The Many Motives of Diego Ferreira

Dedication to craft, a bold move to a foreign country, exhausting hours-long rides from one gym to the next and incremental improvements in his skills made Diego Ferreira an unmitigated success. At the age of 39, he has now spent roughly a quarter of his life on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster.

“I haven’t gotten as far as I wanted, but I know I have the potential to do so, as well as the motivation,” Ferreira said. “I train every day so I can fight the guys who are ranked at the top of our weight class. I wish to get closer to the belt.”

The Fortis MMA-based Brazilian will fill the role of underdog in his latest appearance, as he takes on the once-beaten Mateusz Rebecki in a UFC on ESPN 56 lightweight showcase this Saturday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. At this late stage of his career, Ferreira can ill afford another misstep. He enters the Octagon with losses in three of his past four bouts, though he managed to stop the bleeding with a second-round knockout of Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 223 on May 20. It resulted in his fifth $50,000 post-fight bonus—a failed weight cut cost him a sixth against Gregor Gillespie in 2021—as a member of the UFC roster. Additional income comes in handy.

“They’ve been a big help,” Ferreira said. “I was able to get visas for my children and for my mother. I was able to help out my family and put together my own academy. It had always been a dream of mine. The bonuses also allowed me to buy my home. It’s something I’m very proud of.”

In his latest assignment, Ferreira must contend with Rebecki. The 31-year-old Pole operates out of the powerhouse American Top Team camp in Coconut Creek, Florida, where he has emerged as one of the dark horses of the 155-pound weight class. Still unranked, Rebecki steps into the spotlight on a 16-fight winning streak that reaches all the way back to 2015. “Chinczyk”—a 2022 graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series—last fought at UFC 295, where he submitted Roosevelt Roberts with an armbar in the first round of their Nov. 11 encounter.

“He’s tough, and he’s been doing great work in the UFC,” Ferreira said. “He’s someone who comes at you at full force. It’s what I expect from my opponents. I’ve fought several guys like Rebecki, with heavy hands and sensational grappling. I want a battle. Since we both come from jiu-jitsu, I expect a striking war. I visualize us going into the third round. Part of my strategy is to avoid his heavy left hand. I have to impose my game. I’m not impressed by someone’s past wins. I’ve also beaten high-level guys. I can hardly wait to fight. I hope Mateusz comes out hard against me and we bang it out. I miss doing that. I can hardly wait to step back into the Octagon.”

Ferreira still has hopes of reaching the top of the UFC lightweight division, even as he balances such aspirations with longer-term goals.

“Maybe it’s a matter of maturity, but I’m now focused on getting to the belt,” he said. “I didn’t think of that when I was getting started. I used to fight only for a paycheck, but now I have bigger dreams—like owning a farm in the United States. It further increases my motivation. My willpower is there. This year, I wish to fight as often as possible.”