Charles Oliveira makes frank admission on his brutal knockout by Ilia Topuria
In an interview in the Brazilian media, Oliveira looked back on his crushing defeat to Topuria in last month’s UFC 317 lightweight title fight.
Charles Oliveira stepped into the Octagon at UFC 317 to challenge Ilia Topuria for the lightweight title - but the Brazilian fighter has no memory of the moment he was knocked out by the Georgian-Spanish champion last month.
“I’ve never experienced anything like it”
In an interview with the Brazilian outlet AG Fight, Oliveira admitted he had never been knocked out in such a brutal fashion. He was so disoriented that he didn’t know where he was, and his corner had to calm him down and remind him to breathe deeply.
“I don’t know what happened,” Oliveira said. “I asked my team where I was, and they told me to stay calm and breathe. I’ve been knocked out with punches before, but never like that. I didn’t know where I was. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”
In the June 28 bout in Las Vegas, Topuria finished “Do Bronx” just two minutes and 27 seconds into the first round. Oliveira’s previous knockout losses came at the hands of Donald Cerrone in 2011 and Cub Swanson in 2012.
“I didn’t do what I was supposed to”
Oliveira admitted he failed to execute his game plan against Topuria, remaining stationary and absorbing strikes instead of implementing the strategy he had trained for months. His plan had included targeting the knees and calves, using punch combinations to set up high kicks, and maintaining distance with front kicks.
“I didn’t do anything I trained for,” Oliveira said. “The idea was to strike and retreat, hit the knees, use punch sequences to set up head kicks, and keep distance with front kicks. I trained a lot of calf and knee kicks, and not staying still. But once the fight started, I froze and took hits. I didn’t do what I was supposed to.”
When will Oliveira fight again?
The Guarujá, São Paulo native told AG Fight of his desire to return to the Octagon before the end of the year, possibly between November and December, though he declined to name a potential opponent.
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