Andre Fili steps in on short notice to fight Vinicius Oliveira at UFC Vegas 119 on June 20th. Fili replacing Giga Chikadze. The fight takes place in the featherweight division.
Multiple sources have confirmed the booking to Heavy.com. The main event of the evening is a flyweight rematch between Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi.
Veteran Fili Always Comes To Fight
Vinicius Oliveira was supposed to fight Giga Chikadze in his UFC featherweight debut. Earlier today, AGFight.com reported that the Georgian veteran had to pull out of the fight. Andre Fili has taken the short-notice opportunity and will take on the Brazilian fan favorite.
Fili has been with the UFC since 2013. The Team Alpha Male fighter is one of the most recognizable faces in the featherweight division. The American fighter is someone who is always able to make it competitive even against the better fighters in the division. Fili has been a mainstay in the division for years, but was never able to get on a titlerun in the division.
Fili dropped several key fights where a victory would have secured him a spot in the division’s top 10 or top 15 rankings. In his last four fights, Fili went three times to a split decision. He won against both Cub Swanson and Christian Rodriguez. In his most recent fight, he lost a controversial split decision against top prospect Jose Miguel Delgado. Fili now returns, three months since that loss against Delgado in the Octagon.
A New Chapter For The Brazilian Fan Favorite
His opponent, Vinicius Oliveira, went off to a great start in the UFC. After a vicious knock-out on the Dana White’s Contender Series, the Brazilian won both the performance and fight of the night bonuses with his vicious flying knee knockout against Benardo Sopaj. It brought many eyes on Oliveira, who followed up with another solid win against veteran Ricky Simón. After also beating Said Nurmagomedov, Oliveira already got an opportunity to fight someone in the top 15 in the bantamweight division.
Oliveira beat Kyler Phillips and looked almost unstoppable on his way to the top. But in his most recent fight earlier this year, he wasn’t able to dominate. His opponent, Mario Bautista, was too quick and too strong for the Brazilian. Oliveira lost in the second round via rear-naked choke submission and made clear he had problems cutting down to bantamweight. This made him decide to pursue his career in the featherweight division. He will meet veteran Andre Fili on June 20.
UFC Vegas 119 – June 20 (Meta Apex)
Main Card (8 p.m. ET)
- Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
- Ion Cutelaba vs. Navajo Stirling
- Andre Fili vs. Vinícius Oliveira
- Hyder Amil vs. Christian Rodriguez
- Andre Lima vs. Kevin Borjas
- Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Murtazali Magomedov
Preliminary Card (5 p.m. ET)
- Bia Mesquita vs. Melissa Mullins
- Allan Nascimento vs. Mitch Raposo
- Gastón Bolaños vs. Michael Aswell Jr.
- Karol Rosa vs. Luana Santos
More fights will be added to the card in the upcoming days. The event is streaming on Paramount +.
Longtime Veteran Accepts Fight Against Vinicius Oliveira