Vinicius Oliveira’s featherweight debut didn’t go exactly according to plan, but the ending couldn’t have been much better.
After appearing to injure his foot in the opening round and briefly giving Andre Fili a window back into the fight, Oliveira responded the only way he knows how, by marching forward, ripping vicious body shots, and overwhelming the veteran with a relentless second round assault that ended in a statement TKO victory at UFC Vegas 119. If there were any questions about whether “LokDog” belonged at 145 pounds, he answered them emphatically on Saturday night.
Round 1 – Oliveira wasted no time getting to work, firing heavy calf kicks from the opening bell while using his size advantage to keep Fili at the end of his range.
Fili tried to establish his jab early, but every time he started finding a rhythm, Oliveira hacked away at his lead leg. The Brazilian mixed those kicks in beautifully with an overhand right, keeping Fili guessing and making it difficult for the veteran to get his offense going.
Fili looked for angles and landed a few jabs, but he wasn’t pulling the trigger nearly enough. A slow one-two was met with a thudding body kick from Oliveira, who continued to punish the lead leg every chance he got.
Late in the round, Fili finally caught a break. He checked a hard calf kick that appeared to hurt Oliveira’s shin, giving the Brazilian something to think about, then he landed a shot to the body that hurt him further. Fili tried to capitalize, snapping out long jabs and then whipping a pair of high kicks upstairs that seemed to bother Oliveira’s foot even more.
For the first time all round, Oliveira backed up, looking a little hesitant after hurting his leg. Fili started to pick up the pace, but before he could really build any momentum, Oliveira changed levels for a takedown. Fili easily stuffed it, and the two went back to their feet as the horn sounded to end an entertaining opening round.
Round 2 – Oliveira clearly wasn’t interested in testing that injured foot any more than he had to. Instead, he came out throwing bombs, marching forward with bad intentions as if he knew another checked kick or shot to the leg could change the fight.
The Brazilian abandoned the patient approach and went into full attack mode. He ripped another leg kick before cracking Fili with a right hook, constantly pressuring the veteran and forcing him backward. When Fili refused to bite on the feints, Oliveira simply walked him down and started digging nasty shots to the body.
Those body shots were brutal. You could hear them echo throughout the APEX, and every one looked like it took a little more out of Fili. The American shot for a takedown to slow things down, but Oliveira stuffed it without much trouble and immediately went right back to work.
With Fili backed against the fence, Oliveira unloaded. He ripped hooks to the body with everything he had, even loading up one right hand from his hip before driving it into Fili’s ribs.
Fili briefly found a little success pushing Oliveira backward, but it didn’t last. Oliveira quickly regained control, settled back into his rhythm, and started landing almost at will.
A vicious body attack opened the door for a head kick, and moments later a crushing left hand snapped Fili’s head back. Sensing the finish, Oliveira swarmed, unloading a relentless barrage of punches along the fence. Fili covered up but had no answer as Oliveira poured it on, forcing Herb Dean to step in and wave it off.
Vinicius Oliveira couldn’t have asked for a better start to life at featherweight. It was an emphatic statement win and one that should have the rest of the division paying attention.
Official Result: Vinicius Oliveira def. Andre Fili via R2 TKO, 4:56
