LAS VEGAS – Vinicius Oliveira thinks he’ll be fully acknowledged as a legit contender after he’s done with Mario Bautista at UFC Fight Night 266.
Oliveira (23-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) gets his first octagon headliner on Saturday at Meta APEX in Las Vegas (Paramount+) when he takes on Bautista (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC), who recently had an eight-fight winning streak snapped by Umar Nurmagomedov.
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Bautista had received some backlash from some fans for his approach to specific fights during that streak, and Oliveira agrees with all the negative sentiments. He doesn’t like how Bautista fights, and plans to show he’s much more thrilling.
“I think the UFC made a good choice, a good matchup because he’s a boring fighter and I think UFC wanted to put him out,” Oliveira told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at UFC Fight Night 266 media day. “They put me here for the chance to put him out. … For sure I’m going to, in the first round.
“I will be myself, I will be my all. I will be the same ‘LokDog’ as ever and the same style. I’m trying to move forward inside the cage every single second. I’m looking for the TKO in the first round every time. I will have the same ‘Lok Dog’ style.”
If Oliveira, No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings, can make some noise against No. 6-ranked Bautista and secure the biggest win of his career, then he thinks his hopes and dreams will be within reach.
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That dream is to touch 135-pound gold before the year is up, and whether he has to go through someone like Umar Nurmagomedov or Sean O’Malley next, the Brazilian is eager to prove the hype around his name is legit.
“I see myself by the end of the year fighting for the belt for sure,” Oliveira said. “But before that, I’m going to fight against a top five. I’m going to put on a great performance to the audience, and then in the middle of the year I’m going to fight against a top five in the rankings. I’ve got some names in my mind, two names I would like to fight at the White House.
“There’s only two guys in the top five that I would be able to fight there. But it doesn’t matter who. But I’m going to fight in the middle of the year again, and then this year I’m going to fight for the belt against anyone. It doesn’t matter.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Vinicius Oliveira plans to rid division of ‘boring’ Mario Bautista
