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| Name: |  David Oliva |
| Nickname: | The Mayan Assassin |
| Age: | 28 |
| Height: | 5'11" |
| Location: | Chicago, Illinois |
Here we are, fight fans, standing at the base of the mountain, ready to ascend to the peak to reveal MMA's best heavyweight mixed martial arts talent. I'll be frank. It's more of a hill than a mountain. But there is potential in many of the prospects we've picked to grace our report this year.
Illinois-native David Oliva (6-0) begins the countdown, claiming the #10 spot on this year's report. Undefeated in six professional bouts, Oliva has been on an extended layoff since defeating Chuck Hoskins at an event in Milwaukee in August of 2010. He was scheduled to face Justin Lemke at Bellator 29 in September of the same year, but experienced weight issues in the lead-up to the bout, forcing him to withdraw.
A little over a year later, in November, Oliva resurfaced to battle 2011 Scouting Report prospect Shamil Abdurahimov at Pro FC 37 in Russia. The bout never happened, continuing Oliva's dry spell into 2012.
Before his lengthy absence, Oliva was gaining attention as one of the few heavyweight prospects in the talent pool with the wrestling skills to smother legitimate opposition. He worked over 2011 Scouting Report prospect Konstantin Gluhov at KSW 13 in May, slamming him to the ground with incredible strength and controlling him for three rounds. He did the same to the majority of his opponents.
Oliva lacks the size and stand-up skills to be considered a well-balanced mixed martial artist. He does, however, know how to play to his strengths. A powerful wrestler with sufficient conditioning and an iron will, Oliva is capable of relentlessly powering through his adversaries. If he can resolve the weight problems and gain a submission game, there's no doubt Oliva will have some momentum heading into tougher fights. It doesn't take much to get interest from the UFC or Bellator if you're a heavyweight, and a little consistency and a few wins can go a long way in helping Oliva sign a major league contract this year.
Oliva is scheduled to fight Karol Bedorf on February 25 at KSW 18.
Footage of David Oliva after the jump...
| Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
#1 - Rony Mariano #2 - Aljamain Sterling #3 - Chris Holdsworth #4 - Josh Hill #5 - Fabiano Fernandes #6 - Claudio Ledesma #7 - Sirwan Kakai #8 - Kyoji Horiguchi #9 - Leandro Hygo #10 - Pedro Munhoz |
#1 - Hacran Dias #2 - Joey Gambino #3 - Brandon Bender #4 - Lance Palmer #5 - Jim Alers #6 - Anthony Gutierrez #7 - Max Holloway #8 - John Teixeira #9 - Cody Bollinger #10 - Bubba Jenkins |
#1 - Fabricio Guerreiro #2 - Alessandro Ferreira #3 - Adriano Martins #4 - Justin Salas #5 - Neilson Gomes #6 - Eduard Folayang #7 - Zorobabel Moreira #8 - Anton Kuivanen #9 - Jordan Rinaldi #10 - J.P. Vainikainen |
| Welterweight | Middleweight | Light Heavyweight | Heavyweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - Andrey Koreshkov #2 - Dhiego Lima #3 - Brandon Thatch #4 - Nordine Taleb #5 - Hernani Perpetuo #6 - Brock Jardine #7 - Alan Jouban #8 - Mohsen Bahari #9 - Andre Santos #10 - Stephen Thompson |
#1 - Antonio Braga Neto #2 - Marcelo Guimaraes #3 - Claudio Silva #4 - Bojan Velickovic #5 - Ildemar Alcantara #6 - Michal Materla #7 - Elvis Mutapcic #8 - Tor Troeng #9 - Jack Hermansson #10 - Tim Ruberg |
#1 - Wagner Prado #2 - Phelipe Lins #3 - Tom DeBlass #4 - Misha Cirkunov #5 - Kyle Cerminara #6 - Robert Drysdale #7 - Artur Alibulatov #8 - Thiago Perpetuo #9 - Steve Bosse #10 - Juha Saarinen |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - David Oliva |
David Oliva vs. Konstantin Gluhov
Daniel Omielańczuk vs David Olivia
David Oliva vs. Lee Defoose
David Oliva vs. Matt Hirsch
David Oliva vs Unknown - 09/26/2009
David Oliva vs. Unknown - 06/20/2009
1 recs | 32 comments
the round mound of ground and pound!
does this means he would not have made weight at Bellator?
T.P. Grant - January 22, 2012
Yes. I imagine that’s what it was. He definitely needs some discipline in terms of his weight. But he’s gotten down to 265 before.
