Well, sometimes you just want a new lightweight. It's a division that the UFC seems to love adding fighters to, no matter the need. Most likely, that's because it's the division that best fit's the "average" body type, so it's where all the talent tends to naturally collect. But, it's always just a little surprising to me to see a new 155lb fighter added to a roster that already keeps 97 of them. MMA Fighting has confirmed the signing of a new talent to the division, however, Felipe Olivieri. No debut date has been announced, although Fighting did speculate that he might fill in for a slot on the Belfort vs. Henderson 3 fight card on November 7th. So...
Who is Felipe Olivieri?
The 29-year-old Brazilian fighter comes to the UFC training out of Nova União. Obviously his camp has no lack of reputation for producing top contenders, with former UFC champ Renan Barão and current Featherweight champion Jose Aldo, and a wealth of UFC talent including Thales Leites, Johnny Eduardo, Hacran Diaz, and Claudia Gadelha. However well he does in his UFC career, it won't be for lack of training. Olivieri will be entering the Octagon with 14-4 (1 NC) record, with 10 KOs and three submissions. He has quality wins over Bruno Carvalho, David Douglas, and Francisco Mario Pimba, among other solid regional vets. It's a decent enough record, although it does have some padding interspersed and some troubling losses to less than inspiring competition. Olivieri also tried out for season two of TUF Brazil, but was eliminated in the entry round by Neilson Gomes.
What you should expect:
Like most Nova União fighters, Oliveira tends to favor a Muay Thai striking style, a bit more in the Renan Barão mold than the more patient Jose Aldo model. He throws with power and consistency. His high ratio of first round KOs stand as a testament to his fistic ability. However, he's something of an aggressive striker to a fault. His takedown defense is decidedly mediocre for a fighter from his camp. His desire to constantly move forward with strikes and employ a high output kicking game leaves him very open to being put on his back. He's also not the cleanest puncher I've seen (much like Barão). He tends to lean out over his feet and throw both hands, while keeping his head on line, and gets hit with a lot of return fire because of it. He's really at his best in the clinch, delivering knees.
He's got a solid grappling game off his back too, at least enough to keep from getting submitted, although it seems mostly geared toward sweeping to top control where he can deliver some good high output ground and pound. Overall, he looks like a great athlete with a powerful striking game and most of the technical tools to deliver it. If he can't get KOs against UFC level opposition, he will probably struggle, however. Reminds me a lot of Leonardo Mafra in that sense.
To get us better acquainted, here's his 2011 fight against Cesar Augusto at Shooto 25: