By any objective analysis, Alex Oliveira’s victory at UFC Fight Night: Dodson vs. Lineker was the most meaningful of his career.
In defeating Will Brooks, he scored his first career win over a ranked UFC opponent. Brooks, a former Bellator lightweight champion, entered the bout sitting at No. 11. And for emphasis, Oliveira stopped him on strikes, halting a nine-fight win streak.
For the 28-year-old Brazilian, it should have been a shining moment for him, a transcendent one that signaled his arrival as a force to be reckoned with.
Instead, he left to a chorus of well-deserved boos.
Oliveira’s masterclass in how to ruin the best night of your pro career in two simple steps was spurred by his unrelenting unprofessionalism over the final two days of fight week, beginning with his failure to make weight.
In a fight that was contracted at the lightweight limit of 155 pounds, Oliveira missed in embarrassing fashion, topping the scale at 161.5. He later chalked up his weight-cut struggles to the long travel time from Brazil to Portland, Oregon, according to MMAjunkie. That is, an excuse, yes, but it’s not a valid one.
Fighters travel from their home cities to event venues across the globe nearly every week. Saturday night’s event was the 30th of the UFC’s 2016 calendar. To date, out of the 600-plus fighters who have stepped on a UFC scale this year, only nine have missed weight. Moreover, no fights have gone forward with a greater weight disparity between opponents.
Not surprisingly, Brooks was upset by Oliveira’s weight issues, posting a video of his reaction while cutting his last pound.
“This is your job,” he said. “Be a professional. Make weight. This is my problem with guys who don’t get that it’s entertainment, but it’s also a profession. It’s serious business. I sacrifice a lot to get here, but I’m still in the sauna, and he’s 5.5 pounds over.”
Apparently, Oliveira didn’t take this or anything Brooks said as valid criticism. Instead, after finishing Brooks with ground strikes 3:30 into the third round, he taunted his downed opponent with a crotch chop, a chin flick and a few choice words.
Still clearly hurt, Brooks rose up and threw his mouthpiece at Oliveira, though he was restrained by referee Herb Dean.
It was an unfortunate scene, one that would have easily been avoided by Oliveira simply celebrating his own achievement instead of rubbing salt into the wounds of the man he already defeated. To complete the weekend of poor choices, Oliveira declined to apologize for the taunting, saying Brooks “deserved even more.”
Memo to Oliveira and the rest of the UFC roster for when you miss weight—here are the only acceptable responses: your opponent gets to be pissed, and you get to be apologetic. That’s it.
If anything, Oliveira should have been thankful to Brooks.
While the Brazilian claimed to be angered by Brooks “insulting” him, he apparently missed the part where Brooks offered him an opportunity to make money.
Brooks could have declined the match altogether, citing the severe weight disparity. Oliveira could have made the trip for no reason and flew back home without making a dime.
The situation has happened before—and fairly recently. In August, Justin Scoggins’ camp informed opponent Ian McCall that he wasn’t going to be able to make the 125-pound flyweight limit and proposed a catchweight. McCall, once burned by a compromise with John Lineker in the exact situation, declined such a bout this time around.
After missing weight so badly, that same outcome was possible and beyond Oliveira’s control. His fighting fate was in Brooks’ hands.
Brooks could have done the same thing, simply made weight and collected his fight purse. Instead, he gamely took the bout, and Oliveira only had to deal with a 20 percent purse deduction.
Somehow, whatever Brooks said was worse than Oliveira missing weight by 5.5 pounds? No.
The sad part for Oliveira is that it not only upstages his win, but it also overshadows his personal story.
This is a man who had to overcome long odds to make it to the top rungs of MMA. According to a Sherdog profile of him, he came from poverty, dropping out of school at the age of nine to work and help ease the family’s financial burdens. He had to endure the murders of two brothers along the way and didn’t even begin training for MMA until the age of 22.
It is, by any measure, a triumphant display of beating the odds, yet it’s a story that will recede into the background. Observers can generally excuse one foolish action, but with his fight week display, he buried himself.
The title of “fan favorite” isn’t likely in his future, but if he’s OK with that, at least Cowboy can just buy a black Stetson to complete a villain’s uniform. If he’s not OK with it, at least he can soothe himself with the outcome. He won. The problem is, because of his behavior, it’s not worth what it should be.
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