The Brazilian MMA artist Diego Ferreira has the ultimate chance to extend his winning streak to five, but it won’t be easy.
Ferreira (15-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) will take on Mairbek Taisumov (27-5 MMA, 7-1 UFC) at UFC 242 from The Arena in Yas Island. To set up the bout with Taisumov, the 34-year-old Ferreira crushed Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Jared Gordon, Kyle Nelson, and Rustam Khabilov.
If he extends his streak, Ferreira is hoping to enter the UFC rankings.
“When I got the call to fight him, I accepted right away,” Ferreira said during a pre-fight media day on Thursday. “My coach was like, ‘Hey, that’s a good fight. I think that’s going to be the fight to get to the top 15.’ I said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’
“I think I’m working to get there. I still have a few more fights to go, and I really want to get this fight first to get to the top 15. I think Taisumov is a great fighter. He has seven wins, and I have four. For me, one more is going to be excellent to jump to the top 15.”
Ferreira holds eight UFC fights to his name. In his first four outings, he won two and lost two others.
The lightweight fighter gives credit to his trainer Sayif Saud who has propelled powerful fighters into the UFC over the past few years, including Geoff Neal, Macy Chiasson, and Ryan Spann.
Mairbek Taisumov is famous for his great punching power and knockout abilities, Ferreira said he’ll try to push the Russian’s cardio as much as possible. Ferreira plans on using the entire 15 minutes to get the job done.
If he shines on Saturday night, Ferreira has already lined up his next enemy. Having been booked to fight Francisco Trinaldo in May, Ferreira has shifted his entire focus to the man who recently beat him: Alexander Hernandez.
“That’s going to be an excellent matchup,” Ferreira said. “He’s a fighter coming off a win. I was supposed to fight Francisco Trinaldo before, and he beat Francisco. If I get passed this one, I really want a fight with him for sure.”
