UFC 294’s main event recently saw a huge shuffle. Former champion Charles Oliveira is out of his rematch against Islam Makhachev due to an injury. Instead, it will be Alexander Volkanovski who will run it back against the lightweight champion in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, ‘Do Bronx’ opened up about his injury situation on social media.

Charles Oliveira had a chance at redemption against Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s protégé at UFC 294. But an untimely injury just less than a couple of days before his big-money fight spoiled all those months of his hard work for the event. Let’s see what the Brazilian had to say about his predicament.

Charles Oliveira apologizes for his UFC 294 exit

‘Do Bronx’, after the news broke out about his pullout from UFC 294, took to social media to address his fans. Without any fuss, he straight away mentioned about inability to compete. Charles Oliveira said, “My family is passing by to give you a message. I think some of you already know. I am out of UFC Abu Dhabi, which is going to happen now.”

Furthermore, he described the situation that led him to suffer an injury. Charles Oliveira was having his last training session in Brazil before leaving to go to the UAE. During that session, he unfortunately suffered a big cut on his head, for which ‘Do Bronx’ had to get eight or nine stitches.

“Today in my last training here in Brazil, to be able to travel, I ended up suffering a head injury in my training, where I had a deep cut, I think I took 8 [or] 9 points [stitches], something like that,” said Oliveira.

Furthermore, Charles Oliveira also mentioned the severity of the injury. It will take some time to recover and for that reason, the former champion has decided to withdraw from UFC 294. “It’s a very deep cut to be able to fight, to be able to recover in this little time I have, and to be able to make a great fight,” said Oliveira. Incidentally, the decision to pull out of the Islam Makhachev fight came after a chat he had with the UFC brass.

Oliveira’s team and the UFC had a chat before the decision to pull out was confirmed

‘Do Bronx’, in the video, mentioned that he did not withdraw from the fight right away. After careful consideration and a conversation with the people in charge at the UFC, Oliveira decided it was better to not fight this time and instead, get fully fit for the next fight. He said, “The team, along with the UFC, have decided to leave the fight and be 100 percent ready for the next fight.”

Charles Oliveira also stressed the fact that the main event at UFC 294 is not a small fight. It is a big-money title fight, and he refrained from competing in it since he was not at his 100 percent. “Everybody knows how important this fight is. It’s not just a fight, it’s a title fight. So there were big things involved,” Oliveira added.

Read More: Dana White Confirms Charles Oliveira Replacement at UFC 294 as Alexander Volkanovski Takes On Islam Makhachev for the 155Lbs Title on Short Notice

Injuries are a part of this sport, much like any other sport. There have been several occasions when fighters get hurt during training sessions, which led them to opt out of the fight. However, Dana White was in luck since Alexander Volkanovski stepped up and will now fight Islam Makhachev in a rematch, just as he wished. We will have to see how things unfold in the days to come.

Watch This Story: Is the Khamzat Chimaev vs. Paulo Costa Fight Happening on UFC 294?