UFC bantamweight Vinicius Oliveira’s victory over Kyler Phillips at UFC 318 may open doors to a couple fights he’s hoping will launch him into title contention.
Oliveira (23-3) has not been quiet about wanting a matchup with Umar Nurmagomedov for a while now. Nurmagomedov hasn’t been receptive to the callouts just yet, but maybe the win over Phillips will get ‘Lok Dog’ an answer.
“I’d like so much to face Umar Nurmagomedov, but I think…I’m sure he’s afraid of me,” Oliveira told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.
“He run away for a long time ago. So he’ll never face me, and he will fade out behind Ali (Abdelaziz) his manager. I’d like so much to fight against him (in) October in his country. In Abu Dhabi.”
Wasn’t just a call out of Nurmagomedov as Oliveira seems to be focused on poking at his potential opponent for a fight.
“I go there just me and my coach and my (training partner). If he has courage to face me, but he doesn’t have courage to face me. He’s afraid of me.”
So if not Nurmagomedov then who? Maybe some ‘Suga’ is in order.
“So next one can be I think Sean O’Malley. Sean O’Malley’s a real man. I think he will accept this fight,” he said.
“He would not run away from me, but my first one of course is Umar Nurmagomedov.”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Vinicius Oliveira above.
