Welcome to the UFC, Eric Wisely.
Your introduction? A bout with Charles Oliveira, a 22-year-old making a debut of his own in the Featherweight Division at UFC on Fox 2.
It turns out, the Illinois native would need much more than the support of the local fans at the United Center in Chicago to fend off “Do Bronx” and earn his first UFC victory.
Oliveira looked the part of a former title belt contender in his first fight as a Featherweight, catching “Little Lee” with some sharp, exploratory kicks before grabbing Wisely’s leg on an attempted blow and throwing the American on his back.
Rather than go right to grappling, Oliveira used his vantage point to strike Wisely with some jarring fists from the top down.
That is, until the Brazilian decided to get down and dirty on the mat. Oliveira got a hold of Wisely’s heel, but Wisely was able to escape his grasp briefly, and only in part.
Oliveira still owned a lock on Wisely’s foot, which he promptly turned into a leg lock and, even more devastatingly, into a back lock when Wisely tried to free himself a second time.
With victory in sight, Oliveira cranked Wisely back, forcing him to tap out at the 1:23 mark of the first round.
The win brought to an end a three-match winless streak for Oliveira that saw him drop disappointing results to Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone surrounding a no-contest with Nik Lentz.
Oliveira still has a ways to go to scale the heights of the Featherweight Division, but at just 22 years old, “Do Bronx” still has plenty of good combat left ahead of him and more than enough talent to fight his way into contention.
As for Wisely, it’s back to the drawing board for the 27-year-old veteran. He’ll need to improve dramatically in his next outing, lest he give UFC president Dana White any more reason to cut him loose.
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