The UFC comeback of Copenhagen’s Nicolas Dalby was a triumphant one, as he earned a unanimous decision victory over welterweight veteran Alex Oliveira in his first Octagon bout since September 2016.

Scores in the welterweight bout were 29-28 across the board for Dalby, now 18-3-1 with 1 NC. Oliveira falls to 19-8-1 with 2 NC.

After a slow start for Dalby that saw Oliveira get in some shots and score a takedown with a little over a minute left in the opening frame, Dalby scored a takedown of his own at round’s end and then got more aggressive to begin the second, as he landed a hard kick to the head and then got another takedown. On the mat, Dalby drilled Oliveira with some strikes until the Brazilian got back to his feet with 90 seconds remaining. Dalby continued to put his strikes together nicely before a wild exchange saw the fight go back to the mat, where Oliveira landed an illegal up kick before the end of the frame.

Oliveira looked tired heading into the last round, but he got an important takedown in the second minute of the third. With two minutes left, referee Rebin Saber restarted the action, but Oliveira put the fight back on the mat, where he searched for a submission before Dalby got free and into the mount position. And with the crowd roaring, Dalby rained down strikes on “Cowboy,” wrapping up an emotional victory for “Lokomotivo.”