Vinicius Oliveira made quite a first impression in his featherweight debut at UFC Vegas 119 after earning a second-round knockout over Andre Fili on Saturday.
Of course his win didn’t come without a little controversy after Oliveira unloaded several brutal elbows in succession and it appeared he blasted Fili to the back of the head just before he earned the finish. Once Fili got back to his feet, he had a cut directly on the back of his head, which was tended to by ringside physicians, but the fight was already stopped with referee Herb Dean ending the contest at 4:56 in the second round.
This latest stoppage comes after Dean was under fire for his non-call in the Ciryl Gane vs. Alex Pereira fight at the UFC White House card where it looked like there were several illegal shots landed in that matchup as well prior to the finish.
But regardless, Oliveira got the job done after a back-and-forth slugfest with Fili in his first trip up to 145 pounds in the UFC.
“I’m feeling better,” Oliveira said after leaving the bantamweight division. “I never get to fight like that. All my fights in the UFC, I felt tired, and weak … now I can show the world how good I am.”
Prior to the finish, Oliveira started strong until Fili checked one of his leg kicks and it appeared the defensive move hurt the Brazilian’s foot. Fili then unloaded a pair of devastating body kicks that had Oliveira wincing in pain as he backed up towards the cage.
Unfortunately, Fili couldn’t take advantage and Oliveira survived to the second round.
The fighters continued to trade bombs until Oliveira clipped Fili with a hard punch and the veteran Team Alpha Male fighter stumbled backwards. Oliveira continued his assault with a barrage of punches and knees until he went for the standing elbows that dropped Fili and finished the fight.
While the elbows might come into question with the finish, Oliveira certainly looked good in his first fight at 145 pounds and he remains one of the more entertaining fighters on the entire UFC roster.
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