UFC 294: Charles Oliveira Survives Early Knockdowns To Submit Justin Gaethje In Spectacular First-Round Finish In Phoenix – Daily Mail

By Will Griffee For Mailonline

Charles Oliveira rose from the octagon floor to submit Justin Gaethje with an incredible first-round finish at UFC 294.

Having been branded a ‘quitter’ by the American in the lead-up to their encounter, the Brazilian showed he is anything but, digging deep to send Gaethje flying backwards before leaping on him and executing yet another submission, his 17th in the UFC.

Oliveira was unceremoniously stripped of his lightweight title for missing weight by half-a-pound and appeared fuelled by a sense of injustice, immediately leaping over the cage to confront UFC president Dana White once he had squeezed his opponent unconscious.

White stood firm in the face of Oliveira’s protestations and insisted the charismatic 32-year-old is now the No 1 contender and must win another fight to reclaim his belt.

Oliveira claims that the scales provided by the UFC the night before the weigh-ins were faulty and he was at the limit the night before what should have been a formality in the morning.

As it happened, he was 155.5-lbs, meaning the belt was taken off him. Had Justin Gaethje won, he would have been the legitimate champion but it was another crushing blow at the highest level for ‘The Highlight’.

Gaethje was well beaten by Khabib Nurmagomedov in his first title shot and another first-round finish here, this time in front of his home fans, will sting.

– dailymail.co.uk