Charles Oliveira took the long road to winning a UFC championship. In fact, nobody in the history of the promotion has taken a longer road.
Oliveira became the 11th undisputed UFC champion at UFC 262 in Houston, where he TKO’d Michael Chandler in the second round to claim the vacant 155-pound title.
Just how long was “Do Bronx’s” journey to UFC gold? He made his UFC debut on August 1, 2010 at the age of 20. More than a decade and 28 fights later, Oliveira can finally call himself UFC champion.
Below is a list of fighters with the most UFC bouts taken to win gold, interim belts included.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, 10 fights
Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223.
Made UFC debut: January 20, 2012 – defeated Kamal Shalorus at UFC on FX 1
Won UFC gold: April 7, 2018 – defeated Al Iaquinta for vacant lightweight title at UFC 223
Tony Ferguson, 14 fights (interim title)
Tony Ferguson at UFC 216. (USA TODAY Sports)
Made UFC debut: June 4, 2011 – defeated Ramsey Nijem at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale
Won UFC gold: October 7, 2017 – defeated Kevin Lee for interim lightweight title at UFC 216
Robbie Lawler, 14 fights
Robbie Lawler at UFC 181.
Made UFC debut: May 10, 2002 – defeated Aaron Riley at UFC 37
Won UFC gold: December 6, 2014 – defeated welterweight champ Johnny Hendricks at UFC 181
Aljamain Sterling, 15 fights
Aljamain Sterling the day after UFC 259.
Made UFC debut: February 22, 2014 – defeated Cody Gibson at UFC 170
Won UFC gold: March 6, 2021 – defeated bantamweight champ Petr Yan (disqualification) at UFC 259
Jan Blachowicz, 15 fights
Jan Blachowicz at UFC 253.
Made UFC debut: October 4, 2014 – defeated Ilir Latifi at UFC Fight Night 53
Won UFC gold: September 27, 2020 – defeated Dominick Reyes for vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 253
Max Holloway, 16 fights
Max Holloway at UFC 206. (Tom Szczerbowski, USA TODAY Sports)
Made UFC debut: February 4, 2012 – lost to Dustin Poirier at UFC 143
Won UFC gold: December 10, 2016 – defeated Anthony Pettis for interim featherweight title at UFC 206; June 3, 2017 – won title unification against Jose Aldo at UFC 212
Rafael dos Anjos, 18 fights
Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185 (USA TODAY Sports).
Made UFC debut: November 15, 2008 – lost to Jeremy Stephens at UFC 91
Won UFC gold: March 14, 2015 – defeated lightweight champ Anthony Pettis at UFC 185
Dustin Poirier, 22 fights (interim title)
Dustin Poirier at UFC 236. (Getty Images)
Made UFC debut: Januuary 1, 2011 – defeated Josh Grispi at UFC 125
Won UFC gold: April 13, 2019 – defeated Max Holloway for interim lightweight title at UFC 236
Michael Bisping, 26 fights
Michael Bisping celebrates winning gold at UFC 199.
Made UFC debut: June 24, 2006 – defeated Josh Haynes at The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale
Won UFC gold: June 4, 2016 – defeated middleweight champ Luke Rockhold at UFC 199
Charles Oliveira, 28 fights
Charles Oliveira at UFC 262. (Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports)
Made UFC debut: August 1, 2010 – defeated Darren Elkins at UFC on Versus 2
Won UFC gold: May 15, 2021 – defeated Michael Chandler for vacant lightweight title at UFC 262