5 times that UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira was destroyed inside the octagon

Current UFC lightweight kingpin Charles Oliveira has suffered his fair share of losses in the octagon
Current UFC lightweight kingpin Charles Oliveira has suffered his fair share of losses in the octagon

The UFC has been home to some excellent champions over the years. Regardless of their abilities, no fighter, including current lightweight champ Charles Oliveira, is truly unbeatable.

Charles Oliveira is the current UFC lightweight champion. Before he claimed his title, he suffered a number of devastating losses inside the octagon.

‘Do Bronx’ is set to defend his title against top contender Dustin Poirier later this month at UFC 269. Whether he can pick up his tenth win in a row is a major question mark, and Poirier may be buoyed by some of his earlier losses.

With this considered, here are five times that Charles Oliveira was destroyed inside the octagon.


#5. Charles Oliveira vs. Paul Felder – UFC 218

Paul Felder stopped Charles Oliveira in brutal fashion in 2017
Paul Felder stopped Charles Oliveira in brutal fashion in 2017

Charles Oliveira has not lost a fight inside the octagon since late 2017. That defeat was a truly devastating one at the hands of current UFC announcer Paul Felder.

The two 155lbers squared off at UFC 218. With both men coming off impressive wins, it was anyone’s guess as to who would come out on top. Unfortunately for Charles Oliveira, we found out the answer in brutal fashion.

The first round of the clash actually went Oliveira’s way. He was able to drag Felder to the ground using a bodylock before dominating him on the mat, coming close with a number of choke attempts.

However, ‘The Irish Dragon’ was able to survive, and ended the round by dropping a hard right hand onto the face of the Brazilian. It was a signal of things to come.

‘Do Bronx’ attempted to get Felder down in the early going of the second round, but was hurt by an elbow strike and wound up on his back. From there, Felder settled into position, avoided a potential reversal – and began to drop vicious elbows.

It quickly became clear that Oliveira was badly hurt. As Felder continued to smash him with elbows and forearms, referee Dan Miragliotta had to step in, with replays revealing that ‘Do Bronx’ had actually tapped out.

This was a genuinely violent finish. Anyone watching could’ve been forgiven for believing that this was the beginning of the end of Charles Oliveira’s UFC career – not his final loss before claiming the promotion’s lightweight title less than four years later.

#4. Charles Oliveira vs. Donald Cerrone – UFC on Versus 5

Donald Cerrone became the first man to knock out Charles Oliveira in 2011
Donald Cerrone became the first man to knock out Charles Oliveira in 2011

This fight could easily headline a UFC card these days. Charles Oliveira and Donald Cerrone were only considered prospects when they squared off on the main card of the UFC’s fifth event on the Versus network in 2011.

At the time, ‘Cowboy’ was bringing more momentum into the octagon than his Brazilian opponent. He was coming off a pair of excellent wins while Oliveira’s previous win had been turned into a No Contest due to an illegal knee.

Unfortunately for ‘Do Bronx’, it didn’t take long for Cerrone to impose his will in this fight, which lasted just over three minutes.

‘Cowboy’ looked far more comfortable on the feet than Oliveira in the early going. When he landed a straight left hand and followed with an uppercut to the body, ‘Do Bronx’ simply wilted.

He fell to the ground and began to cover up, and that was all the invitation Cerrone needed. He quickly dropped a series of unanswered punches down onto his opponent – forcing referee Mario Yamasaki to step in.

Oliveira had lost in the UFC before, but that defeat had come by submission. This was the first time he’d been stopped with strikes, and it was pretty brutal to witness.


#3. Charles Oliveira vs. Ricardo Lamas – UFC Fight Night 98

Charles Oliveira was too confident on the ground for his own good in his fight with Ricardo Lamas
Charles Oliveira was too confident on the ground for his own good in his fight with Ricardo Lamas

UFC Fight Night 98 saw Charles Oliveira face off against former UFC title challenger Ricardo Lamas in what sounded like an intriguing featherweight bout. Unfortunately for the future UFC lightweight king, it didn’t end too well for him.

This fight was simply a case of Oliveira – the most decorated submission artist in UFC history – getting too comfortable on the ground with an extremely dangerous foe.

Like a number of Oliveira’s losses, things didn’t start too badly for him. ‘Do Bronx’ was able to ground Lamas in the first round. While he took some heavy shots from ‘The Bully’, he also performed a number of dangerous submission attempts.

The second round appeared to be going the same way. Oliveira attempted an anaconda choke in the early going, only for Lamas to slip free and sweep his way into top position.

When ‘Do Bronx’ continued to hunt for a submission – leaving his neck open in the process – Lamas showed off his own grappling skills by snatching it up into a guillotine choke.

‘The Bully’ dropped backwards and pulled guard. Within seconds, Oliveira was forced to tap out.

‘Do Bronx’ has not lost another fight via submission since. This was a particularly devastating loss for him as it felt very much like he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

#2. Charles Oliveira vs. Anthony Pettis – UFC on Fox 21

Anthony Pettis managed to submit Charles Oliveira after a brutal clash in 2016
Anthony Pettis managed to submit Charles Oliveira after a brutal clash in 2016

One of Charles Oliveira’s most memorable bouts in the UFC came in the summer of 2017. He locked horns with former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis in the latter’s first foray into the 145lbs division.

Sadly for Oliveira, this was a brutal fight that ended with him taking some serious damage en route to a third round submission loss.

The two men went toe-to-toe on the feet from the off. The action didn’t slow down when the fight hit the ground, either. Despite Pettis bringing a reputation for striking and Oliveira for grappling, both men were able to put together plenty of offense in both areas.

By the third round, the big difference appeared to be the fact that Oliveira was beginning to tire while Pettis still appeared to be fresh.

Despite the Brazilian landing an early takedown, Pettis was able to reverse position and get on top. He then locked in a tight guillotine choke when Oliveira went for another takedown.

‘Do Bronx’ attempted to posture up to alleviate the pressure on his neck, but it was no good and he was swiftly forced to tap out.

It’s fair to say that Oliveira gave pretty much as good as he got in this fight. However, it was also very disappointing to see him lose in such a manner – making this one of the most devastating losses of his UFC career.


#1. Charles Oliveira vs. Cub Swanson – UFC 152

Cub Swanson utterly folded Charles Oliveira in their clash at UFC 152
Cub Swanson utterly folded Charles Oliveira in their clash at UFC 152

Over the course of his decade-long UFC career, Charles Oliveira has won plenty of fights and lost plenty too. However, none of his losses were quite as devastating as the one he suffered at UFC 152 against Cub Swanson.

At the time, Oliveira was looking like one of the UFC featherweight division’s best prospects. He’d debuted with an impressive win over Eric Wisely, and followed it up with a win over Jonathan Brookins a few months later.

However, he firmly met his match when he faced Swanson. The veteran landed a nasty right hand in the early going. Oliveira did well to take it, and seemed fine when he instantly took him down in response.

A solid grappler in his own right, though, Swanson reversed to his feet. Soon after, he connected with a whipping right hand to the temple of ‘Do Bronx’.

The punch landed cleanly, and while Oliveira remained standing for a moment, he quickly collapsed to the ground in a delayed reaction, looking like he’d been shot.

Swanson didn’t even need to follow up the shot as it was clear that Oliveira was done. Sure enough, referee Yves Lavigne quickly stepped in.

While he has not been knocked out cold since, it was this fight that largely led to Charles Oliveira gaining a reputation as a glass cannon of sorts. It remains his most devastating loss in the UFC to this day.

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Edited by John Cunningham