Vinicius Oliveira and Andre Fili meet on the UFC Fight Night 279 main card Saturday at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Last event’s results: 5-2
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UFC main cards, 2026: 60-35-1
Vinicius Oliveira vs. Andre Fili UFC Fight Night 279 preview
Oliveira (23-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) aims to bounce back from his first loss in the UFC, which came by second-round submission against Mario Bautista in February. That result ended a six-fight winning streak.
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Fili (25-13 MMA, 13-12 UFC) also enters on a loss. His last outing was a split decision defeat against Jose Delgao. Fili has traded wins and losses over his last eight fights.
Vinicius Oliveira vs. Andre Fili UFC Fight Night 279 expert pick, prediction
Kicking off the main card in proper Joe Silva fashion is a featherweight action fight between Vinicius Oliveira vs. Andre Fili.
Oliveira, who was hitting a point of diminishing returns with his massive cuts to bantamweight, has made the move up to his more natural weight class of 145 pounds (something I forecasted ahead of his last outing). That said, Oliveira will be getting a stiff test, shorter notice or not, against the veteran in Fili.
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Thankfully for Fili, the now-Syndicate MMA product has relocated his camps to Las Vegas, so “Touchy” was more than happy to throw down in his newfound backyard.
Although Oliveira has the power to both punish Fili with punches and push him with takedowns, I suspect that Fili’s jabs, head kicks and reactionary takedowns could wreak havoc given his Brazilian foe’s porous defense and aggressive pressure.
It’s not a confident pick considering the age gap and the fact that I think that Oliveira is now fighting in the correct weight class, but I’ll take a flier on Fili to come out on the right side of the scorecards in what I see being another competitive contest for the former Team Alpha Male fighter.
Vinicius Oliveira vs. Andre Fili UFC Fight Night 279 odds
The oddsmakers and the public favor the Brazilian fighter, listing Oliveira -290 and Fili +225 via FanDuel.
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Vinicius Oliveira vs. Andre Fili UFC Fight Night 279 start time, how to watch
Oliveira and Fili are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 8:10 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Vegas 119: Oliveira vs. Fili prediction, pick, time
