Las Vegas, NV — With his back to the wall on a three-fight losing streak, Brazil’s Alex Oliveira got exactly the win he needed at UFC 248.
Facing off with Max “Pain” Griffin, the Brazilian “Cowboy” went the distance. While he opened the American up early in the fight, a cut near the eyelid and a mask of blood wasn’t enough to put Griffin a way.
But sometimes, a win is a win. It’s precidely what Cowboy needed. “It was a tough fight. I already knew coming into it, it was going to be a tough fight,” Oliveirea told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “Strong guy. A guy that could knock you out at any moment. I slipped at some points, but I hear my corner.”
Oliveira is the first to admit that he dropped the first frame to a game opponent. Acknowledging that, however, he added “I knew that the second and third round would be a little bit more in my direction.”
“Cowboy” Oliveira was also a bit surprised that the fight wasn’t halted off the nasty cut he opened up on Griffin. Especially when the doctor was brought in to check on his opponent. “I thought the fight was going to stop, and he came back. He’s tough. I didn’t think he was going to make it to the third round.”
Asked about the idea of open scoring, an idea trialed at Invicta FC trialed in Kansas City over the weekend, Oliveira didn’t seem overly interested. Or at least in his case, he was certain about the scores in his own fight. “The first round I knew I lost. The second I knew I’d won,” he recalled. “The third was tight, but I knew I’d won [that] too.”
As for what comes next, Oliveira answered simply “I’m ready” when the idea of UFC 250 in Brazil later this year was suggested.
