Underdog 'Cowboy' Oliveira ready to 'dish out a beating' of Will Brooks at UFC Fight Night 96

PORTLAND, Ore. – After a run mostly at welterweight, Alex Oliveira suddenly has title aspirations – but not at 170 pounds, where he’s been for four of his past five fights.

Instead, Oliveira says he’s ready to make a run at lightweight. And it sounds like he wants to climb the ranks quickly so he can sooner arrive at the business at hand: an eventual shot at the 155-pound title.

On Saturday, Oliveira (15-3-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is back in a high-profile slot when he meets former Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks (19-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 96, which takes place at Moda Center in Portland, Ore. The main card airs on FS1 following prelims on FS2 and UFC Fight Pass.

Earlier this year, at UFC Fight Night 84 in Pittsburgh, Oliveira had his highest profile spot yet when he headlined the card against another “Cowboy,” Donald Cerrone, in a welterweight fight. But things didn’t go his way. Not even close, actually. Cerrone tapped Oliveira out midway through the first round with a triangle choke.

“I was coming off three consecutive wins,” Oliveira told MMAjunkie. “Then I accepted facing Cerrone on short notice. You saw what happened. I lost. It wasn’t an easy bout. He had just challenged Rafael dos Anjos for the (lightweight) belt. But now I’m feeling more relaxed since I’m back to my winning ways. I got called up to fight again right away. I’m going to sling some leather. There’s no way around it. I wish to be ranked and eventually fight for the lightweight belt.”

That return to winning ways came in July in Chicago, when Oliveira dominated James Moontasri at UFC on FOX 20. Oliveira didn’t just win on points – he got a 10-8 round from two judges, and a pair of 10-8 rounds from a third for 30-26, 30-26, 30-25 scores.

Now, just two months later, Oliveira is back – and like Cerrone was for him, Brooks will be a big test. In just his second fight in the UFC since coming over from Bellator, Brooks nearly is a 3-1 favorite against the Brazilian. But that works out just fine for the plans “Cowboy” had after beating Moontasri.

“As soon as I stepped off the octagon, I was thinking of asking to fight again against someone ranked,” he said. “Time flies, so I don’t want to fight for the sake of fighting. I want to make progress in life. I want to fight for the lightweight belt. Right after my last fight, I was asked who I’d like to fight next. I said I wanted someone ranked. So, just as quickly, they booked me again.”

Oliveira knows the pedigree Brooks brought with him from Bellator, where his resume included two wins over Michael Chandler in title fights. Those were the kind of wins that helped Brooks get to the No. 10 position in the most recent USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings. Nine straight wins, including his UFC debut over Ross Pearson in July, doesn’t hurt, either.

The way “Cowboy” is looking at it, no matter what Brooks tries to do against him, he’ll have a counter for it – even if that means trying to catch him. Seven of Brooks’ nine wins on his streak are by decision.

“I am the underdog, undeniably. But I’m not going there to make him happy,” Oliveira said. “I’m going there to win, no doubt. I’ve been on this job for seven years already. My time has arrived. I’m in a good place in my career. I’ll chase after him. I always give my maximum effort. I’m training. I’m focused. I have heavy hands. I’m very well prepared, both standing and on the ground. So, I hope we both give our best and have a great fight.

“But there’s only one winner, and I’m that guy.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 96, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.