As soon as it was known Rafael Fiziev was injured and out of his Oct. 11 UFC Fight Night main event bout with Charles Oliveira, Mateusz Gamrot immediately offered to step in on short notice.
The UFC announced Tuesday evening the No. 8 lightweight contender will get his wish and face Oliveira at UFC Rio.
The 34-year-old Polish fighter is 8-3 in the UFC, has won four of his past five including a decision over Ludovit Klein in late May, and holds notable wins over former champion Rafael dos Anjos plus current top contender Arman Tsarukyan.
“I'm ready and hungry to jump in,” Gamrot posted to social media after Fiziev’s injury was initially reported. “I told UFC straight — I want to face you in your own house. This will be a true masterclass on the ground, and I’m ready to prove it. … I hear you’re worried about my style, even though you had a full training camp. I had none, and still I’m ready to step into the cage.”
Oliveira is a former lightweight champion set to compete in his home country for the first time in 5.5 years. The popular Brazilian who holds the UFC record for most stoppage wins (20) and most submission wins (16) last competed there in March of 2020 when he defeated Kevin Lee at an event that did not have any fans in attendance due to COVID restrictions.
Overall, Oliveira is 6-0 in the UFC when fighting in Brazil with a combined seven performance bonuses in those wins (six Performance of the Night awards plus one Fight of the Night).
The 35-year-old has alternated wins and losses since 2022 and is coming off a devastating knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in their vacant UFC 317 title fight in June. He is currently the No. 4-ranked contender in the 155-pound division.
UFC Rio is scheduled to take place at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro and will mark the organization’s first card at that venue since UFC 301.
Others matchups currently expected to happen at the event:
-- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Montel Jackson
-- Gabriel Bonfim vs. Randy Brown
-- Jhonata Diniz vs. Mario Pinto
-- Valter Walker vs. Mohammed Usman
-- Jafel Filho vs. Clayton Carpenter
-- Lucas Almeida vs. Michael Aswell
-- Vitor Petrino vs. Thomas Petersen
-- Beatriz Mesquita vs. Irina Alekseeva
-- Ricardo Ramos vs. Kaan Ofli
-- Lucas Rocha vs. Stewart Nicoll
-- Julia Polastri vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
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