Even though former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira seems like an unstoppable force of nature these days, 'do Bronx' has faced crippling defeats in the past. One such instance was the 2015 TKO loss that he incurred in his first-ever main event appearance.
The Brazilian phenom suffered a first-round TKO defeat against Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night 74 because of a micro-tear in his esophagus. The injury was so severe that it resulted in the left side of his body being completely paralyzed for four hours.
Watch Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira below:
Oliveira suffered the injury while shooting for a takedown against Holloway. In an interview with MMA Fighting, the fighter revealed that he initially sustained the neck injury while training but thought the issue was resolved after undergoing physical therapy.
In a 2015 interview with COMBATE, 'do Bronx' stated that he initially thought the injury was going to leave him crippled:
"It was four hours without moving the left side. Everything went through my head. I was afraid of being crippled. I was sad, I cried like hell. Not for losing, but for the way it happened. People end up thinking the worst. It was a shock to everyone in the family, so much so that my mother cried when she saw me returning from the States. It was bad, a scare, but the situation is over." [Translated from Portuguese by Goolge]It's not surprising that 'do Bronx' recovered from his injury and is now stronger than ever. Oliveira has faced health-related adversities since early childhood.
Which disease almost stopped Charles Oliveira from pursuing sports as a child?
Although Charles Oliveira is now one of the most decorated lightweights in the history of the division, the jiu-jitsu aficionado had to overcome unfathomable odds to realize his UFC dreams.
At the age of seven, he was diagnosed with rheumatism and abnormal heart murmurs. This medical condition was deemed to keep him in a wheelchair for the rest of life. In an interview with ESPN MMA, 'do Bronx' stated that his doctors told him he could never play sports:
"The doctors said that I couldn't play sports, but as I told my father and mother, I would rather die than stop doing the things I liked. I believed in the sport, I had faith in God, and he blessed me, as he has been blessing me until today."However, Charles Oliveira soon proved the medical professionals wrong as he and his brother began training jiu-jitsu under his friend’s father Paulo, and the rest is history.
Charles Oliveria is scheduled to fight No.4-ranked lightweight Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 for the vacant undisputed lightweight title.
Quick Links
More from Sportskeeda
" modalPopup.closeOnEsc = false; modalPopup.setHeader("Why did you not like this content?"); modalPopup.setContentText(modalText); modalPopup.addCancelOkButton("Submit", resetRatingAndFeedbackForm, sendRating); modalPopup.removeCloseModalIcon(); modalPopup.disableDismissPopup(); modalPopup.open(); } else { sendRating(index); } } function sendRating() { var requestPayload = { "post_id": 1231407, "rating_value": ratingValue } if (ratingValue > 3) { requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = null; requestPayload.rating_feedback = null; } else { if (!$('input[name="drone"]:checked') || !$('input[name="drone"]:checked').value) { showErrorMessage('option'); return; } if (!$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea") || !$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value) { showErrorMessage('note'); return; } var selectedOption = $('input[name="drone"]:checked').value; var feedbackNote = $(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value; requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = selectedOption; requestPayload.rating_feedback = feedbackNote; } pureJSAjaxPost(addratingAPI, requestPayload, onsaveRatingSuccess, onsaveRatingFail, function() {}, true); } function resetRatingAndFeedbackForm() { var activeStars = Array.from($all('.rating span.rating-star.active')); for (var i=0; i < activeStars.length; i++) { activeStars[i].classList.remove("active"); } if ($('input[name="drone"]:checked')) { $('input[name="drone"]:checked').checked = false; } var userNote = document.querySelector(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea"); userNote.value = ''; modalPopup.close(); } function onsaveRatingSuccess() { modalPopup.close(); savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie(); $("#post-rating-layout").classList.add("hidden"); $("#post-rating-message").classList.remove("hidden"); window.setInterval(function showMessage() { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.add("hidden"); }, 3000); } function onsaveRatingFail() { console.error('Saving post rating failed!'); modalPopup.close(); } function savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie() { userRatedPostIds.push(1231407); var expiryTime = new Date(); expiryTime.setMonth(expiryTime.getMonth() + 12); // Expiry after 1 year setCookie("user_rated_post_ids", JSON.stringify(userRatedPostIds), expiryTime); } function isPostRatedByUser() { var userRatedPostIds = getCookie('user_rated_post_ids'); if (userRatedPostIds) { try { userRatedPostIds = JSON.parse(userRatedPostIds); } catch (err) { console.error(err); return false; } } else { return false; } if(userRatedPostIds.indexOf(1231407) >= 0) { return true; } else { return false; } } function getRatingCountByPostId(postId) { return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) { pureJSAjaxGet( getRatingCountBaseURL + postId + '/rating/count', function(data) { try { data = JSON.parse(data); if (data.meta_value) { resolve(data.meta_value); } reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } catch (err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } }, function(err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); }, true); }); } function showErrorMessage(messageType) { var messageContainerId = '#' + messageType + '-error'; $(messageContainerId).classList.remove('hidden'); window.setInterval(function () { $(messageContainerId).classList.add("hidden"); }, 5000); } (function() { var callFired = false; function lazyLoadPostRating() { if (callFired) return; callFired = true; if (!isPostRatedByUser()) { getRatingCountByPostId(1231407) .then(function(ratingCount) { if (ratingCount < 10) { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.remove("hidden"); } }) .catch(function(err){ console.error(err); }); } } document.addEventListener("scroll", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("mousemove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("touchmove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); })();ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tLzOq6uso5WasaJ6wqikaKWdlnypu9ZmmqGZoqGytHnOpaCvnZmnrm6zxK1kqZmilrm6xsSdZKaZqGK1sLjLqK6asV2btqi00w%3D%3D
