Charles Oliveira wasn’t always at the top of the UFC food chain.
The former UFC lightweight champion, set to face Michael Chandler for a second time in a five-round co-main event at UFC 309 on November 16, was once viewed as a journeyman and gatekeeper who had a tendency to quit in big fights.
‘Do Bronx’ went 2-4 (1) in his first seven UFC fights while fluctuating between featherweight and lightweight.
The Brazilian’s first defeat in the UFC came against Jim Miller at UFC 124 in 2010. Losses against Donald Cerrone, Cub Swanson, and Frankie Edgar soon followed, as Oliveira’s reputation as an entertaining yet fundamentally flawed fighter continued to grow.
But then the Brazilian eventually got it together, beating Clay Guida via submission in 2018, marking the start of a 11-fight win streak that culminated with him claiming the vacant lightweight strap against Chandler in 2021.
The 35-year-old has a professional MMA record of 34-10-1 and has the most performance bonuses in UFC history (19).
UFC bonus awards are separate cash bonuses usually awarded to fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management.
They include Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night, Submission of the Night, and Performance of the Night.
The reward for each bonus is $50,000, although the UFC discontinued the Submission of the Night and Knockout of the Night bonuses in 2014.
Oliveira has recorded three Knockouts of the Night, three Fight of the Night honors, and 13 Performance of the Night incentives during his illustrious career.
With his dominant knockout over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 last year, Oliveira earned his 19th bonus, surpassing the retired Donald Cerrone (18) for the most in UFC history.
Nate Diaz is third on the all-time list with 16 performance bonuses, while Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller each have 15 and Anderson Silva and Dustin Poirier have 14 apiece.
In total, Oliveira has made $950,000 from bonuses alone.
The veteran picked up his first-ever bonus in his UFC debut in August 2010 when he submitted Darren Elkins in under one minute of the first round.
His most recent came in June 2023 when he scored a first-round TKO against Dariush.
With the victory, ‘Do Bronx’ extended his UFC finishing record to 20 — the most finishes by a fighter in UFC history.
In 34 career victories, Oliveira has finished 31 of them. Of the 34 wins, 16 of his finishes were submissions — also a UFC record.
Oliveira’s UFC 309 bout with Chandler is a rematch of their 2021 vacant UFC lightweight championship scrap following the retirement of legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The 4th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was dominated in the opening exchanges but managed to knockout Chandler in the second round to claim the vacant 155lb gold.
Oliveira followed that up by defending his title against Dusitin Poirier at UFC 269.
However, his reign as UFC lightweight champion was short-lived, coming to an end before he stepped foot inside the octagon against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 in 2022.
Oliveira was stripped of the lightweight title after weighing in at 155.5lbs, half a pound over the title limit.
It meant only Gaethje was eligible to win the strap. Not that it mattered, as the Brazilian sunk in a fight-ending rear-naked choke in the opening stanza.
Oliveira’s win set up a vacant title fight with Khabib’s unbeaten protégé, Islam Makhachev.
The Dagestani won the fight via an arm-triangle choke in Round Two to become the undisputed lightweight champion.
Oliveira bounced back from the defeat with a victory against Dariush before suffering a close split decision loss to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 earlier this year.
Now, he’s the No.2 ranked UFC lightweight, knowing a win against Chandler in their rematch on Saturday night will edge him closer to a second crack at the belt and current champion and pound-for-pound king Makhachev.
