Alex Oliveira Injured In Bizarre Grenade Attack On Christmas Eve
UFC welterweight Alex ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira nearly saw his Holiday Season ruined when he was injured in a violent attack in Brazil on Christmas Eve last night.
The Brazilian ‘Cowboy’ reportedly went out to get gas for his mom’s car on Christmas Eve. He saw members of his family getting into a physical confrontation of sorts and stopped his vehicle. When he got out, a grenade was thrown at him.
Brazilian news outlet TV Rio Sul (via MMA Fighting) confirmed the report. Oliveira described the scene to the website:
“One guy came up and pointed a gun at my nephew’s face, and that’s when people started pushing each other. They had machetes, knives, a grenade. They threw a grenade in my direction. Fragments flew to my leg and my foot.”
“Cowboy” got minor surgery to remove the shrapnel. He went to the police later in the day to offer his account of the attack.
The odd injury follows Oliveira’s bloody submission loss to Gunnar Nelson at December 8’s UFC 231, where he was opened up by a monstrous elbow that ultimately required 38 stitches. Oliveira is known as one of the most action-focused fighters in the Octagon with his kill-or-be-killed style. For now, he may have to wait a while to display the style in the cage. Oliveira’s manager Alex Davis later confirmed he was okay but it was a crazy situation no matter what:
Indeed “Cowboy” is lucky to have emerged with only a few shards of shrapnel as opposed to more serious injuries. Oliveira’s absorbed a brutal amount of damage recently, yet you can rest assured he’ll be back to action sooner than later.
