Brunno
Ferreira is dead set on fighting Sharabutdin
Magomedov before it is all over.
In January, the Brazilian middleweight known as “The Hulk”
triumphantly rebounded after his first career defeat by smashing
Phil
Hawes before the end of the first round. This win righted the
ship after a humbling 77-second knockout loss to Nursulton
Ruziboev. Ferreira (11-1) will return to the cage on June 8,
but it is not against the foe he wanted. The Brazilian TKO fighter
would have preferred a match with Magomedov, but he will take on
Dustin
Stoltzfus (15-5) at that UFC
Fight Night show instead.
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“Unfortunately, Shara Magomedov escaped from me for a second time,”
Ferreira told Sherdog. “We had a fight prescheduled for June 22 in
Saudi Arabia, but he escaped from me and accepted an easier
opponent where he doesn’t run any risk from being taken down. But
fortunately, [the] UFC found [me] Stoltzfus, which is a great
opponent to me. Just like Hawes, he will permit me to show both my
striking and grappling abilities. That fight will be perfect for me
to show my overall improvement for the fan.”
The judo black belt began his MMA career in 2019, and he has been
training with former Chute Boxe coach Andre Dida, founder of the
recently renamed camp Brazilian TKO. According to Dida, the vaunted
striker has come a long way from being a judo practitioner.
“With his amazing work ethic he brought from Judo and his
outstanding [explosiveness], soon he became a complete athlete
mixing throws and knockout power,” Dida explained in an interview
with Sherdog in March.
Ferreira put himself on the radar in 2022 by amassing eight
stoppage wins, all within the first two rounds, to kick off his pro
career. “The Hulk” reached
Dana White’s Contender Series and crushed Leon Aliu in
95 seconds to claim a place on the roster.
Since then, all three of his UFC outings have ended by first-round
knockout, win or lose. His debut went swimmingly when he dispatched
the heavily favored Gregory
Rodrigues. His sophomore effort, however, saw Ruziboev switch
his lights out. Ferreira uses that setback as a learning moment
rather than a stumbling block.
“It was very important for me both technically and mentally,”
Ferreira noted. “I evolved a lot after that and consider myself a
complete athlete. Nothing is new to me. I’ve knocked out and also
was knocked out. And the biggest proof of that I could show in my
last fight where I could show all my game with throws and [power],
winning my first bonus. But my arsenal is much bigger than I could
show last fight, and I hope against Stoltzfus I can show starting
to climb the category and maybe get a ranked opponent in my next
fight.”