted Will Brooks at UFC 210. From June 2018 he won eight straight, ending with a decision over Tony Ferguson at UFC 256 in December 2020.

Champion 2021 to 2022

The title had been left vacant when Khabib Nurmagomedov, Who’s Who number 1 retired. On 15 May 2021 at UFC 262 in Houston, Oliveira lost the first round badly to Michael Chandler, with two judges scoring it 10-8. Early in the second round he dropped Chandler and finished him at 0:19 to become champion. That was his 17th UFC finish, a new record.

On 11 December 2021 at UFC 269 in Las Vegas, Dustin Poirier hurt him and knocked him down in the first round. Oliveira took over on top in the second, then took Poirier’s back and choked him in the third. “I don’t let opportunities get away,” he said.

In May 2022 he missed the lightweight limit for UFC 274 in Phoenix and was stripped of the title. The next night Justin Gaethje knocked him down twice, but Oliveira dropped Gaethje with a right hand and choked him out in the first round.

After the belt 2022 to 2026

On 22 October 2022 at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi he fought Islam Makhachev for the vacant title, and Makhachev dropped him and finished him with an arm-triangle in the second round. He stopped Beneil Dariush in 2023, lost a split decision to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300, and beat Chandler again at Madison Square Garden in November 2024. In June 2025 Ilia Topuria knocked him out in the first round for the vacant title. In October 2025 he submitted Mateusz Gamrot in the second round in Rio de Janeiro.

On 7 March 2026 at UFC 326 he met Max Holloway, Who’s Who number 3 again, nearly 11 years after their first fight. He took him down in every round and won 50-45 on all three cards to win the BMF title. He called Holloway “the toughest guy I’ve ever fought against”. He is scheduled to defend it against Diego Lopes at UFC 335 in Las Vegas in December 2026.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fights

He fights orthodox and is listed by UFC.com as a jiu-jitsu fighter. The submissions are what he’s known for: rear-naked chokes most of all, along with anacondas, guillotines and triangles. Sherdog’s 2023 scouting report calls his guillotine “legendary” and his clinch work textbook perfect. It also says his cardio, once a weakness, is now excellent. On the feet he has fast hands. The one-two is a favourite, along with a left hook to the body and a front kick to the midsection.

Teams and gyms

He trains at Chute Boxe São Paulo under head coach Diego Lima. Sherdog lists his association as Chute Boxe Diego Lima and Gold Team.

Stories people still tell

1. Up off the canvas.

   Chandler, Poirier and Gaethje all knocked him down. He beat all three.

2. Stripped on the scale.

   He weighed in half a pound over for UFC 274, lost the belt the day before the fight, then won the fight anyway.

3. Giving back.

   The Charles do Bronxs Institute in Guarujá began as a social project in 2012. More than 150 students have trained and graduated in its free jiu-jitsu classes.

Legacy

He holds the UFC records for submissions, finishes and post-fight bonuses. He is a former UFC lightweight champion and the current BMF title holder, and he is still fighting near the top of the division.