UFC on ESPN+ 28 results: Charles Oliveira submits Kevin Lee for seventh straight finish

Charles Oliveira’s day finally has come, even if it came on a strange day.

“Do Bronx” has long been a talented competitor, but never quite put it all together over a sustained period of time.

Those days are over, though. Unfazed by the strange setting of an empty Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Oliveira put on a masterful show Saturday in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 28.

Oliveira (29-8 MMA, 17-8 UFC) finished former interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee with a guillotine choke 28 seconds into the third round. The bout was contested at a catchweight of 158.5 pounds after Lee (18-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) missed weight the previous day.

With that, Oliveira won his seventh straight bout. They’ve all come by way of finish. He added to his UFC submission record at 14 and tied Donald Cerrone’s company mark for finishes at 16.

 

It didn’t take long to figure how the fight was going to flow. Lee’s base is wrestling, and he scored an early takedown, but Oliveira immediately went for heel hooks and leg locks. Lee’s wrestling is crafty enough that he managed to scramble bad spots, but as often as not, he’d wander into another submission attempt.

The second proved to be bad news for Lee, too, as Oliveira showed off his much-improved stand-up game, stalking Lee down and landing uppercuts. Lee went for a takedown, but that once again simply got him tangled in a spider web of submission attempts.

Lee did manage his best offense of the fight at the end of Round 2, when he got top control and landed solid right hands and elbows. But in the third, he once again had to land a defensive takedown, and from there, it was a mere matter of second before Oliveira finished him with the choke.

Lee, who may have gone out with the choke, protested that he didn’t tap, but the replay made it clear he did on several occasions.

Oliveira believes he could be next in line for the winner of the lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, which is currently scheduled for April 18.

“T-Ferg and Khabib, I’ll be sitting there first row,” Oliveira said through an interpreter. “There’s no way to deny it. That belt is going to be mine.”

The catchweight bout was the UFC on ESPN+ 28 main event at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

Complete UFC on ESPN+ 28 results:

Charles Oliveira def. Kevin Lee via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 3, 0:28
Gilbert Burns def. Demian Maia via KO (punches) — Round 1, 2:34
Renato Moicano def. Damir Hadzovic via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 1, 0:44
Nikita Krylov def. Johnny Walker via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Francisco Trinaldo def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Brandon Moreno def. Jussier Formiga via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Amanda Ribas def. Randa Markos via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25)
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Aleksei Kunchenko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Rani Yahya vs. Enrique Barzola ruled a majority draw (28-29, 28-28, 28-28)
Maryna Moroz def. Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
David Dvorak def. Bruno Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bea Malecki def. Veronica Macedo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)