5 takeaways from UFC Brasilia

Lightweight contender Charles Oliveira defeated Kevin Lee by third-round submission in the UFC Brasilia main event on Saturday night at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil.

Also on the card, rising welterweight Gilbert Burns stopped Demian Maia with a first-round TKO.

Here are five takeaways from the event.

Oliveira's arrival took a while

Oliveira is 38 fights deep as a professional, yet it feels like he's only now reaching his full potential.

"Do Bronx" has endured his ups and downs right from the start of his Octagon career, which dates back to 2010. He won his first two UFC bouts, but then suffered two losses with a no-contest sandwiched in between.

That back and forth went on until Oliveira finally decided to move up to lightweight - a switch many wanted to see sooner, as the 30-year-old missed weight four times in 12 featherweight fights.

He's 8-1 in the division, currently riding a seven-fight winning streak, and the veteran hasn't looked back since.

Wins over Jim Miller, Will Brooks, David Teymur, and Jared Gordon were all impressive, but he stepped it up a notch while submitting Lee. Oliveira entered the fight ranked No. 13 at lightweight, with Lee at No. 8, and proved he's ready to take on the best of the best at 155 pounds.

Burns turning into a contender

Burns also earned his biggest career win on Saturday.

"Durinho" ended Maia's three-fight winning streak, and he gets to add a victory over the beloved veteran to his resume, which speaks volumes, even in 2020.

Burns opted to stay put after moving up to the welterweight division last year for a short-notice contest and winning. That proved to be a great decision for the Brazilian, as he's defeated Gunnar Nelson and now Maia. He's quietly put together five straight wins, and after taking out the No. 5 welterweight in the promotion, Burns quickly worked his way up to the top of the ladder.

Burns still might not be the biggest name at 170 pounds. But you should start talking about him, because it appears he'll be around for a while.

Time to halt the Walker hype

There's no denying that Johnny Walker is flashy and exciting when he's winning. But it's not very pretty when he loses.

The Brazilian light heavyweight prospect suffered his second straight defeat Saturday, dropping a unanimous decision to division staple Nikita Krylov.

Walker made the move to Montreal's TriStar to train under Firas Zahabi ahead of this fight. Fans hoped that switch would pay off, but he's largely disappointed. It seemed like this bout was bound to be entertaining, but Krylov used his grappling to grind out the victory.

Walker has shown signs of brilliance throughout his five-fight UFC career, which dates back to the end of 2018. But he needs a lot more seasoning before even thinking about being a division contender.

Just what Moicano needed

Renato Moicano's 44-second submission of Damir Hadzovic did exactly what it was supposed to do: Make people forget about the past.

Moicano carried a lot of momentum in the UFC featherweight division, but then he ran into Jose Aldo and Chan Sung Jung, suffering knockout losses to both. There's no shame in either of those defeats, but the letdowns closed the book on the Brazilian as a title contender for the foreseeable future.

He decided to jump up to the lightweight division, and that move is paying off.

Hadzovic doesn't offer nearly the same level of competition as Aldo and Jung, but that's fine. Moicano was a -450 favorite for a reason, as the fight presented a bounce-back opportunity for him.

Now, looking ahead, it's time to see if Moicano can be a real threat as a lightweight. He seems to want a step-up, too, as he called out Paul Felder after his victory. That'd be a good place to start.

No fans ... lots of decisions?

The coronavirus pandemic didn't stop the UFC from proceeding with Saturday's event in Brasilia, but it did add a twist: Fans weren't allowed in the arena.

That made for an odd night. Usually, fighters feed off the energy in the building, and it gives them more adrenaline. And for better or worse, they take that into the Octagon with them.

But on Saturday, there were no cheers or boos for anyone, including the Brazilian fighters. No infamous uh vai morrer chants for the visitors. Instead, the athletes quickly walked out - still to their music playing, for what it's worth - and into the cage they went. That was it.

Did that impact how the fights played out? I'm not going to pretend to know for sure. But the first nine of 12 fights did go to the judges' scorecards.

The fighters possibly didn't feel as energetic without an audience, leading to more lackluster contests. Or maybe they were subconsciously less motivated to perform at the best of their abilities without anyone there watching. Just something to think about.

The empty arena didn't really change my viewing experience, although not being forced to listen to fans "woo" like Ric Flair was incredibly refreshing.