Alex Oliveira continued his winning ways with a unanimous decision win over Peter Sobotta on the UFC Fight Island 3 main card from Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Brazil’s Alex Oliveira is an interesting character to say the least. Father of nearly a dozen children, a former bull rider (hence the nickname “Cowboy,”), and survivor of a grenade attack, for starters. Oh, and a dangerous UFC welterweight. Who returned at UFC Fight Island 3, to take on Peter Sobbota, originally from Poland but fighting out of Germany.
Sixteen finishes for Cowboy in his career. Fifteen for Sobotta. Numbers that promised a stoppage heading into Saturday’s event. The first round began with some kicks from Oliveira that were just blocked. Sobotta had a kick to the body that was also blocked, but Oliveira returned fire with a front kick to the body. Another front kick to the body from Oliveira seemed to hurt Sobotta but Oliveira didn’t press the pace. A blitz from Sobotta is nicely avoided by Oliveira, who wasn’t hit once.
The second round began with a takedown attempt from Sobotta, but Oliveira fended him off with some elbows to the head. Sobotta stayed pressed against Oliveira against the cage. Oliveira was able to break away and resume the standup game. A nice right hand from Oliveira connected and he followed it up with a front kick to the body. A front kick was a little too low from Oliveira, who hit Sobotta in the groin. The action was temporarily stopped. When the action resumed, both men engaged in some tentative striking, not landing much. Oliveira kept holding his fingers open, and eventually poked Sobotta, again stopping the action. After the action resumed, Sobotta was able to land a lead counter hook off an Oliveira leg kick. A huge right hand from Oliveira dropped Sobotta to end the round.
Kicking off the third and final round was a body kick from Sobotta. A big kick to the body from Oliveira forced a Sobotta takedown attempt. Oliveira stuffed it and allowed Sobotta to get to his feet. A nice jab connected for Oliveira, and he soon followed up with another front kick to the body that seemed to make Sobotta cringe a bit. Sobotta landed a kick to the body of his own, as Oliveira appeared to take the foot off the gas slightly. Sobotta was able to land a nice left hand, but again Oliveira landed a nice kick to the body.
Official Result: Alex Oliveira def. Peter Sobotta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
