(Edinaldo Oliveira vs. Jair Goncalves, 9/16/11; two more videos are after the jump.)
A longtime friend and training partner of Junior Dos Santos, undefeated heavyweight prospect Edinaldo Oliveira will be making his UFC debut on the preliminary card of this Saturday’s UFC 142 show, taking on the returning Gabriel Gonzaga. The 27-year-old jiu-jitsu black belt hails from Bahia, Brazil, and carries a record of 13-0-1 (with one no-contest) including eight knockouts and two submissions.
Oliveira’s nickname, “Lula Molusco,” is the name of the Squidward character in the Brazilian version of Spongebob Squarepants. You can’t make this stuff up, folks. We’re hoping that’s due to his lanky 6’7″ frame, and not his voice. After securing free education through a security guard job at a Brazilian college, Oliveira studied criminal law, hoping to become an attorney, but had to suspend his studies to devote more attention to his fight career.
Oliveira’s personal life has been affected by the illness of his father, who has been battling cancer: “Training has been a little tough because obviously I want to take care of my Dad,” Oliveira said. “I’d like nothing more than to be able to give him a win given everything he’s going through.”
Junior Dos Santos adds: ”He’s a very distinct fighter and his reach is a great tool he has. He and I spar a lot and his reach definitely makes things a lot harder for me. I think that will be the same for any opponent they put before him…I expect a good show from him. He’s ready for this and I think he’ll put on a very good show.”
(Edinaldo Oliveria vs. Geronimo Dos Santos, 12/15/10)
(Edinaldo Oliveira vs. Artur Tubarao, 5/9/09)