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With his days of making difficult weight cuts to featherweight likely behind him, Charles Oliveira made a convincing statement in his return to lightweight Saturday at UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York.

Oliveira (22-7) moved into a second place tie for the most submissions in UFC history with nine as he thoroughly dominated Will Brooks, sending the former Bellator champion to his second straight loss.

A native of Brazil, Oliveira took down Brooks with ease in the early going and instantly transitioned to his back. Although Brooks (18-3) was able to reach his feet, Oliveira stayed clinging to his back and locked in a rear-naked choke.

“I trained a lot to be able to execute that move. I’ve done this submission before in the UFC and I heard my corners yelling for me to hold the position and not to give it up and he tapped,” Oliveira said. “Everybody said that I have a lot of pressure on me for this fight to win, but it’s not real and I felt very comfortable. I just changed gyms, my daughter was just born and I have a lot of excitement to help my family. I want to fight and I want to win.”  

Brooks, 30, did his best to fight the submission off before tapping at 2:30 of the opening round.

“I’m the best there is in jiu-jitsu,” Oliveira said through a translator. “I brought everything and was able to do everything I came here to do. I’m the best in jiu-jitsu.”

Brooks fell to 1-2 since making his UFC debut last July. He was knocked out in his last outing by Alex Oliveira in October.

Charles Oliveira, 27, remains just two submission wins behind Royce Gracie’s record of 11.

“I have to talk to my team, but I want to stay at 145-pounds. It’s my division and I feel more comfortable. I’ve had problems before and I didn’t make the weight, but right now I have a lot of professional guys behind me to help me that I didn’t have before. I want to get the belt at 145-pounds.”