Alex Oliveira is looking to take Ryan LaFlare’s spot on the official Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight rankings.
LaFlare is currently the 12th ranked 170-pounder, while “Cowboy” isn’t on the top 15 rankings. Speaking to the media in Brazil, Oliveira said he’s looking to walk through his upcoming opponent at UFC on FOX 25 on July 22 (via MMAFighting.com):
“I went to Las Vegas (for the UFC Athlete Retreat) and asked for a fight, and they gave me him. To me, it’s just another name. It doesn’t mean anything. I’ll beat him and take his spot.”
“Cowboy” feels that no matter where the fight goes, he’ll have an answer for LaFlare and earn a finish.
“I have the advantage standing. I think he will try to stand with me a little bit, and when he thinks about it, I’ll grab him and take him to the ground. I’ll use his game against him, wrestling. We’ll brawl. And when he blinks, I’ll take him down. I see myself knocking him out. I’ll knock him out on the ground. I think it ends in the second round. … I see myself at least in the top 15 (after this win). If not, cool, send me another ranked fighter and I’ll beat him up.”
