Alex Oliveira wants to knock out Yancy Medeiros at UFC 218, then hit Colby Covington in the face

Add Alex Oliveira to the list of Brazilians who’d like to teach Colby Covington a lesson about respect toward a nation.

Oliveira (17-4-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has a more immediate challenge ahead of him, as he prepares to meet Yancy Medeiros (14-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC 218. And, following a tradition the Brazilian “Cowboy” has kept throughout his career, Oliveira’s not about to hand-pick who comes next should he win. But Oliveira would, of course, welcome the possibility of facing a ranked opponent.

If that person happens to be Covington (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who’s ranked No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings? Well, that’s just two birds with one stone.

“I just want to hit him in the face, that’s it,” Oliveira told MMAjunkie. “Not just me, but many Brazilians want to. Even Americans don’t like what he did. To go into someone’s country and do what he did? It’s one thing to talk about your opponent, but to talk about the country? That’s just disrespectful to me – and to many other fighters.”

Oliveira, of course, refers to the not-so-flattering remarks made by Covington about Brazil and its people during and after a visit to Sao Paulo for a UFC Fight Night 119 bout with Demian Maia. Covington’s attacks toward the country have elicited all sorts of reactions from Brazilian fighters, from classic callouts to boomerang attacks.

While clearly peeved, Oliveira’s investment in the matchup is limited. First off, he’d be happy if basically any of his Brazilian peers got their crack at Covington. And then there’s the fact that he must first get past Medeiros, whom he meets in an FS1-televised preliminary bout at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit.

But Oliveira isn’t particularly worried about that, either. While he likes Medeiros’ fighting style, he believes his opponent is in for a rough ride. If Medeiros chooses to trade, Oliveira says, that’s great. If he wants to try to take it to the fence, that’s fine, too. Whatever happens, he believes his “heavy hand” will find a way.

“I don’t simply want to – I will knock him out,” Oliveira said.

Which is not to say Oliveira’s going to become reckless in his pursuit of a finish. The example of that balance can be seen in Oliveira’s most recent outing, a “Performance of the Night” win over Ryan LaFlare. While Oliveira was the winner with a second-round knockout, it involved overcoming a tough first frame in the mat.

For an outside viewer, it may have looked like the Brazilian was struggling with LaFlare’s wrestling. But, on his end, Oliveira was simply glad to implement a lesson he learned the hard way.

“I learned that in my fight with Donald Cerrone: You can’t go in there desperate to win the fight, desperate to finish or to brawl,” Oliveira said. “We have 15 minutes in there, you’ve got to stay calm. It’s what I did with LaFlare. He didn’t get anything done on top. I knew he’d be tired in the first round.

“He’d be back for the second, and I’d be in one piece. That’s it. Whenever he went in, which he did, he’d get a hard message.”

Oliveira thinks a similar fate might be in store for Medeiros: a second-round knockout. If that pans out, it will mean a fifth win among Oliveira’s six most recent outings – the remaining result was a no-contest opposite Tim Means, whom Oliveira would go on to submit later.

The Brazilian’s solid octagon record, which also features two post-fight bonuses, is made more impressive by the fact Oliveira has kept an active schedule of at least three octagon showings a year. Still, Oliveira doesn’t ask for much. As he said, he wouldn’t mind getting a crack at a higher-ranked opponent – or Covington.

But, ultimately, these are just bonuses.

“I want to stay active and keep fighting, because I never stop training,” Oliveira said. “If they give me a fight, right after, in Belem (UFC Fight Night 125, on Feb. 3), I’ll be incredibly happy. It’s been many years since I’ve been able to spend Christmas at home. This year, I will be able to. To be able to start off the year with a fight? Right on.”

For more on UFC 218, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.