Charles Oliveira: UFC contract negotiations on hold during pandemic, but will ‘definitely’ re-sign

Charles Oliveira holds the record for most submission victories in UFC history. | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Charles Oliveira put himself in excellent position to renegotiate a new deal by choking Kevin Lee with a guillotine at UFC Brasilia on March 14. He completed his UFC contract with seven straight wins in less than two years.

With seven finishes in a row, including first-round stoppages against Clay Guida, Jim Miller and Jared Gordon, “do Bronx” puts the future of his MMA career in the hands of his coaches and managers Diego Lima and Jorge Patino “Macaco.”

“I’m not even worried about it,” said Oliveira, who’s currently ranked as one of the best lightweights in the company. “‘Macaco,’ Lima and I sat down after the event and talked a lot. We know the wonderful moment I’m living right now; God has blessed me a lot, and I said I’d leave it up to my manager and wouldn’t worry about it.”

The coronavirus pandemic that forced the UFC to cancel several cards has also turned the promotion’s focus away from contract negotiations, and Oliveira understands that fact. UFC officials are currently working on putting an event together for May 9, and the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace will patiently wait for his time to negotiate a new deal.

“We’re going through very difficult times with the coronavirus, so it’s in (my managers’) hands,” he told MMA Fighting. “‘Macaco’ called me 15 of 20 days after the event and said he spoke with (UFC matchmaker) Sean (Shelby), and Sean said they would wait for this whole coronavirus thing to be over to sit and talk. We know the contract with the UFC is over, but it will definitely be renewed.”

Oliveira called for a top-5 opponent in his return to the Octagon minutes after his win over Lee inside an empty arena in Brasilia. For now, the Chute Boxe talent is “cool, just waiting.”

“I want this whole (pandemic) to be over so we can get back to our normal lives and then we will definitely renew our contract,” he said. “That’s something good for me.”