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Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and Rafael Fiziev, ranked 10th, will face off in the main event of a major UFC tournament in Rio de Janeiro on October 11.
Idman.biz reports that the article presented by Sport24.ru noted that this fight is the biggest opportunity of the Azerbaijani fighter's career.
This fight could bring him one step closer to a title fight. It was hard to imagine such a scenario even a while ago.
In 2022, Fiziev was 7th in the ranking with a 6-fight winning streak, bonuses for several brilliant performances and prospects. But in April 2025, he was outside the top ten, a fighter who had suffered 3 consecutive defeats and had just returned to the octagon after a serious injury. His "black streak" began in the spring of 2023, after losing to Justin Gaethje by decision. The opponent was a former interim champion and one of the UFC's star fighters. Rafael was a little unlucky, but this defeat did not completely throw him back.
The real decline came in the fight against Mateusz Gamrot in September of that year. This time, Fiziev had to stop the fight prematurely due to a torn knee ligament. The injury was very serious and kept him away from the arenas for a year and a half.
Rafael returned only in March 2025. The UFC offered him a fight against the same Gaethje in place of Dan Hooker. Fiziev did not miss this opportunity. Again, although he started well in the three-round match, he lost the advantage towards the middle of the fight and lost again by decision.
Although all this gave the impression that he was out of the title race once and for all, Fiziev changed the situation at the UFC tournament held in Baku in June 2025. Rafael, who faced young and promising fighter Ignacio Bahamondes, performed excellently in the match, which many thought he would lose, and won in three rounds.
Now, according to the official UFC announcement, Fiziev will fight Charles Oliveira on October 11. This fight is a unique opportunity for him not only to advance in the rankings, but also to get closer to the championship fight. It is difficult to know exactly why Fiziev was chosen as Oliveira's opponent, but it seems that this fight is fate's answer to his previous failures.
Oliveira last fought Ilia Topuria for the championship at UFC 317 on June 28, 2025, and was knocked out in the first round. This result shows that he is not currently at his previous physical level. Moreover, he is 35 years old, which is not the best age for a fighter. But Oliveira is considered one of the strongest lightweights in UFC history. He was a UFC champion for more than a year and climbed to the top with an 11-fight winning streak, defeating stars such as Dustin Poirier, Gaethje, Michael Chandler, and Tony Ferguson.
After losing to Islam Makhachev in the fall of 2022, his career began to decline. Since then, he has had 4 fights, losing in two of them (including to Topuria). Currently, Oliveira is in 4th place in the ranking and is still considered one of the strongest lightweights in the world.
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