Charles Oliveira graphic injury that cut him from UFC 294

Unfortunate news broke last night which upset the majority of the MMA world. Charles Oliveira’s highly-anticipated lightweight title rematch against Islam Makhachev was canceled after the challenger suffered a nasty cut in training.

Thankfully for the UFC 294 card, Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski came to terms on a deal and will now be the headlining bout on October 21. This will be the second time they’ve fought this year, though this time around the Australian will have just 10 days’ notice to prepare himself.

Following his withdrawal from the fight, Oliveira has spoken out about his absence from the huge Abu Dhabi event. The South American revealed it was a clash of heads during his final training session that caused the cut and an image has been circulating of just how bad the gash really is.

The cut that forced Charles Oliveira out of #UFC294

Brutal. pic.twitter.com/RIGbqOULYs

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) October 11, 2023

Although it was an aforementioned head clash that caused the deep cut, ‘Do Bronx’ is known to spar hard during training with his fellow Brazilians. Chute Boxe is stacked with killers who all put everything into each sparring session. This has caused him to be pulled from fights due to injury in the past, in which the intensity has accidentally caused unnecessary damage to the lightweight star.

Charles Oliveira will now be forced on the sidelines and will potentially miss his chance to avenge his most recent loss. The 33-year-old hadn’t lost in 11 fights over the course of four years prior to suffering defeat to Islam Makhachev.

Related: Charles Oliveira speaks out on UFC 294 title fight withdrawal

While he will remain one of the frontrunners to be next in line for a title shot, there are a number of contenders who are also in pole position to get their chance at UFC gold. Depending on the result of the upcoming Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski clash, the current BMF champion Justin Gaethje will be a viable option.

Another potential matchup for lightweight gold is Mateusz Gamrot. The Poland native earned back-to-back wins over Jalin Turner and Rafael Fiziev and was reportedly seen as the backup fighter for the UFC 294 headliner.