Charles Oliveira has the most submission finishes in UFC history and throughout his career, he’s created some truly memorable moments in the cage. He first started out his career as a BJJ competitor and was incredibly successful at the colored belt levels, even competing in the gi as well. Although he almost certainly could have made a huge impact in the world of professional grappling, Oliveira decided to focus on MMA in 2007 and made his amateur debut shortly after. He didn’t spend much time as an amateur though, as he won a single fight and then turned professional just a few months later.
Oliveira managed to fit 12 fights into the next 2 years and won every single one of them, finishing 11 of his opponents and quickly making a name for himself as an exciting and dynamic fighter. That was when he was signed to the UFC and also promoted to black belt in BJJ, a belt he now has three degrees on. Although Charles Oliveira was still registering a ton of finishes in his fights, his first few years in the UFC were not that consistent. He was creating highlight reel victories and earning ‘Performance of the Night’ bonuses, but he was also missing the featherweight limit and ending up getting finished himself in some fights.
He went 10-8 (1) in his first 7 years in the UFC and although he was always a fan-favorite with an exciting style, he wasn’t considered a title-contender at either featherweight or lightweight. Something happened in 2018 though, and Oliveira finally put everything together to make good on the amount of promise he showed throughout his career. He won an incredible 11 fights in a row with 10 finishes, shattering the records for most submission wins and most finishes in the UFC and winning the lightweight title in the process. He’s gone 1-1 since then and been replaced as the champion by Islam Makhachev, but he remains firmly in the title-picture and continues to extend the records he’s set.
At the age of 34, Oliveira is showing no signs of slowing down and is still submitting some of the best fighters in the lightweight division. It remains to be seen whether Oliveira can regain his status as a champion but he’s definitely got plenty of fights left in the tank and will likely be entertaining fans for several years to come. He has already etched his name in the MMA history books by setting the records he has, and his legacy as one of the greatest grapplers in the UFC history only continues to improve.
The compilation of the best finishes that Charles Oliveira has registered in the UFC was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of the UFC: