Charles Oliveira Opens Up and Gets Honest About Retirement Plans Ahead of UFC Rio Matchup
Charles Oliveira has addressed some of the rumblings out there that he is planning to hang up his MMA gloves. ‘Do Bronx’ fielded this subject ahead of his UFC Rio bout this weekend against Mateusz Gamrot after the initially scheduled Rafael Fiziev withdrew. Oliveira is closing in on fifty professional MMA fights, and while he is days away from turning 38 years old, heading off into the sunset is not within his focus.
Some also theorized that maybe the former UFC lightweight champion was looking for a perfect swan song fight as the Brazilian has a high-profile fight on home soil in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night. Oliveira does have a one-hundred percent rate of securing victories when he is the partisan favorite, with seventeen wins across seventeen bouts in Brazil.
When addressing some of the rumblings some have regarding the idea that he may call it quits in competitive mixed martial arts during an interview with MMA Junkie, Oliveira said,
“Retirement comes from you guys. I’ve never even thought about it, but every time I do an interview … I don’t know if I’m fighting poorly or if you want me to retire! I’m not sure what’s happening, because every interview brings up retirement. I’ve never considered it, never thought about it.”
Charles Oliveira eyes an interesting fight post-UFC Rio
To further underscore the idea that he has broader goals ot keep competing, Charles Oliveira has mapped out an ideal fight for himself in 2026. The acclaimed submission artist is among many MMA fighters throwing their name into the hat for the UFC White House card targeted for June. Oliveira has called out a familiar name who has admittedly been on hiw mind for years despite this combatant not having fought in years.
That combatant in question is Conor McGregor, and in media appearances before UFC Rio, Oliveira has been transparent in saying his desire for this fight was tied to that confluence of it being on a massive card but also the perceived big payday component that comes from a fight booking with ‘The Notorious.’ It remains to be seen if Charles Oliveira secures that fight for 2026, but does touch upon the idea that he does have more fights in him going forward.
