In the main event of the UFC Brasilia, Charles Oliveira defeated Kevin Lee via submission. The Brazilian native managed to defeat the 27-year old American but didn’t have the chance to celebrate his success with the fans.
Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia was empty due to precaution from Coronavirus spreading. All the bouts took without the spectators, and many of the fighters stated that they never encountered such an experience before. Nevertheless, it didn’t present any problem for “Do Bronx” as the fans call Oliveira (29-8 MMA, 17-8 UFC).
“I came to make history again, this time without anyone cheering,” Oliveira said. “But as my team likes to say, it was written. We came to get what is ours,” he said,
With 28 seconds inside the third round, the Brazilian caught Lee (18-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) with a guillotine, and the referee in the ring had to stop the fight. Although the American didn’t seem to agree on that, he had to accept the loss. It was a hard weekend for the former interim lightweight challenger who previously missed the weight.
It was his fourth loss in the last six events. Everything started when Tony Ferguson defeated him at UFC 216, and Lee missed a chance to take the interim belt. Following this defeat, the Motown Phenom lost to Al Iaquinta, Rafael do Anjos (welterweight debut) and now against Oliveira. It seems that his plans about getting a chance to fight for the title once again will have to wait for some time. The positive side is the fact that he has 27 years and a lot of room for improvement and will, for sure, get another chance if he manages to stabilize.
Meanwhile, Oliveira is red-hot in recent times, and since late December 2017 and a loss to Paul Felder, he posted seven wins in a row, all of them before the end of the bout. At the moment, he is the record-holder in the organization with 14 wins via submission. But that isn’t what he wants. The focus of the 30-year old is on the belt.
“Tony Ferguson and Khabib [are scheduled to fight on April 18], I’ll be sitting there front row,” Oliveira said. “There’s no way to deny it. I’m ready. The belt is going to be mine.”
It is pretty confident to say something like this, especially because many experts claim that that Oliveira didn’t have too many good opponents during his victorious streak. On five occasions, he would take the Performance of the Night bonus, yet a solid number of pundits and fans are claiming that his rivals were of mediocre quality.
According to sources from within the UFC, it is more likely to see Oliveira fighting Dustin Poirier first and if the overcomes that challenge to move on to the title fight. He needs to measure his strength with one of the top guys in his division before receiving a shot at the belt.
Also, it is unclear how big of a pause would Khabib and Ferguson take following their upcoming clash. It is another reason why a fight with Poirier looks more realistic at the moment.
