Outside Source
After four consecutive victories in the UFC, Brazil’s “Lok Dog” Oliveira will have the chance to headline his first event on Saturday against Mario Bautista. He and Bautista will battle in the five-round main attraction of UFC Fight Night 266, also known as UFC Vegas 113, in Las Vegas’ UFC Apex. Large for his division at 5-foot-9 with a 70-inch wingspan, the 30-year-old knows his time at bantamweight is limited.
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Speaking with the UFC on Thursday, Vinicius promised that he intends on moving up in weight, but only after he claims the bantamweight belt.
“When I found out about the fight three months ago, I weighed 183 lbs.,” the Brazilian admitted. “Since then, I started the process with a nutritionist who helped me get to 163 lbs. by fight week. On Friday I will be at weight as I always have been. I have the size to fight at featherweight or lightweight, but I will only think about that when I win the bantamweight belt.”
Now that he can put the weight cut behind him having hit the scales officially at 136 pounds, all focus goes directly to his upcoming adversary. His opponent had amassed an eight-fight win streak, but it all came to a halt last October when Umar Nurmagomedov got the better of him. Of Bautista, Oliveira did not so much as look past him as he predicted that his unpredictability would lead to his advantage.
“Bautista is a good fighter who does the basics of MMA well,” he noted, “but I am an unpredictable, versatile guy and I will be the Brazilian who will beat him.”
Monster in the Mirror
If he manages to earn his fifth victory in his fifth UFC appearance, “Lok Dog” has his sights set on gold.
“I would love to fight in the middle of the year at the White House. It could be against Cory Sandhagen or Sean O’Malley. But if they don’t call me, that’s okay, by the middle of the year I hope to be fighting a top-five opponent, and by the end of the year I hope to be fighting the champion of my weight class,” the 135er analyzed.
When asked what fans can expect from his fifth walk to the UFC cage, Oliveira did not shy away from his answer.
“‘Lok Dog’ is a monster that lives inside me that can only be unleashed inside the cage; if it’s released before, it causes a lot of damage. This Saturday, this monster, which feeds on the pain of its opponents, fans can expect this monster to be unleashed to put on another show,” the Brazilian concluded.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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