Alex Oliveira defeated Will Brooks via TKO last night, but his actions after the fight have garnered more attention than the victory itself.
Immediately following the fight, Oliveira taunted his downed opponent in a sheer act of unsportsmanlike conduct and was roundly criticized for it. Asked about his actions in an interview backstage, Oliveira said he felt disrespected. “It was still a little stuck inside me after all the insulting he did to me yesterday,” he said. “He disrespected me, he disrespected my trainer and my manager, and I don’t like when people disrespect me.”
When asked about where he stands in the rankings after this fight and if he can be trusted to make weight in the future, he said he believes he should be ranked and that weight shouldn’t be an issue. “He was a ranked fighter and now I get to be ranked so we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I think [the reason I missed making weight] was 17 hours of flight. I left Brazil at one weight and got here much heavier and very bloated and I think that’s why it was so hard.”
With the win, Oliveira improves to 22-6 in the featherweight division.
Cervantes Analysis: The fact that Oliveira had the audacity to taunt Brooks and cite insults as the justification for his actions is despicable. In instances like last night, I don’t think it should be out of the question to levy punishments against fighters who act out of kind. Fighters need to understand that there are ramifications for their actions and I think the UFC needs to take a stand on these instances going forward.
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