Vinicius de Oliveira vows to blow UFC president Dana White’s mind in Abu Dhabi.
“Lok Dog” earned a shot at the UAE Warriors bantamweight title with a decision victory over Sultan Zholdoshbekov in January, but didn’t impress White enough that night when the head of the UFC was shooting his program “Lookin’ For A Fight.”
Now back in Abu Dhabi as the 135-pound champion and set to defend his gold versus Sylvester Chipfumbu a day before UFC 267, de Oliveira wants to leave the Jiu-Jitsu Arena as a UFC fighter.
“My goal is to be in the world’s greatest promotion and catch the attention of the man in charge,” de Oliveira told MMA Fighting. “Dana White will be there watching it and I’m sure he’ll be impressed with my performance. He already knows about me, he’s probably heard my name and watched my fights. He knows about me, he knows I’m a showman, and knows I’m a guy he needs in his company. I believe he’ll be there to watch my fight.”
White is expected to attend UAE Warriors 24 to shoot another episode of “Lookin’ For A Fight,” but de Oliveira feels no pressure having the UFC president sitting cageside again.
“I forget everything that’s going on outside the cage and only listen to my coaches and remember my training camp,” he said. “I feel no pressure with Dana White being there. After I win the fight, of course, I’ll look straight into his eyes and he’ll see I want a chance and will hand me the contract right there. I already have a pen in my hand.”
“I’m sure I’d do great in the UFC bantamweight division,” he continued. “I’m the type of fighter they’re missing in the company, a showman, someone that talks, that jokes around, and goes there and wins the fight. The UFC needs someone like me. Some people in [the UFC] don’t have the potential, I don’t even know how they got there.
“When I give my all, you can expect a show and a guaranteed victory. I’m sure I’ll get there to become champion and, if it’s up to me, it’ll be soon.”
The 25-year-old Brazilian is 16-2 as a professional and enters the UAE Warriors 24 main event on a five-fight winning streak with a trio of knockouts. “Lok Dog” was originally scheduled to face Ray Borg in a bantamweight contest, but the UFC veteran had to pull out after testing positive for COVID-19.
De Oliveira feels more “well-rounded” than ever after doing a full camp for a wrestler only to face a fellow striker on Friday, and plans on winning quickly to “take my belt home.”
“When there’s someone else in the cage with me, it’s just myself and a rock I have to get out of the way or move aside,” he said. “Ray Borg obviously has a bigger name [than Chipfumbu] and a win over him would put me in a higher place, but I’ll still make noise. I always put on a show so the entire world will probably be watching this fight.”