Growing up in a less-than-privileged family, incoming UFC 317 headliner Charles Oliveira has revealed the reason he is never seen without a specific piece of gold jewellery.
Oliveira, a native of Sao Paulo, will return to headlining honors this month at UFC 317, taking main event status in his pivotal return during International Fight Week.
And hoping to join a select group to win two vacant crowns during his decorated Octagon run, the Brazilian will vie for the vacant lightweight crown.
Taking on the unbeaten former featherweight titleholder, Ilia Topuria, Oliveira hopes to repeat the success found against two-fight foe, Michael Chandler. Back in Texas in 2021. But since his run as champion, the submission ace has been lauded for his fashion sense, it must be said.
Splashing his sizeable fight purses on colorful suits and a host of gold jewellery — Oliveira has reached the heights of fashion he once could never dream of.
And there is one particular bracelet which the Brazilian is likely never to be seen without: his gleaming gold armwear. Admitting he only removes it to train, compete, or shower — Oliveira’s recent attraction to the gold metal is something he could never afford in his early years.
“Dude, in reality, I never had the chance to have gold,” the former lightweight champion said during an interview with Full Violence. “I’ve always been in love with gold. My family has always been in love with gold, but I didn’t have the conditions to do so. Today, we have the ability to have it.
“It was the first time I had an I don’t take it [the bracelet] off for anything,” Oliveira continued. “Just to train, shower, and that’s it. If you look — in almost every place you look, I’m wearing it.
In accordance with his fascination with gold, Oliveira has the opportunity to take home another piece of the precious metal at the end of this month.
Oliveira confident of Topuria win
Facing the task of handing Spanish finishing star, Topuria, a defeat for the first time in his combat sports career, Oliveira seems far less worried than his fans are.
While Topuria has built a career on defeating fan favorite fighters like Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, Oliveira claims to have been built from a different cloth altogether.
He has notably warned the Spaniard of the consequences of fighting in the shark tank of 155 lbs, further asserting that the former featherweight champion was simply too small for the lightweight division.
Notably, this won’t be Topuria’s first foray into lightweight. He previously fought Jai Herbert in 2022 at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs Aspinall and secured a second-round TKO victory.
However, interestingly, the Spanish fighter has also gone down in weight to 135 lbs, to fight in the bantamweight division during his time with Cage Warriors.
Despite the former featherweight champion’s versatility, Oliveira sent a stern warning, asking his opponent to ease up on the trash talk.
“He is coming from featherweight, so he has to respect the lightweights,” Charles Oliveira told Full Violence. “[I hit harder than Ilia] for sure.”
“It’s a great fight, he’s a great fighter,” Oliveira noted of his pairing with Topuria. “But I don’t need to prove anything to anyone about who I am. This fight came at a huge opportunity. I will knock out this guy. That’s for real” he promised.