Leland Roling - January 22, 2012
I was surprised by his skills
he was slamming guys as well as getting nice solid doubles, passing guard and working for subs. He has nice control and can survive on the feet. I’d like to see him in there with Bellator heavyweights to see if he can hang.
Where out of Chicago is he training?
T.P. Grant - January 22, 2012
Freestyle Academy.
Leland Roling - January 22, 2012
In the early fights below, he’s easily 300 lbs. So, he slimmed down a bit for KSW. I’m hoping the bouts he has coming up show a dedication to losing some of that.
Leland Roling - January 22, 2012
OOO heavyweights this is going to be good
MaZZacare - January 22, 2012
I wonder if Todd Duffee can make this list. I’ll just wait and see though.
chrisbboy82 - January 22, 2012
Why would he?
He hasn’t even fought since 2010.
av1o3 - January 23, 2012
Yikes.
POW - January 22, 2012
Unless your name is Daniel Cormier or Fedor Emelianenko, being a fat 5’11 heavyweight probably isn’t going to get you anywhere.
Horselover Fat - January 22, 2012
Not sure about that. In multiple fights, he picked up 240-250 lb. guys up over his head and slammed the fuck out of them.
Leland Roling - January 22, 2012
Okay, cool. To be fair I didn’t view his footage yet (don’t kill me!). I think it’s just I was watching two guys of similar build on the ProElite card from yesterday, and thought just that to myself then. Seems like there are a lot of shorter fatties in the lower levels, regional scene who just fight at heavyweight because they are too lazy to go on a diet. You probably know more about this than me though, and there are exceptions of course.
Horselover Fat - January 22, 2012
Well, let’s be honest here… he’s #10 on the list. We were trying to include some other guys, but a lot of guys are aged or there isn’t any video available. But Oliva does have some wrestling ability, a lot of strength, and he’s a survivor. Always seems to have some gas left.
Leland Roling - January 22, 2012
Yeah, and you did warn us about the general talent level. I wasn’t trying to take a jab at your list, if you say he belongs here then I respect that.
Unrelated, but do you have any comments about the UFC’s signings for the Sweden show? Magnus Cedenblad, Besam Yousef, Jörgen Kruth.. haha. Personally I would have liked to see Assan Njie and Sirwan Kakai on there instead, but no luck so far.
Horselover Fat - January 22, 2012
Not a fan of most of their signings.
Leland Roling - January 22, 2012
big fan of kruth
As a kickboxer. But hes old and wont accomplish anything noteworthy in mma
ElliotMatheny - January 23, 2012
This is true. He is a fan favorite in Sweden, but even so I was surprised to see him get signed to the UFC. Pretty cool way to cap off his career though, would be epic if he could beat Diabate.
Horselover Fat - January 23, 2012
Cyrille gives zero fucks about the ground game
so I think it’ll be a striking match. Kruth definitely has a shot here.
ElliotMatheny - January 25, 2012
I suspect Heavyweight will be fairly thin, or at least pretty speculative. He looks strong and his base will get him somewhere in a thin division. Soft heavweights under 5’11 face an uphill battle for sure.
Tag01 - January 22, 2012
Probably a stupid question but having more difficulty finding prospects deserving of the list especially in the thinner divisions like Hw and Mw? Almost seems as though this years prospects couldn’t live up to last years.
tremblay6 - January 22, 2012 via mobile
Yes, it is very tough to find heavyweight talent. Even MW and WW were a bit thin. Not like HW tho.
Leland Roling - January 22, 2012
How does one have problems making 265?
TheLastEmpress - January 22, 2012
ahem...
they are husky
Andy Anderson - January 22, 2012
Ask Tim Sylvia
Not posting fat Tim Sylvia photos because, ew.
ihateemo - January 23, 2012
YAYA heavyweights
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - January 22, 2012
I like him
NEW-HAMPSHIRE - January 22, 2012
Oliva is an excellent counter to the argument that the heavyweight division is thin.
Verklemptomaniac - January 22, 2012
I see what you did there......
AusEagle - January 23, 2012
The new American Fedor!
Pandanus - January 23, 2012
War Illinois.
MicahtheCynic - January 23, 2012
Jesus
Watch the fight with Defoose
He was tapping for hours
Full Mount - January 23, 2012
Will there be LHW and HW reviews of the 2011 Scouting Report? Really enjoyed the other ones.
BadgerBreeder - January 23, 2012
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