Vinicius Oliveira issuing a challenge to former UFC champion Sean O’Malley this Saturday following a UFC 318 clash with Kyler Phillips in New Orleans, but encourages him to turn down “Suga.”
Oliveira has won three straight wins, including a performance bonus with Bernardo Sopaji since his debut in the 2024 promotion, and has said Nurmagomedov.
“I’m going to fight the top 12 now and prove that I’m in the top 12,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting. “I don’t see the next one fighting the top 10. I think we’re already fighting the top 5. It’s not for the belt already. There’s not much left to prove in the division. I saw the people I fought, and what I did to them, and I got hurt. I got hurt at his house. Top 5.”
“I don’t think it’s possible to make that kind of jump into my career already, but maybe that’s the case,” he continued. “I opposed to Ricky Simon, who was already a huge jump. Can I say they won’t give me another huge jump?
Oliveira wants to be part of the Fight Night card planned in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 11th, but has admitted to reducing the odds of a top-ranked 135-pounder who agrees to face him on enemy territory. Therefore, he is open to flying anywhere in the world for that opportunity for stars like O’Malley.
“I’m there (in the rankings) so I don’t think anyone in the top five wants to fight me,” Oliveira said. “The one I want to fight is scared of me, he will not fight me, and it is Umar Nurmagomedov. Ok, I’ve already ruled out that. Merab, they won’t give me that. UFC.
“When he buys an idea, this fight happens. It all depends on the garbage story, the way I promote this fight. But if I’m him, I won’t fight, or because he needs to fight the top five.
“If he’s going to fight the top 12, it’s easier for him to get the victory he needs than if he’s going to fight the top 5. What he doesn’t know is that maybe the guy in the rankings is hungry for him to move up. That hunger makes us dangerous. I’m hungry for the top. I don’t know if he’ll accept it or not.
Without O’Malley, another option in the rankings suggested by Oliveira is Marlon Vera, who even offers to “make him fight with the weight he walked.”
“I’m going to gain weight and he can come at any weight he wants,” Oliveira said. “easy.”
Either way, Oliveira is hoping for the next big fight after “putting a show and winning quickly” against Phillips at UFC 318.
“He’s going to play his boring game,” Oliveira said.