Charles Oliveira ready to give up BMF belt before UFC 335

Charles Oliveira says he is ready to give up the BMF belt if the title is only about two fighters trading punches. In an interview with MMA Fighting published Monday, the Brazilian answered critics of his grappling-heavy win over Max Holloway and previewed his title defense against Diego Lopes in the UFC 335 main event on Dec. 12 in Las Vegas.

The criticism of the win over Max Holloway

Oliveira won the BMF belt at UFC 326 on March 7 at T-Mobile Arena. He beat Holloway by unanimous decision, 50-45 on all three scorecards, and spent much of the five rounds on top, taking the Hawaiian down whenever the distance closed.

Many fans expected a different kind of fight. The BMF title has become linked to all-out striking wars, and plenty of viewers wanted to see both men stand and trade from start to finish. Oliveira’s game plan drew criticism and the “boring” label.

Oliveira pushed back. “If I go out there and trade punches and get knocked out, I’m stupid because I could have used jiu-jitsu,” he said. “If I go out there and use jiu-jitsu, then it sucks.” He added: “What I want to know is what’s on Sherdog. It’s right there, a win or a loss. That’s all I want to know.”

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What Oliveira said about the BMF belt

Oliveira said nobody in the division has done to Holloway what he did, standing and on the ground. “My best punches landed, my best kicks landed, and every takedown I went for, I got him down,” he said. “My ground control was 100 percent.”

Then came the line of the interview. “Oh, but the BMF fight is about going there and breaking each other up. Then, honestly, brother, here’s the belt. Take it somewhere else. That belt is not for me.”

He also said he is not in the UFC to please anyone, and that a loss to Mateusz Gamrot or Holloway would have cost him the money he makes today and maybe his place in the promotion.

The jiu-jitsu of Oliveira and Diego Lopes

There is a jiu-jitsu story under all of this. At 37-11, Oliveira is the most prolific finisher in UFC history, with 17 submission wins and 21 total finishes, according to the UFC. His most recent submission came in October 2025, a second-round rear-naked choke on Gamrot.

Against Holloway, he hunted the finish too. He looked for the rear-naked choke more than once, but Holloway survived to the final bell.

Across the cage will be a fighter from the same world. Diego Lopes (28-8) has 12 wins by submission and 12 by knockout. A jiu-jitsu black belt and coach, he even registered for this year’s IBJJF World Master Championship before pulling out to focus on his next fight.

Lopes moves up from featherweight to lightweight after two title losses to Alexander Volkanovski, in April 2025 and January 2026. Volkanovski, by the way, defends his title against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 this Saturday. Between those losses, Lopes knocked out Jean Silva, and in June he stopped Steve Garcia by TKO at the UFC event at the White House.

How Oliveira plans to approach UFC 335

Oliveira said he is going into the fight “with absolutely no pressure” and wants to show a better version of himself than the one who fought Gamrot and Holloway. “Diego has jiu-jitsu, he has wrestling, he has aggressive hands, and he can knock people out,” he said. “But I’m definitely not worried about what Diego can do.”

He also made it clear he will not stand in the middle of the Octagon to see who falls first. “We’re going to fight MMA. What is MMA? It’s a mix of martial arts,” he said.

The message fits what Oliveira has been saying since the fight was booked. Last week, he called out Justin Gaethje and set his sights on the lightweight title. Days later, he picked Carlos Prates to beat Islam Makhachev.

What do you think: should the BMF belt reward only striking, or is Oliveira right to use his jiu-jitsu to win? Tell us in the comments.

Read more:

• Charles Oliveira eyes title shot, wants answers from Gaethje
• Charles Oliveira picks Carlos Prates to beat Islam Makhachev
• Volkanovski vows to finish unbeaten Evloev at UFC 333