Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway are set to collide in the UFC 326 main event, but it won’t be the first time they clash.
On Aug. 23, 2015, Oliveira and “Blessed” had a featherweight bout in Saskatoon. The fight ended abruptly just one minute and 39 seconds in. Oliveira suffered a ruptured esophagus and Holloway was awarded the TKO win.
Diego Lima was in attendance to serve as a coach for Felipe Arantes on that night. At the time, Lima wasn’t coaching Oliveira, but the two had already been friends. In an interview with MMAFighting.com, Lima reflected on the night Oliveira suffered his unusual injury.
“It was all very strange,” Lima said. “Really crazy how it happened. So much so that even today nobody knows what actually happened. The hospital wouldn’t let him leave or return to Brazil because they couldn’t detect exactly what the problem was, he still had that paralysis. It was something very serious that no one ever figured out.”
Lima recalled that the fight never truly got a chance to get going with how quickly Oliveira’s injury occurred.
“If you watch the fight, he didn’t get hit, nothing happened,” Lima said. “He backs up, feels something and leans against the fence. It’s not like, ‘Man, he’s getting beat up in this fight.’ Nothing like that. The fight hadn’t even really developed yet. It was just starting to find its rhythm.”
Over a decade has passed since that fight, and it’s clear to see that both Holloway and Oliveira have blossomed into MMA legends. Both men went on to win UFC titles and are surefire future Hall of Famers. Their bout scheduled for March 7 will be contested for the BMF Championship.
Do you remember the first bout between Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway? What was your initial reaction when it happened live? Take a stroll down memory lane in the comment section below.
