Vinicius Oliveira is setting his sights sky-high. His debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship last Saturday was nothing short of spectacular.
Oh, and by the way, have you seen this?
He faced Bernardo Sopai, another newcomer, at UFC Fight Night 238. Despite a rocky start, Oliveira turned the tables with a stunning flying knee knockout in the last round.
Then, out of nowhere, “Lok Dog” threw down the gauntlet at bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov. Both warriors shared the card that night. Nurmagomedov, for his part, overcame an early scare to clinch a decisive victory over Bekzat Almakhan.
While soaking in the aftermath of his fight, Oliveira had his eyes on Nurmagomedov’s performance. He didn’t hold back, calling the Dagestani fighter “one dimensional.” It seems grappling was Oliveira’s Achilles’ heel in his debut, but he’s dead set on beefing up his takedown defense.
“I would like to fight Umar Nurmagomedov,” Oliveira boldly stated in a post-fight chat. He caught the fight on video, dissecting every move, every mistake. “Now’s the time,” he believes. To him, Nurmagomedov is all wrestling, nothing more.
He admitted to being taken down by Sopai but isn’t sweating it. The plan? Hit the gym harder than ever, focusing on not getting caught off guard again.
“I’m almost sure I can take him down in the first round,” Oliveira confidently claimed. His takedown defense was his only slip-up today. But he’s heading back to the drawing board, determined to make sure it doesn’t happen again.