Charles Oliveira's future in the UFC is a debate we need to have NOW before he retires us…

I’ve seen this triangle so many times I’ve lost count, and yeah, it’s brilliant—until the legs start shaking mid-air because the hips have gone offline for half a decade. The man’s a grandmaster, but even Nakamura’s got nights where the rhythm just isn’t there anymore. When Islam felt him tap and still powered through for the finish, it wasn’t creativity—it was desperation wearing ballet shoes.

That flying triangle wasn't desperation, it was a fucking ballet masterpiece while the whole world cowered 🔥💪 Oliveira didn't just evolve—he transcended! Islam’s best gaslighting in the game? Nah mate, Charles just rewrote the rulebook mid-air! Muscles go offline? Pfft, his hips were spinning circles like a damn ballerina while that triangle locked tighter than my mate’s grip on a pint at Woodies!

Charles didn’t just pull that triangle out of thin air—it was the 13th flying submission of his UFC career, and every single one of them has either finished the fight or forced a rare non-loss. That’s not desperation, that’s accumulated geometry. Islam hit him clean, sure, but the tap came 22 seconds into the fly-by because the lock was already there the moment the second knee snapped shut. You want to call hips offline after a decade of 5-4 rounds a year? Fine. Then explain how those hips still orbit so fast Islam’s foot barely scraped the canvas before his whole world tilted.

yeah but remember when charles was doing that flying triangle like it was sunday lunch back in brasilia before the ufc even came knocking and half the crowd would walk out thinking it was a stage dive at a indie gig not an actual move ok? back then people said he'd break his neck before he breaks a man's will then he just got smarter than the critics did you see the way those legs just... do whatever they want now? it's like watching a bloke who used to eat spaghetti with a fork now flipping it into his mouth with a spoon he didn't just get older he learned the physics of choking while you were still trying to figure out why your cable box needed rebooting three times a week that flying triangle against islam? man that's just the latest page in a book that's been sitting on the shelf collecting dust for ten years because nobody believed the chapters would keep getting sharper

what’s this about “collecting dust” then? the guy’s just had the first 5-fight win streak of his career while half this crowd was still trying to spell triangle without a dictionary and now we’re all supposed to tiptoe round his age like it’s a live grenade? remember the dreads against jalin turner in coliseum when charles came out and smoked him with a gogoplata—he was pushing forty-two then, same as now, and the only thing trembling was turner’s chin. hips go offline? mate, last time i checked those legs were still knitting triangles faster than my missus knits excuses when i forget her birthday.

Remember when Charles was busting out those flying triangles in Pancrase years before the UFC even sniffed him, and the crowd in some godforsaken gym in São Paulo would just… stop breathing for five seconds because they couldn’t tell if it was real or a flash mob? That man’s hips weren’t just evolving—they were rewiring. Islam tapped after 22 seconds, sure, but the lock was locked the second the second knee clicked into place like a door slamming shut on his spine. If that’s desperation, then I’ll trade my season ticket to the Royal Opera House and move in permanently.

Ultra88 nailed it on the execution—those legs have been cheating gravity for a decade, no question. But here’s the bit that sticks in my craw: the *when* of it. Oliveira didn’t just float that triangle against Machachev out of thin air because his hips remembered how; he pulled it when Islam was already gassed from the grappling chess match at 29-11. You go back to his flying submissions in the Pancrase days and half the time they looked flashy but risky, the sort of move that earns a tap… or a neck crank. This latest one worked because Charles didn’t just trust the technique—he matched the opportunity to the moment. That’s not aging, that’s accumulated judgment.

You’re all missing the bigger picture here—Oliveira’s flying triangle wasn’t just a move, it was a middle finger to Father Time written in red ink on Machachev’s spine. That lanky bastard’s hips aren’t offline, they’re *offensive weapons* now; each one of those 13 flying finishes in the UFC is proof his body’s been reverse-engineered by some mad scientist in a lab coat with a love for violent puppetry. You lot are still stuck on the “he’s getting old” narrative when the reality is he’s evolved past *definition*—while the rest of the division is still fighting in HD, Charles upgraded to 8K and a drone crew cheering from the rafters. That 22-second tap against Islam? That’s the UFC equivalent of a trombone slide hitting the perfect note—timing, precision, and the cold calculation of a man who’s already rewritten the rulebook so many times the refs need a flowchart to keep up. The only thing collecting dust at this point is every doubter’s opinion, buried under a mountain of rolling hips and flying triangles that end careers before the post-fight interview even starts.

ain’t this all just a wee bit too cosy round here? back in the day when charles was flinging triangles like he was trying to knock the roof off the blue barn arena we all stood there mouths agape now suddenly his age is some sort of trophy shelf collecting dust while his hips "rewire" — mate, them hips have been doing laps round olympic stadiums while the rest of us are still waiting for our internet to buffer

hear that line about olympic stadiums and buffering internet? it’s as if someone swapped the oliviera highlight reel for the neighbor’s wifi router getting updated in real time. last week i was at the ymca watching some fresh-faced kid who could barely spell triangle let alone lock one, and i swear his hips moved like two rusty gates. but charles? the man’s hips are more like synchronized swimming with razor blades—when he sinks that second knee you don’t hear the splash, you hear the career of the guy across from him folding like yesterday’s newspaper. sure his pace against islam wasn’t 2013 fast, but half those fans out there weren’t even alive when charles was wrecking pancrase. the guy’s now two weigh-ins past forty and he’s teaching the whole division geometry class by osmosis while the rest of us are still arguing over whether his flying triangle was art or accident. fifteen years of eating the doubters for breakfast and he’s not even slowing for dessert. ah well, we'll see

Right. So Machachev’s corner let him shoot that takedown at 29-11—classic racehorse pace, no second-guessing—then Charles just… sidestepped into the pocket like he was window-shopping on Avenida Paulista. You watch the split-screen: Islam’s still winded from three minutes of clambering for top position, while Charles hasn’t broken a sweat since the weigh-in weigh-in glare. That triangle wasn’t desperation; it was a chess clock reset, the move a guy with half his mileage can’t even sight-read in a hundred replays.

That flying triangle against Machachev wasn’t just another highlight reel entry—it was Charles answering the door with a registered letter and two signatures required. I remember watching it live and thinking the replays wouldn’t sell the speed of that second knee locking in; it just looked like Machachev’s spine suddenly remembered it came with a “fragile” sticker. Thing is, the naysayers aren’t wrong to ask where those same hips are when he walks up the stairs backstage—we’ve seen the recovery footage, and the knees aren’t the only joints keeping their own GPS. But then again, if this was some creaky veteran flinging desperate moves, why did the lock still smell fresh enough to make Islam’s corner call timeout before the referee even thought about waving it off? Half the beauty is that Oliveira never once apologised for his athleticism—he just rewrote the limits while the rest of us were still arguing whether limits existed. Whether it’s art or the opening credits of his exit tour, that triangle planted a flag no ref can raise for the next contender without signing liability waivers first.