Move over, Michael Bisping. There’s another UFC champion with impaired vision.
His name is Charles Oliveira. The 32 year-old submission specialist would have a big 2021, capturing UFC lightweight gold and defending it later that year. This would be all done with a handicap on Oliveira’s end. He might have realized his vision of becoming a world champ, but he did it only with half of his sight.
Oliveira Only Sees 50%
‘Do Bronx’ dawns his eyeglasses everywhere he goes, but he has to take him off before fighting in the Octagon. Oliveira would discuss how it is to fight with such poor sight on the ‘Flow Podcast‘.
“I see three [faces]. If I hit the middle one, that’s fine,” said Oliveira. “I think keep this same technique. Three guys for me is perfect. If I hit the one in the middle, it’s good.
“I’ll tell you the truth, I’m a guy who has a lot of faith in God and it’s no joke. If I take my glasses off, I only see 50%, but it never hindered me in a fight.”
It’s Not So Bad
Despite not being totally blind, Oliveira unlocks his inner ‘Daredevil’ when he steps into the cage. He might not have anything close to 20/20 vision, but that adversity wouldn’t stop him reaching the top of the stacked UFC Lightweight division.
The Brazilian isn’t complaining, he has found ways to fight with it. As long as Oliveira keeps hitting the guy in the middle of the three, he should be fine.
“It never hindered me in a fight.” Oliveira added. “Sometimes I walk in without the glasses, sometimes I walk in with the glasses. It depends on my vibe. Sometimes I like to walk in with glasses to look harmless and more nerdy than I already am.
“And when I take my glasses off, it’s normal, I can see my opponent on the other side. God blesses me so much that I can see normal. But on the streets, if I take them off, I’m blind.”
