On August 3, UFC flyweight Allan Nascimento was found unresponsive after suffering an apparent heart attack in his sleep. Despite the medical team’s quick response, he was pronounced dead at the scene and the tragic news broke his close friend Charles Oliveira.
Nascimento trained closely alongside Oliveira, Elves Brener, and a powerhouse roster of fighters at Diego Lima’s Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil, where he also frequently cornered his teammates during their biggest fights
UFC CEO Dana White recently addressed the death during a press conference in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Oliveira is still struggling to move on after losing his close friend, leaving his rumored fight at UFC 331 in serious doubt.
Dana White Reacts to Allan Nascimento’s Tragic Death
Slightly more than a week after Allan Nascimento’s passing, Dana White broke his public silence on the tragedy during a media scrum in Las Vegas following a tour of the newly remodeled Meta Apex.
“I mean, it’s horrible,” White told reporters. “And I know that his whole crew and team were literally devastated. I mean, these guys were so upset. It’s just one of those freak, tragedy things that happened to a young guy that it shouldn’t happen to.”
The irony? Just two hours after sharing the UFC’s official tribute post, White had uploaded a photo of himself smoking a cigar with the caption “GREAT DAY!!” UFC lightweight Renato Moicano later called him out for his terrible timing.
However, the main tension has shifted to UFC 331. Arman Tsarukyan was heavily rumored to rematch Oliveira this September, but new reports confirm that Oliveira has changed his mind after losing his 34-year-old friend.
Allan Nascimento’s Death Puts Arman Tsarukyan vs. Charles Oliveira Fight in Doubt
The rumor of a highly anticipated rematch between Tsarukyan and Oliveira for UFC 331 first surfaced when UFC commentator Daniel Cormier broke the news on his YouTube channel. Cormier revealed that Tsarukyan had personally confirmed to him while in Abu Dhabi that he was officially locked in to face Oliveira in a non-title, five-round co-main event in Los Angeles.
However, plans reportedly fell through after Nascimento’s death. The sudden tragedy devastated the Chute Boxe camp, causing ‘Do Bronx’ to step away from the bout.
Last week, Oliveira posted in Portuguese, “Man I can’t believe it, it seems like a f****** lie brother, it’s crazy. I don’t even know how I’m going to get onto the mat and go to a fight knowing you’re not going to be there.”
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As a result, the UFC reshuffled the card. Tsarukyan will likely face rising knockout artist Mauricio Ruffy on short notice to preserve his own spot on the September lineup.
