UFC 318 winner Vinicius Oliveira rips 'coward' Umar Nurmagomedov, wants Sean O'Malley
Oliveira (23-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) picked up a unanimous decision win over Kyler Phillips (12-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the final preliminary bout of UFC 318 at Smoothie King Center. The victory extended Oliveira's winning streak to six, while remaining unbeaten in the UFC.
Next, "Lok Dog" wants another step up in competition, eyeing a former title challenger and a former champion.
"I'd like so much to fight Umar Nurmagomedov, but I'm sure he ran away a long time ago, so he'll never face me," Oliveira told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. "He will fade out behind Ali (Abdelaziz), his manager, but I'd like so much to fight him in October in his country, in Abu Dhabi. ... If he has courage to face me, but he doesn't have courage to face me – he's afriad of me.
"So, the next one could be, I think, Sean O'Malley. Sean O'Malley is a real man. I think he will accept this fight. He'll not run away from me."
Oliveira's dislike for Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) stems from what he claims was a fight that was supposed to take place last year. After talking trash to each other on social media, Oliveira said Nurmagomedov has since blocked him in order to avoid their verbal exchanges leading to a fight in the octagon.
"The fight was supposed to happen a long time ago," Oliveira said. "My first fight here in the UFC, that I fought against (Bernardo) Sopaj, I was without opponents, and he was without opponents as well. I put myself to face him, and he didn't want to face me. ... Nowadays, he has a nightmare with me. When he will sleep, he was thinking about me, so I became his nightmare."
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