Vinicius de Oliveira calls out Ray Borg after retaining UAE Warriors bantamweight title

Ali Al Qaisi makes successful return to the promotion to claim featherweight belt

Vinicius de Oliveira with Palms Sports chairman Abdulmunam Al Hashemi after retaining his UAE Warriors bantamweight title at UAE Warriors 24. All photos: UAE Warriors

Vinicius de Oliveira celebrates after retaining the UAE Warriors bantamweight title.

Sylvester Chipfumbu attempts an early take down on Vinicius de Oliveira.

Vinicius de Oliveira lands a punch on Sylvester Chipfumbu.

Ali Al Qaisi throws a left punch at Lee Do-gyeom.

Lee Do-gyeom took some punishments towards the end of his bout with Ali Al Qaisi.

Andre Fialho lands a right on Stefan Sekulic.

Jonathan Wernz has Zaakir Badat on the canvas.

Ali Al Qaisi celebrates after his victory at UAE Warriors 24.

Vinicius de Oliveira needed just under four minutes to retain his UAE Warriors bantamweight title in the promotion’s 24th edition at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

The Brazilian landed a barrage of punches to floor Sylvester Chipfumbu before finishing off the Zimbabwean challenger with a rear naked choke to record his sixth successive win and stretch his win-loss record to 17-2.

De Oliveira was to meet Ray Borg, the former UFC flyweight title challenger, but the American was forced to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19.

“Bring [Borg] on. I’m waiting for him,” De Oliveira said. “I came here to win, regardless of who I face. I have done that and I’ll be back to defend my title again. I’m ready whenever you are ready.”

Ali Al Qaisi of Jordan scored a unanimous decision victory over Lee Do-gyeom to take the lightweight title from the Korean in the second title contest on the night.

Released from the UFC after two defeats in as many fights, Al Qaisi made a successful debut at UAE Warriors 20 in June and went on to claim the vacant featherweight title at Titan FC 71 against American Andrew Whitney two months later.

“When I lost my second fight in the UFC (in October 2020), I made a promise that I’ll come back stronger, and I’m back with three wins including two titles,” Al Qaisi said after stretching his record to 11-5.

“I’m going to speak to (UFC president) Dana White now that I have kept my promise. I want to thank the UAE Warriors for providing me with the opportunity.

“As for the fight against Lee, it was very tough. He was the defending champion and a dangerous opponent. I managed to execute my plan well on the night. Obviously I’m very pleased with my work tonight.”

Lee took some late punishment and suffered a cut on the side of his head as Al Qaisi kept scoring from his punches and high kicks, and a few takedowns for a unanimous decision.

Results

Bantamweight title: Vinicius de Oliveira defeated Sylvester Chipfumbu (round 1 submission)

Featherweight title: Ali Al Qaisi defeated Lee Do-gyeom Lee (unanimous decision)

Welterweight: Andre Fialho defeated Stefan Sekulic (round 1 KO)

Welterweight: Tahir Abdullaev defeated Daniel Skibinski (round 1 TKO)

Catchweight 194kg: Tarek Suleiman defeated KB Bhullar (round 1 disqualification)

Bantamweight: Sarvadzhon Hamidov defeated Yoo Soo-young (unanimous decision)

Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira defeated Themba Gorimbo :(unanimous decision)

Lightweight: John Mitchell defeated Konstantinos Ntelis (unanimous decision)

Middleweight: Imamshafi Aliev defeated Naglis Kanisauskas (unanimous decision)

Bantamweight: Ali Taleb defeated Victor Nunes (unanimous decision)

Middleweight: Jonathan Wernz defeated Zaakir Badat (unanimous decision)

Amro Magomedov defeated Ruslan Bolkvadze (round 1 TKO)