Photo by UAE Warriors.
- Vinicius de Oliveira dazzled Friday with a stylish win in the main event of UAE Warriors 24.
- The UAE Warriors champion spoke this week about wanting to impress UFC boss Dana White.
- UFC executive Mick Maynard was a VIP in attendance, and may feed intel to White.
ABU DHABI – MMA fighter Vinicius de Oliveira scored a spectacular submission to retain his UAE Warriors title against Sylvester Chipfumbu in the main event of a fun Friday fight card at the Jiu Jitsu Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Oliveira had spoken throughout the week about his desire to impress UFC executives like company boss Dana White, who had previously seen the Brazilian fighter live earlier in the year.
"He knows about me, he knows I'm a showman, and knows I'm a guy he needs in his company," Oliveira said this week, according to MMA Fighting.
The market-leading combat sports promotion is back in town for another UFC event on Yas Island, and 15 miles from the Etihad Arena, its host venue, the charismatic Oliveira produced a performance to remember.
After absorbing Chipfumbu's expert front kick to the chest, Oliveira dropped his challenger with strikes and sought a submission finish when he was tying his opponent up on the floor.
Tightening his grip on a rear-naked choke, victory was only one last squeeze away. Chipfumbu tapped after three minutes and 43 seconds of the first round.
It is unclear if White was watching, but Insider did not see him in the VIP section at the event.
UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard was cageside, though, and may well forward intel to the UFC boss.
Photo by UAE Warriors
Victory advanced the 25-year-old's pro MMA record to 15 wins (12 knockouts, two submissions, and two decisions) against two losses.
Oliveira's fight was not the only championship bout at the UAE Warriors 24 card as Ali Alqaisi won the promotion's featherweight belt with a 50-45 (x3) decision win for his expert grappling over Do Gyeom Lee's striking.
Elsewhere, KB Bhullar was thrown out of one fight because of a wildly illegal knee strike, Tahir Abdullaev scored a brutal beatdown of Daniel Skibinski, and Andre Fialho returned a knockout win over Stefan Sekulic that was so heavy his opponent was left motionless and unconscious for minutes.