[8] Oliveira started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu in his youth, achieving multiple championship titles before transitioning to MMA in 2007.

[5][9] Oliveira holds multiple UFC records, notably the most submission wins in the organization's history at 16, most finishes at 20 and most bonuses at 20.

[10][11] From humble origins, Oliveira was born in the favela of Vicente de Carvalho in the town of Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil on 17 October 1989.

[12] At age 7, he was diagnosed with heart murmur and rheumatic fever, and told by a doctor that he couldn't play sports.

At 12 years old, Paulo, a neighbor, introduced him to a Brazilian jiu-jitsu gym where trainer Roger Coelho gave free classes to low-income people.

[5] In January 2020 Oliveira fought a grappling superfight at the MMA event SFT 20 against Lucas Barros from Demian Maia Jiu-Jitsu.

[14][15] Oliveira was booked to compete against Cristiano Souza in the main event of Gold Talents BJJ 2 on August 6, 2023.

[16] Fellow UFC veteran Renan Barão announced in July 2023 that he had a grappling match with Oliveira arranged for a future BJJ Stars event.

[18] In March 2008, Oliveira made his professional debut at the Predador Fight Championship promotion, where his master Jorge Patino had previously participated at Predator FC 6.

[20] In the first round, Oliveira defeated Jackson Pontes via submission (rear-naked choke), which advanced him to the second stage of the tournament.

[20] Oliveira debuted at lightweight by defeating future UFC fighter Mehdi Baghdad in December 2008 at the first event of promotion "Kawai Arena".

After that he entered into another tournament at "Korea Fight", where he defeated Daniel Fernandes and Eliene Silva via KO and TKO, respectively.

[9] Oliveira submitted three opponents in a row over the next few months (including Bellator veteran Alexandre Bezerra),[21] and won a split decision over Eduardo Pachu.

[9] Oliveira once again competed twice in one night, in February 2010, defeating Rosenildo Rocha via submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round and Diego Bataglia via KO (slam).

Team Ortiz Finale,[23] but was rescheduled for UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko due to visa issues.

Oliveira was taken down early by Elkins but quickly attempted a triangle choke, before transitioning to an armbar, forcing the tap out.

[25] Oliveira next fought against Efrain Escudero at UFC Fight Night 22 replacing an injured Matt Wiman.

[33] However, Oliveira instead faced Donald Cerrone on August 14, 2011, at UFC on Versus 5, replacing an injured Paul Taylor.

[38] Oliveira won the fight via reverse calf slicer submission in the first round, marking the first time the technique had been used to finish an opponent in UFC history.

Subsequently, he was initially forced to surrender 20 percent of his purse to his opponent Nik Lentz and the bout was changed to a catchweight affair.

[63] He lost the fight via TKO in the first round, after suffering an apparent neck/shoulder injury while attempting a takedown, and was rendered unable to continue.

[68] In the lead up to the fight Oliveira missed weight – his third time in his UFC career – for the bout and it was subsequently contested at a catchweight.

Patino is still his BJJ coach but now he is complemented with Chute Boxe's trademark aggressive Muay Thai style.

[91] He won the fight in the second round after stunning Teymur with an upward elbow and punches before applying an anaconda choke.

[119] As a result, upon commencement of the fight, Oliveira was officially stripped of the championship, and only Gaethje was eligible to win the title.

[121] After being knocked down, Oliveira dropped Gaethje with a right hand and rallied to win the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round, and was declared the number one contender to the UFC Lightweight Championship.

[125][127] Daniel Cormier, Junior dos Santos, and Glover Teixeira criticized stripping a champion over half a pound, an amount that is acceptable for non-title fights, as excessive.

[135] Oliveira was booked to challenge Islam Makhachev in a rematch for the lightweight world championship at UFC 294 on October 21, 2023.

[138] Despite having two close submission attempts, he lost the bout via split decision in this UFC lightweight title eliminator.

[146] In February 2023, Oliveira announced that he was joining OnlyFans to provide a subscription-based service to his fans, where they can see his workouts and training regime among other content.