Charles Oliveira Accused of Ruining Dana White’s BMF Belt by Refusing to “Talk Sh-T”

Charles Oliveira’s reign as BMF titleholder has come under fresh scrutiny from Dan Hooker. The Brazilian’s performance against Max Holloway at UFC 326, where he captured the BMF belt, had already drawn criticism. Many felt Oliveira tarnished the belt’s image of symbolic violence by relying on his grappling to secure a unanimous decision victory rather than finishing his opponent. However, Hooker’s accusation that Oliveira is ruining the belt goes beyond that. ‘The Hangman’ has an issue with ‘Do Bronx’ being unable to “talk s—t.”

“It was cool for a bit, and then he kind of made it not cool,” Hooker told Submission Radio. “I think he killed it.”

“You know where they f—ed it up? They should have kept it like Nate Diaz, Masvidal kind of s–t. They completely f—ed it when they were like – They had badass motherf—ers fighting for it like that, but then it should be the guys that want to throw down and just talk shit as well. That was kind of like me, Bobby Green, could lose 20 times and he’s still a BMF contender. Then they had Max do it, and he’s like the nicest guy in the f—ing world.” 

Dan Hooker’s disdain stems from his belief that Oliveira is too nice to hold the BMF belt. The Kiwi firmly established that a fighter who holds the BMF title should possess a certain level of brashness and be capable of talking trash to his opponents, qualities he feels Oliveira lacks. 

Interestingly, ‘The Hangman’ isn’t entirely wrong about Oliveira’s reluctance to trash-talk.

Madison Square Garden NEW YORK CITY, NY -NOVEMBER 16:Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler meet in the octagon for a 3-round bout for UFC309 – Jones vs Miocic at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City, NY Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages Louis Grasse / SPP PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxBRAxMEX Copyright: xLouisxGrassex/xSPPx spp-en-LoGr-lrg2411164271670_UFCVegas309

At the UFC 326 press conference, Oliveira explained why he avoided the “s–t talking”. The former lightweight champion admitted that he refused to engage in any verbal exchanges out of respect for his opponent, and to set an example for the kids who would be watching the fights—a philosophy Hooker completely disagrees with. 

In fact, the 36-year-old brought up Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz, who originally contested for the BMF belt at UFC 244. Hooker argued that when Dana White introduced the title with two of the most notorious fighters competing for it, the belt represented unfiltered violence and trash talk. 

“Talk s–t. Say you’re going to knock the other guy’s head off, that was like our belt,” Hooker added. “That was the guys whose careers are a f–g mess. ‘Gamebred’ was hot and cold for a minute, Nate Diaz, all our records are a f—g mess. It’s going to be a lot harder for us to get our hands on the nice, shiny, clean one. That’s what I’m saying, they let too many nice guys have a crack.”  

‘The Hangman’s criticism of Charles Oliveira was more subjective than it initially sounded. The Kiwi’s accusations against ‘Do Bronx’ reflected the broader debate over how the BMF championship has lost its original meaning after nice guys like Oliveira claimed it. He didn’t imply the Brazilian was damaging the title’s standing.

However, this isn’t the first time Dan Hooker has taken a dig at the Brazilian.

After the Brazilian captured the BMF belt at UFC 326, he broke down in tears during the title presentation, as his parents had travelled to the United States for the first time to watch him fight. However, the Kiwi wasn’t impressed by Oliveira’s emotional display.

“Crying while receiving the BMF is g–y,” Hooker wrote on X. “BMF doesn’t exist anymore; it died with those b–h a–s tears,” he added in a follow-up post.

Oliveira addressed Hooker’s tirade at the UFC 326 post-fight press conference. However, rather than firing back with an angry response, the Brazilian suggested that Hooker was “in love” with him. 

The BMF title will be on the line again later this year, with Oliveira set to defend his belt against Diego Lopes at UFC 335 on December 12. And Dan Hooker has some thoughts about that matchup, too. 

Dan Hooker on Charles Oliveira vs. Diego Lopes BMF fight 

Continuing his criticism of the BMF belt, Dan Hooker said he simply doesn’t understand why the UFC continues to promote the title while Oliveira holds it. Despite this, ‘The Hangman’ believes Oliveira’s fight against Diego Lopes in the UFC 335 main event could still deliver an entertaining showdown.

“For some reason, they’re adamant on this BMF belt sticking around and just having another belt to put up for grabs, but yeah, I like that fight,” Hooker said. “I feel like Diego Lopes is a strong contender for that. As he says, he doesn’t feel like he’s going to get another crack at Volk. He doesn’t feel like it’s just around the corner, so I like the fight, definitely.”  

Diego Lopes has already made it clear that he expects a “BMF-style” war against Charles Oliveira, setting the expectation that he doesn’t want a technical contest. Plus, the Mexican-Brazilian revealed that he expects his fight against Oliveira to end in a finish rather than go the distance.

Now, whether Charles Oliveira eventually makes a heel turn or sticks to his nice-guy image will become clearer as the date of his fight approaches.

The post Charles Oliveira Accused of Ruining Dana White’s BMF Belt by Refusing to “Talk Sh-T” appeared first on EssentiallySports.