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Charles Oliveira received a hero’s welcome to Rio as he bounced back from his devastating title-fight loss to Ilia Topuria only months ago with a flawless submission victory over Mateusz Gamrot. This now marks the second week in a row with a Brazilian fan favorite getting a dominant victory, responding to the criticism of Brazilian MMA in 2025. Regardless, we have a few controversies to tend to.
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Lucas Almeida’s Broken Hand as the Antagonist
Following the ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday Night, thousands of pundits online began to zoom in on Lucas Almeida’s right hand. Visibly swollen, almost as if it had a hidden tennis ball inside of it, many grew concerned that the Brazilian would be fighting compromised.
If Almeida was allowed to fight, this means that he passed pre-fight medical physical examinations. This is a common process in every fight, where fighters are checked for any potential issues, which include contagious illnesses and even broken bones. If the commission then deems a fighter as unable to continue, he will be pulled from the fight.
Almeida’s hand was visibly an issue during the fight, with no strikes thrown with his dominant, yet broken right hand, and basically no protection whilst using it. A Round 1 KO for his opponent Michael Aswell became obvious as the fight quickly progressed.
The betting lines also proved a massive increase in value for Aswell, as bettors began piling money as they noticed the visible hand injury. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some further investigation into the matter, as fighting with such a public injury could lead to potential corruption, not to mention a lack of physical safety for fighters themselves.
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Joel Alvarez wins by Decision, but was it the right call?
Joel Alvarez came into this fight against Vicente Luque as a dangerous favorite, moving up a weight-class, with a 100% Finish Rate. Earlier in the first round, a left hook landed on Luque, with the thumb landing flush inside of Luque’s eye. Luque immediately goes to the mat, holding his eye.
Understandably, the Brazilian thinks he got poked in the eye. The issue, however, presents itself while on the replay, referee Osiris Maia is notified that it was a legal and clean punch landed on the Brazilian, meaning that it should have been a TKO win for Alvarez. Maia even extends himself as to motion with his hands that the fight is over, only for the fight to be resumed seconds later.
This situation was similar to the one of Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, a little over two years ago, where Moreno’s knuckle landed on Figueiredo whilst punching him, leading to a swollen eye and Doctor’s Stoppage. While anti-climatic, this would have been the correct decision.
Again, if a fighter believes he has won the fight, the adrenaline dump creates a massive impact when then resuming the fight, similarly to what we saw happen to Jake Matthews in Perth only a few weeks ago. Fortunately, Alvarez was still able to get his hand raised, though his perfect 100% Finish Rate is now slightly dented.
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Deiveson Figueiredo defeats Montel Jackson (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
A huge betting underdog, Deiveson Figueiredo made a significant statement, taking on blazing hot prospect Montel Jackson, riding a 6 Fight Win Streak. Jackson Pundits pointed to the age of Figgy, claiming his age and durability was now becoming a negative factor, considering his last two performances. Figgy Pundits analyzed more into the skillset of both fighters, believing the path of victory for Figgy was ever present.
The fight is best described as luke-warm. Round 1 was the swing round, with judge Fabio Alves giving it for Jackson. Both men landed 8 strikes each in this round, however the former champ’s takedown entries allowed him to gather 1 Full Minute of control time.
The second and third rounds were similarly close, though it seemed Figgy’s takedown entries nullified the movement of Montel Jackson, allowing him to keep himself safe, while at the same time landing enough strikes to sway the judges their direction.
Overall, when fighting in an opponent’s homecourt, you may expect closer decisions to be swayed to the local fighter, however in this case, the sole judge that awarded it for Montel Jackson was Brazilian Native, Fabio Alves. Personally, the experience of Figgy made the difference here, though it was in fact a closer fight that neither man should be too comfortable with.
As a fan watching it live, I must say it was rewarding watching the God of War get back on the win column, without any dangerous scares. Of course, Oliveira capped the night with a beautiful win, thankfully with no controversies involved.
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