Charles Oliveira will face Max Holloway in a rematch at UFC 326. The rematch that is set to take place after 11 years will main event of the show with Holloway’s BMF title on the line. The first fight took place in the featherweight division and ended abruptly after the Brazilian got injured. Oliveira said a victory over Holloway at UFC 326 will put him next in line for a lightweight title shot. But Robert Whittaker sees it differently. He pointed to Charles Oliveira’s fighting style, where he often absorbs significant damage.

Given Holloway’s elite boxing pedigree, Whittaker worries that if Oliveira chooses to stand and trade, “Do Bronx” could end up getting seriously hurt.

Robert Whittaker raises alarm for Charles Oliveira before Max Holloway rematch

“I don’t think Max can lose that title. You can’t be up five rounds and then point to the center of the Octagon – nobody else does that,” Robert Whittaker said, talking about Holloway’s signature move. “Nobody else can. They don’t have the cojones. I worry for Oliveira, but Max is a better striker. Oliveira is gonna get hurt, man. He gets hurt in a lot of fights.”

The BMF champion first pointed to the floor and gave his opponent a chance to trade in 2016 versus Ricardo Lamas, but his point down and subsequent KO of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 was the real moment where it turned iconic.

When asked, Oliveira would accept a similar challenge from Holloway at UFC 326. Oliveira made his intentions clear. “It doesn’t matter, I’ll be there, I break people mentally. I don’t run from a fight, I seek it out. I’m hunting the whole time. It makes no difference to me.”

Although Oliveira fights fearlessly, that might not be the best idea against such a sharper boxer like Holloway. While Oliveira pointed out his lack of strategy for losing against Ilia Topuria, he plans to knock out Holloway, which might go against him.

On the other hand, Holloway has previously stated about targeting a submission victory against the Brazilian. While the Hawaiian is known for his striking exchanges, taking Oliveira on the ground would be risky. If Oliveira secures 2 or 3 takedowns across five rounds, he can exhaust Holloway, while the submission threat could loom over the BMF champion.

Charles Oliveira eyes UFC 326 as a gateway to gold while predicting Ilia Topuria’s lightweight exit

Charles Oliveira hopes to earn a shot at the UFC lightweight championship with a UFC 326 win over BMF titleholder Max Holloway on March 7 in Las Vegas. He believes that Ilia Topuria will no longer be the 155-pound champion by that time.

The UFC has not revealed any matchups for its upcoming event, which will take place on June 14 at the White House. “Do Bronx” thinks the event will showcase a lightweight unification match between Topuria and interim champion Justin Gaethje.

“I’m one fight away [from a title shot], but right now I’m focused on one thing only: Max Holloway,” said Charles. “But if we’re going to speculate like everyone else, I think the White House event will have Topuria and Gaethje. That’s my take. And I think Topuria has every chance in the world to knock Gaethje out and keep the belt. Then I think by the end of the year he fights Makhachev for the [welterweight] title and vacates his belt.”

“I think that Topuria vs. Islam fight happens, but not at the White House,” Oliveira said. “I think it happens later in the year. It’s definitely something Topuria wants, and Islam has been talking about it too, so it’s a fight that will make a lot of money and a lot of people will want to see.”

Topuria secured the featherweight championship by defeating Alexander Volkanovski via knockout in 2024 and successfully defended his title against Holloway before moving up to lightweight in 2025 to win the vacant championship by defeating Oliveira in the first round. Oliveira expects to reclaim his title because Topuria might be unavailable after the second half of 2026.

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