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Tonight's highly-awaited UFC 248 card kick-started with a Welterweight bout between Alex Oliveira and Max Griffin. Heading into the bout, Oliveira was on a three-fight losing streak and desperately needed a win and in order to do so, 'Cowboy' put together a performance of his life as he edged past Griffin via split decision.
UFC 248: Alex Oliveira vs Max Griffin
At tonight's UFC 248 pay-per-view, Alex Oliveira made his return to the Octagon for the first time since September of 2019 when he had suffered a loss to the returning veteran Nicolas Dalby via split decision at UFC on ESPN+18.
Oliveira was expected to face up and comer Mickey Gall at this year's UFC Fight Night 169. However, with the bout being eventually pulled-off the Fight Night card, 'Cowboy' was set to make some noise upon his return to the Octagon tonight.
The fight started-off with Griffin being the dominant of the two in the first round, as he also secured an early takedown in the fight and controlled 'Cowboy' on the mat. However, Oliveira maintained his resilience and ended the round landing a knee.
As the fight resumed in round two, Oliveira started to look a lot sharper and landed a few nasty shots on Griffin. So much so, the latter even started bleeding, courtesy of a brutal uppercut that landed on Griffin's eye. Going into the final round of the bout, things were pretty much tied between the two men, with Oliveira clearly winning the second round.
As the final round began, Oliveira once again seemed the dominant of the two, as he controlled the bout on the mat. However, Griffin turned things around with over a minute left on the clock but as it turned out, 'Cowboy' had done enough in order to secure another vital win in the UFC.
What's next for Alex Oliveira?
As of now, it remains to be seen what's next for Alex Oliveira. However, with the UFC consisting of a stacked Welterweight Division, 'Cowboy' could possibly square-off against another familiar name in his next Octagon outing.
