Charles Oliveira’s reign over the lightweight division came to an abrupt end as soon as he stepped inside the cage. Ahead of the fight, the 32-year-old Brazilian was forced to vacate his title after failing to make championship weight.
In his second attempt at securing the UFC gold, ‘Highlight’ lost out under familiar conditions to Oliveira.
Round 1
The round begins with Oliveira stepping forward and landing a huge right hand in the opening 15 seconds of the bout. Gaethje’s right leg was visibly wobbling. Gaethje then dropped Oliveira as the two men fired shots. Gaethje scored a second knockdown with his left hook. Oliveira’s right eye has been cut open. Gaethje is loading up with that left hook. He allowed Oliveira to get up. Oliveira starts to put the pressure on with a diverse combination of strikes.
He pulls Gaethje to the ground but fails to keep him there. Oliveira connects with a clean right hand. Gaethje is loading up too much and fell down on missing. Oliveira hits Gaethje with a right to send him to the mat. He immediately follows up with a submission attempt. Gaethje does well to avoid at first but eventually succumbs to a rear-naked choke in the first round.
Official Result: Charles Oliveira defeats Justin Gaethje via submission (R1, 3:22).
Check out the highlights below:
No more waiting – time for action 💥
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The most dangerous finisher in the UFC strikes again 💥
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Charles & Dana having a chat 👀
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The best LW in the world 🌎
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