Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira isn’t competing this weekend at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but he still made an impact this week when a hoard of wild Brazilian fans chased him down inside a local mall.
Oliveira, who lost his UFC lightweight championship to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 this past October, is currently plotting his return to the 155-pound division for sometime this spring. “Do Bronx” took this week to join the festivities at UFC 283 and help welcome the promotion back to Brazil for the first time in nearly three years.
As you may have guessed, Oliveira is a pretty big star in his home country of Brazil. After all, “Do Bronx” holds the record for most UFC finishes and submissions, while having just produced an 11-fight win streak prior to his meeting with Makhachev. There’s no denying he’s one of the biggest sports stars in all of Brazil so it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to see the former UFC champion nearly mauled by excited fans earlier this week at a mall in Rio de Janeiro.
The scene was quite chaotic and Oliveira is lucky things didn’t escalate as fans tried to get close to take photos. Check out the wild footage below:
This is a sample of the level of popularity by @CharlesDoBronxs in Brazil today. This event took place this week at the mall in Rio de Janeiro. #UFC283
Video Credit: Newton Santos
CC: @arielhelwani @marcraimondi @JohnMorgan_MMA @BigMarcel24 @Grabaka_Hitman @laura_sanko pic.twitter.com/8I1pUNM6aI
— Bruno Massami (????? ???????) (@BrMassami) January 21, 2023
UFC 283 will unfold later tonight (Sat., Jan. 21, 2023) live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a light heavyweight title fight between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill leading the way.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 283 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN+/ABC at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 283: “Teixeira vs. Hill” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the complete UFC 283 fight card and PPV line up click here.