Alex Oliveira Makes Quick Work of Carlo Pedersoli in UFC Sao Paulo Co-Main Event
Alex "Cowboy" Oliveira was scheduled to faces No. 8 ranked Neil Magny in the UFC Fight Night 137 co-main event on Saturday, but Magny was pulled from the bout by the fight promotion to face Santiago Ponzinibbio in November. Instead, Oliveira faced Carlo Pedersoli and made quick work of the Italian.
Oliveira entered the bout ranked No. 14 in the welterweight division and made the most of the situation. A win over Magny would have moved in up the rankings, but he stood little to gain by facing Pedersoli. The best Oliveira could do was look impressive and he did that. It took the Brazilian 39 seconds to put Pedersoli away.
Oliveira landed first with a jab to start the fight and Pedersoli answered with a leg kick. Oliveira stepped in with a kick to the body. Pedersoli responded by throwing a side kick to the body. Oliveira caught it and fired back with a short right hand that landed on Pedersoli's temple. A second right hand put Pedersoli on the canvas. Oliveira followed him to the ground. He trapped one of Pedersoli's arms and delivered right hands until the referee stepped in.
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"My coach said, 'let your hands go. You've got really heavy hands. He's not going to be able to take it,' and you can't really measure strength with me," said Oliveira after his 12th knockout career finish.
Oliveira left the Octagon unscathed. He didn't call out any specific opponent for his next outing, but would like to face a ranked opponent.
"I'm ready for whatever comes, whoever they throw at me," he said. "I was going to fight a ranked guy. Whoever they put before me, I'm ready."
The loss snapped an eight-fight winning streak for Pedersoli. It was the 25-year old's second Octagon appearance.
