Photo: Josh Hedges
At just 20 yearsof age, Charles Oliveira couldn’t have had a better organizational debut at UFC on Versus 2, this Sunday in California. Besides his win keeping with his pure-Jiu-Jitsu style in finishing off his opponent Darren Elkins, the armbar 41 seconds of the fight yielded him the submission of the night bonus award.
“I was prepared. I knew the guy was good at wrestling, that he’d try to take me down any way he could. I was waiting to land a fist or, if he got me down, use my Jiu-Jitsu. It all worked out,” remarked Charles do Bronx behind the scenes.
A religious man, Charles spoke of who his greatset ally was in dealing with the crowd favoritism against him.
“God is helping me a lot. I’m used to the crowd being against me, but I believe in Jesus Christ. Every time I go in, they boo me. But after the fight, that changes. It was like that today and, God willing, it will continue to be like that,” he says.
And the help from above is much needed in dealing with the UFC lightweight division, one of the thorniest in the promotion.