After some mystery surrounding the return of former lightweight
champion Charles
Oliveira, the UFC confirmed over the weekend that “Do Bronx”
will face Islam
Makhachev for the vacant 155-pound belt in the UFC 280 main
event on Oct. 22.
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Unlike most Brazilian fans who were dreaming about the possibility
of seeing Oliveira finally compet in a title bout on home soil,
former trainer Flavio
Alvaro is not upset with the UFC’s decision.
“It could be in Russia, Dagestan, Singapore or Sao Paulo — the
result would be the same,” Alvaro told Sherdog.com. “Makhachev will
be beaten up like an old suitcase. People think it´s easy to take
Charles down. That´s a huge mistake. I see Makhachev becoming
desperate to get a takedown after being hit and then being
submitted.”
Alvaro, who gave Oliveira his first pair of MMA gloves,
believes happiness is the key to the former champion’s success.
“When Charles is happy, I don’t see any lightweight in the world
beating him,” Alvaro said. “I would say Nurmagomedov could give a
real fight to Charles, but he would end up being knocked out.”
Retired since 2017 with a total of 60 fights on his official record
— Alvaro says he has more that are not registered on Sherdog.com’s
Fight Finder — “The Legendary” was still in his prime when a young
Oliveira showed up to train at Macaco Gold Team and caught his
attention.
“He was really talented,” Alvaro said. “We met few weeks ago in
Vegas, and we recalled the day I gave him his first MMA gloves,
right after I left the ring of Max Fight in Campinas after a win
and told him to keep training hard and he would go far.”
It was not the only time the careers of Alvaro and Oliveira crossed
paths. A few months later, Alvaro was set to take part in a
welterweight grand prix at Predador FC 9, but he broke his hand a
few days before the tournament while training with UFC heavyweight
Gabriel
Gonzaga.
“Charles replaced me, weighing [158 pounds] while wearing
jeans, pants and a T-shirt,” Alvaro said. “He beat all three much
heavier and more experienced oponents via submission or
knockout.”
Alvaro grew closer to Oliveira after he became the grappling coach
for the Chute Boxe Diego Lima camp.
“When Diego Lima started the team, I was the one who took care of
the ground game,” he said. “By that time Charles always came to
train with us with his first master Erikson. During that time, I
left Chute Boxe to work with Fight Nerds, but we maintained a great
relationship.”
From 2011 to 2015, Alvaro lost once in 19 fights and at the time
was considered one of the best welterweights in Brazil. According
to him, his decision to participate in the bloody Rio Heroes
tournament prevented him from reaching his dream of fighting in
UFC.
“I knew that participating in that real life ‘Fight Club’ could
cause some issues, but in Rio Heroes … after winning tournaments I
was able to win $40,000 and buy my mother´s house. Ms. Geni was
everything for me, to be able to give her a house few years before
she passed away was the most important achievement of my life, even
if it cost me the possibility of being in the UFC.”
Now, Alvaro expects another student of his to soon rule the UFC’s
middleweight division.
“Caio
Borralho was made for the UFC. This guy is evolving so fast —
technically, physically and mentally,” Alvaro said. “Besides that,
he speaks English very well. But we are not in a hurry. In two or
three wins he will be at the very top of the division. Take note,
this guy will go far.”