The UFC's jam-packed summer of 2015 kept rolling on Saturday with a return to Brazil. Most of the Fox Sports 1 events in Brazil are nothing to write home about, but this one was packed with much more intrigue than usual.
As per our custom, today we take a look at what we learned, what we loved and what we loathed from UFC Fight Night 67: Condit vs. Alves.
WE LEARNED: CHARLES OLIVEIRA IS STILL SOMEONE TO WATCH
Charles Oliveira was just 20 years old when he made his UFC debut against Darren Elkins way back in 2010.
It seems crazy to consider now, because Oliveira has seemingly been around forever and has faced top competition for nearly the entirety of his run. He's been in the Octagon with Jim Miller, Donald Cerrone, Cub Swanson, Frankie Edgar and Nik Lentz; that's a tough series of fights for anyone, much less someone who doesn't turn 26 until October.
He's had his share of good and bad moments. He has missed weight twice, and there have been occasions when Oliveira has hit the Octagon and it just seemed like his mind is elsewhere, most notably when he was facing top-shelf competition.
But through it all, Oliveira has remained a dynamic and exciting fighter to watch. He has nine post-fight bonuses during his UFC tenure totaling somewhere near $450,000. Seven of his eight UFC wins have come by submission. And with his win over Lentz, Oliveira is sending a message to the rest of the featherweight division: He is still young, and he is still a force to be reckoned with.
As he said in the post-fight press conference: He was just a boy when he made his UFC debut, and now he's becoming a man. His submission game is obviously otherworldly, and he's learning how to be an effective striker who uses distance to his advantage.
Point being, Oliveira has been around a long time. But he's still young, and he's still a fighter the UFC can depend on to put on thrilling bouts and finishes. We're watching a fighter grow up inside the Octagon, and it seems like the best might be yet to come.
WE LOVED: THE BEAUTIFUL VIOLENCE OF CARLOS CONDIT
I've been asked this question before: If I had to take off my Hat of Journalistic Integrity and pick a fighter who is my absolute favorite, who would it be?
The answer has always been the same. I've enjoyed watching Carlos Condit ever since his World Extreme Cagefighting days, and that hasn't changed.
Condit is a guy whom you take for granted, because he's so quiet and nice and unassuming outside of the cage. But when he steps in the Octagon, that "Natural Born Killer" side of him takes hold, and the results are often difficult to watch.
We saw it once again last Saturday against Thiago Alves. The first round was fairly even, but then Condit's striking wizardry took over in the second round. He used angles and elbows and knees, and by the time the round was over, he was covered in Alves' blood. That's the hallmark of a violent fighter: when you're covered in blood, but it's not your own.
And boy, those elbows. Those elbows! They made me cringe, and I was sitting in a bar, thousands of miles away in Las Vegas.
Eighteen months away from the Octagon didn't seem to faze Condit one bit. And I loved that he called for the title shot after the conclusion of the fight. He may not get it; Johny Hendricks appears to be next in line, though the top of the welterweight division is a roiling sea right now. But more fighters should ask for what they want, and Condit showed plenty of smarts in doing so.
WE LOATHED: RYAN JIMMO'S BORING FIGHT
Ryan Jimmo has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Reebok deal. Good for him, I say. For the majority of UFC fighters, the deal is a terrible one that will cost them money, and they need someone to speak up for them, because most of them are afraid of the repercussions of doing so.
But while Jimmo stands tall in opposition of the Reebok deal, he falls flat in the Octagon. Jimmo ran his MMA record to 16-1 while largely fighting in Canadian promotions. Even back then, he was known as a boring fighter—someone who sat back and didn't take chances. And though he's had two signature KO performances during his UFC tenure, Jimmo has mostly remained the same boring fighter he was before he came to the Octagon.
Sure, he was booted in the junk so hard by Francimar Barroso that he needed a vomit bucket on standby. But Jimmo wasn't exactly setting the world on fire before that happened, and he was even worse after. He fought safe and he fought from distance, and he did nothing to distinguish himself and make people remember him other than nearly puking from a nut shot.
I applaud Jimmo for taking a stand on the Reebok deal. But he's 2-4 in his last six UFC appearances, and most of them have been dreadful. I don't believe the UFC will cut him after this loss, simply because it'll look as though they are getting rid of a malcontent. But he's riding a dangerous edge with two losses in a row, and his boring performances might leave fans not caring whether or not he gets cut from the promotion, no matter the reason.
Jeremy Botter covers mixed martial arts for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
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