Ahead of UFC 162 appearance, Charles Oliveira signs new four-fight deal

Brazilian featherweight Charles Oliveira (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will soon enter the biggest fight of his young career, and he’ll do so with a new contract in hand.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed with Oliveira rep Wade Hampel that “Do Bronx” recently signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC.

UFC officials recently announced Oliveira’s next appearance will be a fight with former UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar at July’s UFC 162 event in Las Vegas.

At just 23 years old, Oliveira already has eight UFC appearances under his belt (though a June 2011 win over Nik Lentz doesn’t count on his official record since it was later overturned to a no contest due to an illegal knee).

He opened his octagon run with back-to-back “Submission of the Night” wins over “The Ultimate Fighter 8? winner Efrain Escudero and Darren Elkins but then struggled in losses to top contenders Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller and elected to drop to 145 pounds.

Oliveira opened his featherweight run with submission wins over “The Ultimate Fighter 12? winner Jonathan Brookins and Eric Wisely. The Wisley victory also earned the Brazilian a third career “Submission of the Night” bonus.

Oliveira stumbled again this past September, missing weight for a UFC 152 bout with Cub Swanson and then suffering a first-round knockout loss. However, the bout with Edgar provides an opportunity for a signature win.

For the latest on UFC 162, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.