The former lightweight champion discussed what went wrong and what comes next after a disappointing loss at UFC 300.
Charles Oliveira’s road back to the lightweight title just got a lot more complicated after he lost a competitive split decision to Arman Tsarukyan on the main card of UFC 300.
“Do Bronx” had his moments on the ground and nearly submitted Tsarukyan twice, but it wasn’t enough to earn him the win in the eyes of two judges. Tsarukyan’s wrestling grind and ground and pound carried the day, putting him in the No. 1 contender spot to fight the winner of UFC 302’s Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier lightweight title fight.
In a new statement released on his social media accounts, a disappointed Oliveira discussed the loss.
— Charles ‘DoBronxs’ Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) April 14, 2024
“I just want to thank everyone with all my heart,” Oliveira said (translated from Portuguese). “Not every day is going to be a day of glory. It was a hard fight. We had the opportunity to submit or even knock him out, but I couldn’t find myself.”
“I got some stitches over my eye, I’m a bit swollen, but I’m fine,” he continued. “I cried. That part of me won’t change. I’m going to move on now. I will return home, be with my family, and start training again.”
“I hope that you will continue to cheer and support me. Everything I’m living is wonderful. Thank you, thank you, thank you, straight from the heart. What I can promise? That I will come back stronger. That’s it. That’s the game. There’s not much to be done. I had a wonderful camp, even the weight cut went well.”
Call me a copium addict idk this dumb asses shorts comin off saved his ass pic.twitter.com/qr3yTBVZ7y
— MMA² (@mma_squared) April 14, 2024
“Today wasn’t the day. It wasn’t meant to be,” he concluded. “I’m fine and I’ll be back soon.”
Oliveira has made it his mission to reclaim the UFC lightweight title, but there have been some stumbles along the way. After knocking out Beneil Dariush with ease, “Do Bronx” was set to fight for the belt at UFC 294, but a last minute cut forced Charles out. Now there’s this loss to Tsarukyan which pushes him out of immediate title contention.
We have no doubt that Oliveira will claw his way back to the top, especially if UFC 300 taught him a lesson about spending too much time on his back in a three round fight.