With Brazil particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus, Brazil’s Cowboy Oliveira had to make some adjustments in his training camp. Had to go a little old school.
Or medieval, as he put it.
Speaking to Cageside Press at Tuesday’s virtual media day, Oliveira described what fight camp was like at home in Brazil, ahead of his bout with Peter Sobotta.
“We had an old school, very medieval camp. We chose the right people to come in there. And those people couldn’t be in contact with anyone else,” Oliveira (20-8-1, 2NC) explained. “So that made us a little more relaxed.”
Of course, heading to Sao Paulo along the way to Abu Dhabi was a little nerve-wracking. But training itself resembled the earlier part of Oliveira’s career, he said.
“At the beginning of my career, about 11 years ago, we did a bit of medieval training. We had to adapt, but we figured it out.” So what, exactly, does this medieval training entail?
“It’s when you don’t have a lot of things available to you at the gym. So we lift tires, we carry our teammates on our backs, carry rocks, push cars — whatever we have to do,” the Brazilian welterweight explained.
One of the twists that has been thrown at all the Fight Island combatants is the hour at which they’ll be fighting. To appease viewers in North America, fighters are basically competing in the wee hours of the morning, local time in Abu Dhabi. It’s an adjustment all have had to make, with varying degrees of success.
“We’re a lot of hours ahead of Brazil here. It’s rough for me and a lot of people to get into a sleep schedule,” Oliveira admitted when asked about the Fight Island schedule. “Basically we’re napping when ever we can be,” he added.
Watch our full UFC Fight Island 3 interview with Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira above. Oliveira faces Peter Sobotta as part of the main card this Saturday, July 25. The event airs live on ESPN (TSN in Canada).
