At just 21-years-old, Charles Oliveira’s (14-1) future in MMA looks quite promising, but the young native of Brazil wants his career to be more than just successful, he wants it to be historic.
Oliveira’s goal is ultimately to become the youngest UFC champion in history, a title currently held by 23-year-old light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (13-1).
But time is running out for Oliveira, who turns 22 this year, thus making a win in his upcoming fight even more crucial.
On Sunday June 26, Oliveira will face off against fellow lightweight Nik Lentz (21-3-2) at UFC on Versus 4 at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Penn.
“I want to be the champ,” Oliveira said, “[and a win] will help me get closer to my goal of being the youngest ever UFC champ.”
In preparation for his upcoming fight with Lentz, Oliveira has been training in Texas with Jorge “Macaco” Patino at Gold Team Houston.
“I train four times a day,” Oliveira said, “[working on] jiu-jitsu, striking, sparring, and cardio. Training with Macaco is great, [and I’m working] with a lot of good training partners.”
While he is training hard for his fight with Lentz, Oliveira isn’t underestimating his opponent either.
“[Lentz] is very good and very underrated,” Oliveira said. “He is from a great camp. He has won his last seven fights [and] he has a big win over Tyson Griffin.”
Oliveira, who is coming off of his first loss, said that while he is still upset about what happened in his fight against Jim Miller (20-2) at UFC 124 this past December, he learned a valuable lesson.
“I learned [that] sometimes you cannot force a KO or sub,” Oliveira said, “sometimes it’s all timing. I did some very high-risk moves on Jim Miller, and I got caught.”
That doesn’t mean that he will be playing it safe when he steps into the cage with Lentz later this month.
“I look to finish all the time,” Oliveira said. “ I will take big risks for big rewards. I want to be known as a[n] exciting fighter, and exciting fighters do not go to the decisions.”
No matter what happens though, Oliveira is ready for the fight.
“I am ready to fight wherever the fight goes,” Oliveira said. “[Lentz] can pick where he wants to fight [because] I am ready to fight standing or on the ground.”
Charles Oliveira wanted to thank his sponsors, Dethrone, Hyabusa, Blowout Cards, Best Bet Marine Services – Pete MacCallum, Morphy Jeans, 98 Radio Rock Brazil, Pretorian Hard Sports, his coaches Macaco and Erick Cardozo, and his manager Wade Hampel.
To learn more about Oliveira you can visit his Twitter (@C_Oliveira_UFC), Facebook fan page, and GoldTeamTX.com.
[…] Read the full story here […]