Alex Oliveira using UFC 254 fight money to admit sick 2-month-old son in private hospital
UFC welterweight Alex Oliveira is going through a very tough period in both his professional life and his personal life.
According to ESPN journalist Brett Okamoto, the Brazilian's manager Alex Davis informed him that Oliveira's 2-month-old son fell ill last week ahead of his father's fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 254, and is currently admitted to an ICU.
Okamoto further stated that Oliveira is using the money he got for showing up at this past weekend's magnum opus pay-per-view to move his ailing son to a private hospital.
"Sending positive thoughts to UFC's Alex 'Cowboy' Oliveira. His manager Alex Davis tells me Oliveira's 2-month-old son got sick last week, and has been admitted to an ICU. Oliveira is using his fight money from UFC 254 to move him to a private hospital," said Okamoto in a tweet.
Alex Oliveira was understandably stressed due to his son's health condition ahead of his fight and that may have affected his psyche heading into the showdown at UFC 254.
This might explain why he failed to make weight for the fight and then suffered a humbling first-round defeat at the hands of Shavkat Rakhmonov, who was making his Octagon debut on the night.
Alex Oliveira has to undergo a 30 percent pay cut for missing weight
The fact that Alex Oliveira failed to make weight means that he would have to forfeit at least 30 percent of the total purse he was initially supposed to receive for the fight.
This is a worrying situation for the Brazilian because he is funding his child's treatment from the fight money, and a 30 percent cut would obviously hurt him at the moment.
While UFC officials are yet to respond to the situation in public, the promotion's frontman Dana White is known to stand beside the families of his fighters during such dire circumstances. Many fans have even requested White to help out the fighter via comments on Okamoto's post on Twitter.
We at Sportskeeda pray for the speedy recovery of Alex Oliveira's son.