Charles Oliveira reacts to UFC 317 loss: 'It wasn't how we wanted it to be'
Charles Oliveira kept it brief in the statements he released in the hours that followed his UFC 317 title fight loss to Ilia Topuria.
In addition to a brief statement posted to X that simply read "My apologies," Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) went a tad more in depth on Instagram.
"It wasn't how we wanted it to be, but for the best, I want to thank everyone for the affection and wonderful energy," Oliveira wrote. "God bless you all."
Oliveira, 35, was violently knocked out by Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0) at the 2:27 mark into their vacant lightweight championship main event bout Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He remained on the canvas for a couple minutes following the sequence, but was back on his feet for the official decision's reading.
The loss for Oliveira was his third in his most recent five outings. It was the first time he'd been finished with strikes since he was bludgeoned by Paul Felder elbows in December 2017.
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