UFC rising star Vinicius Oliveira will move to featherweight after suffering a lopsided main event loss to Mario Bautista.
Dana White’s Contender Series alumni Vinicius Oliveira’s first UFC main event booking didn’t go according to plan, as he lost to Mario Bautista at the Apex in February. The defeat ended a four-fight unbeaten streak to begin his promotional tenure, after recent wins over Said Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips.
For the first time in Oliveira’s UFC bantamweight tenure, he was challenged on the feet and dominated when the fight moved to the ground against Bautista. Bautista submitted Oliveira with a rear-naked choke in Round 2 as the round was seconds away from concluding.
Despite the setback, Oliveira remains one of the most exciting young talents on the UFC roster. His promotional debut ended in a vicious flying-knee knockout over Benardo Sopaj in March 2024.
But after a series of brutal weight cuts, including losing around 50 pounds before the Bautista fight, Oliveira will make the move up a weight class next month.
Vinicius Oliveira’s featherweight debut reportedly set for June 20th
As first reported by Setanta Sport, Oliveira will face fellow knockout artist Giga Chikadze at the UFC’s June 20th Fight Night event at the Apex. MMA Junkie confirmed the news of the booking, but as of this writing, the UFC has yet to formally announce the matchup.
Chikadze will present a steep challenge for Oliveira’s UFC featherweight debut. The 37-year-old has earned wins against the likes of Edson Barboza, Cub Swanson, and Alex Caceres in his featherweight tenure.
But Chikadze is looking to get back on track after three consecutive losses, including most recently against Kevin Vallejos in December. Chikadze’s quick ascent to a potential featherweight title shot ended when he lost to Calvin Kattar in January 2022.
The June 20th UFC Fight Night event is headlined by a flyweight matchup between top contenders Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi.
What is your early prediction for Vinicius Oliveira vs. Giga Chikadze? Let us know in the comments!
