A Long Road Back for Saimon Oliveira

Nearly 800 days have passed since Saimon Oliveira last set foot inside the Octagon. The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate spent his time on the sidelines searching for the confidence that was stolen away from him by a life-threating injury suffered ahead of a canceled 2022 clash with Kyung Ho Kang.

“A little over a month before that bout, I had a training accident,” Oliveira told Sherdog.com. “I took a spinning kick to the stomach. It caused a serious injury that forced me to drop out. I had to undergo emergency surgery for an intestinal rupture. It was a shock to the system since my career had been going so well up to that point. Had I not arrived at the hospital fast enough, I could have possibly died. It was traumatic. I had to remain in the hospital for 11 days. After that, I wasn’t able to train for another six months. It was bad for me. I was used to regular intensive training sessions.”

Even after Oliveira recovered physically, the injury continued to exact a toll on him.

“I started dealing with anxiety and depression,” he said. “It was a terrible period. I was afraid I would never get back to the same level. I’d always been an aggressive fighter who always moved forward due to my muay thai background. I love to bang it out. The abdominal injury made me hold back. When I returned to training, I noticed that I wasn’t as aggressive. I was stuck. I was leery of certain strikes. The fear of being reinjured led to anxiety episodes.”

Nevertheless, a less-than-full-strength Oliveira accepted a Jan. 21, 2023 booking opposite undefeated Peruvian Daniel Marcos at UFC 283. There, he was felled by a brutal knee strike to the body and follow-up punches in the second round. Oliveira has not fought since.

“I wasn’t well on that day, but there are no excuses when you lose,” he said. “My manager asked the UFC to give me extra time to train and work on my mindset. That’s why I didn’t fight for two years. During these two years, I trained extremely hard and did amazing work with my doctor and my psychologist. My mind is ironclad now.”

Oliveira makes his long-awaited return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division when he confronts the once-beaten David Martinez in a featured UFC on ESPN 64 attraction this Saturday at Arena CDMX in Mexico City. A former Combate Global champion, Martinez has rattled off seven consecutive victories, five of them finishes.

“It’s his turn to get knocked out,” Oliveira said. “Nothing will deny me this time. This is the chance and fight of my life. My dream was always to get into the UFC and make my name. I came in on the left foot. The bad times are over. I’m ready to change things for the better. All that’s left is to go to war with this guy. However badly he wants to win, I want it twice as much.”

Oliveira intends to make up for lost time.

“Since I haven’t fought in two years, my plan is to win this fight right now and come back as soon as possible,” he said. “I’d like to keep winning and working my way up towards the rankings to, who knows, one day fight for the belt. There’s no lack of will in that regard. I’m 100%, both mentally and physically. Our biggest fight is the one we have with ourselves, our internal fight. After two years, I won that struggle.

“The hardest things are behind me,” Oliveira added. “Nothing can stop me now. I’m very focused on this fight. I sleep and wake up visualizing my arm being raised in the end. I sleep and wake up seeing my opponent knocked out. There’s no way this won’t come true.”