PHOENIX – Charles Oliveira saved what seemed to be a disastrous week for his career.
The Brazilian lightweight submitted Justin Gaethje on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 274 at Footprint Center. Oliveira (33-8 MMA, 21-8 UFC) forced Gaethje (23-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) to tap with a rear-naked choke after wild back-and-forth exchanges in the first round of their contest.
The bout was supposed to be Oliveira’s second title defense, as he entered fight week as the reigning champion. However, he was stripped from the belt the day prior to the fight after he failed to make weight. Oliveira came in at 155.5 pounds, half a pound over the limit for lightweight championship fights.
The fight itself against Gaethje was pure chaos and ended in vintage Oliveira fashion.
Oliveira immediately pressured Gaethje as soon as the fight started. He connected and stunned Gaethje and then continued to look for the finish. In that process, Gaethje dropped Oliveira twice and cut him above his left eye. Oliveira stayed composed and continued to attack fearlessly.
The two kept going back-and-forth until Oliveira connected hard once again, but this time dropping Gaethje cleanly. From there, the former champion jumped on Gaethje, took his back, and sank in the rear-naked choke.
Oliveira is currently on a stellar 11-fight winning streak that dates back to 2018. The Brazilian’s last defeat was back at UFC 218 in 2017 when he was stopped by Paul Felder in second-round TKO.
With this win, Oliveira is now the No. 1 contender at 155 pounds and will have to win his title again in a fight against whoever the UFC deems as the next in line.
Meanwhile, Gaethje finds himself now 1-2 in his past three bouts. The former WSOF champion was coming off a wild, Fight of the Year contender against Michael Chandler at UFC 268 last November. Prior to that, he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight championship fight in Abu Dhabi.
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC 274 include:
- Charles Oliveira def. Justin Gaethje via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:22
- Carla Esparza def. Rose Namajunas via split decision (47-48, 49-46, 48-47) – to win strawweight title
- Michael Chandler def. Tony Ferguson via knockout (kick) – Round 2, 0:17
- Ovince Saint Preux def. Mauricio Rua via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
- Randy Brown def. Khaos Williams via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Francisco Trinaldo def. Danny Roberts via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
- Macy Chiasson def. Norma Dumont via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
- Brandon Royval def. Matt Schnell via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:14
- Blagoy Ivanov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Andre Fialho def. Cameron VanCamp via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:35
- Tracy Cortez def. Melissa Gatto via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- CJ Vergara def. Kleydson Rodrigues via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Loopy Godinez def. Ariane Carnelossi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Journey Newson def. Fernie Garcia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
