Oliveira Tells BMF Critics to Take the Belt Somewhere Else

Charles Oliveira holds the UFC records for most finishes, submissions and bonuses, and he says three letters on a belt will not change how he fights. The BMF champion told MMA Fighting he will not let public criticism dictate his plan for the title defense against Diego Lopes at UFC 335 on Dec. 12 in Las Vegas.

"Do Bronx" has finished opponents in 21 of his 25 octagon victories since joining the UFC in 2010. He still faced criticism after he out-grappled and dominated Max Holloway in March to win the BMF title. Some fans called the fight boring because it went the distance.

Oliveira laughed that off. "God Himself couldn't please everyone, so imagine me," he said. If he trades punches and gets knocked out, he is stupid for not using jiu-jitsu, he said; if he uses jiu-jitsu, it sucks. All he wants to see on Sherdog is a win or a loss. Calling his fights boring, in his words, takes someone pretty stupid.

"Take it somewhere else"

He accepts that people may want to see two men stand in front of each other and throw bombs, and that it could be cool. He is not there to please anyone, though. Had he lost to Gamrot, Holloway or anyone else, he said, he would not be making the money he makes and might not be in the UFC at all, because the promotion expects fighters to keep making history.

Holloway lost that night and months later returned to rematch Conor McGregor in a huge UFC headliner, while Oliveira waited for a shot at lightweight gold before facing Lopes. Some people have said that a more aggressive Oliveira might have landed a fight like that one. He asked whether McGregor would even have accepted a fight with him.

Oliveira said nobody in the division has done to Holloway what he did. In his account his best punches and kicks landed, every takedown he tried worked and his ground control was total. "If the BMF fight is about going there and breaking each other up," he said, "then honestly, brother, here's the belt. Take it somewhere else. That belt is not for me."

Facing Lopes

He called himself a well-rounded MMA fighter, standing and on the ground, and said he enters the Lopes fight with absolutely no pressure. His goal is to bring a better version of himself than the one who fought Gamrot and the one who fought Holloway.

There is no bad blood between Oliveira and Lopes, who is also Brazilian. Oliveira warned that he will not stand and trade recklessly to see who goes down first. A large team is studying Lopes from every angle to build the game plan. Lopes has jiu-jitsu, wrestling and aggressive hands, Oliveira said, and can knock people out, but Oliveira is focused on what he brings himself.

Source: MMA Fighting