LAS VEGAS – With his back against the wall, Alex Oliveira knows there’s a lot on the line Saturday.
Oliveira (20-8-1 MMA, 9-6 UFC) opens up the main card at UFC 248 against Max Griffin, looking to snap a three-fight losing skid.
“I’m really excited to be back,” Oliveira told MMA Junkie in Portuguese through an interpreter at Thursday’s media day. “It’s a great fight, an important fight for me. I really need to win this fight. There’s a lot pending on it.”
A fighter who’s rarely gone the distance, two of Oliveira’s last three losses came by close decisions. In his last defeat to Nicolas Dalby in September, the referee abruptly stood up Oliveira after he had top position in the third round, an interference he thinks ultimately might’ve cost him the fight.
“It’s not a comfortable position, but I’m going to go in there and show who I am and what I’ve come to do,” Oliveira said. “And just stating, two of those losses were split decisions. One was very unjust, I got stood up in a moment that I was winning the fight, so it is what it is.”
With no specific prediction for his fight against Griffin, all Oliveira has in mind is the win.
“I just expect the victory, I hope for the victory, that’s all I’m looking for, so I can keep my head in place,” he said.
UFC 248 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Check out MMA Junkie’s full UFC 248 pre-fight interview with Oliveira in the video above.
