Vinicius Oliveira was in a highly compromised position entering the UFC Vegas 113 main event.
The UFC returned to the Meta Apex this past Saturday for UFC Vegas 113, featuring bantamweight contenders Mario Bautista and Vinicius Oliveira in the main event.
Oliveira’s weight was a talking point before the fight. He needed to drop over 50 pounds during his camp to hit the bantamweight limit.
But there was something more significant than that – and one that flew completely under the radar. Oliveira had been carrying a serious injury into what was set to be his first UFC main event appearance.
It ended up having a direct impact on how things played out, as he lost via submission in the second round, marking his first defeat inside the Octagon.
Vinicius Oliveira says he broke his arm before UFC Vegas 113
When Oliveira stepped on the scales, it was clear the weight cut had taken a toll. He finished camp having dropped over 30 lbs in just one week.
Even making weight was an achievement, given what came out after the fight: he went in with a broken arm.
“So now, I can tell,” he said on the Paramount broadcast.
“On December 19th, I broke my arm. I had the option not to fight. Starting the fight, I felt fine, but it started to hurt… I got tired too, the second round (my corner) asked for jabs and my arm wouldn’t answer.
“No sad stories, though, let’s move on. I had a rough cut, the worst one I’ve ever had because I couldn’t train to cut the weight, I couldn’t spar or hit bags with high intensity… No sad stories here, I got beat up and finished and I’m ready for the next one… They told me to take care of my arm for the next 180 days,” Oliveira concluded.
Mario Bautista eyes Cory Sandhagen fight after UFC Vegas 113 win
After getting back on track with a win, Bautista did not waste any time setting his sights higher. He called out Cory Sandhagen for his next fight, looking to climb further up the bantamweight rankings.
Sandhagen currently sits at number four in the division, while Bautista holds the ninth spot.
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