Vinicius Oliveira Shines Light on Difficult Upbringing: ‘I Was Alone in a Dark Room’

Vinicius Oliveira will attempt to move to 3-0 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division when he meets Said Nurmagomedov in a featured UFC Fight Night 250 attraction this Saturday at anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While challenges abound in the 135-pound weight class, they pale in comparison to what Oliveira experienced during his upbringing in Brazil.

“I came from a bad life,” he told Sherdog.com. “I did things that were wrong. I won’t share too many details, so as not to stir too many emotions, happy or sad. My past was bad. There was blood, pain, tears and drugs, but I managed to survive it all. Today, I’m my own motivation. When people abandoned me, when the world abandoned me, I had to be strong, as I was alone in a dark room. That’s where I found my cure—in a dark room with no anesthesia. I realized that I was my own savior. I had to be strong alone. I’m aggressive and impatient, but this was a mechanism I created. I needed to be strong at every moment, and most of the time, I was alone. There’s a monster inside of me that was created. He wasn’t just born. I believe everyone has a monster inside. It can be used for good or for bad. For a long time, the monster inside me fed from the bad things I lived through. That was my life, and he still exists. Fighting is a way to feed him. I need the adrenaline. Maybe I’m not the one who needs it. Maybe it’s the monster inside. It’s hard to explain.

“I need to be on a minefield,” Oliveira added. “I need to be at war to feel alive. When I don’t do that, I feel anguish. It’s agony. Peaceful moments, such as after a fight, cause me anguish. I need to be at war. Of course, I’m a good person. I have good intentions, but that something inside needs to battle.”