Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Brunno
Ferreira has learned that there is a certain value to making
yourself available.
Brazil’s Ferreira (12-1) is coming off his third win in the
Octagon, where he blasted Dustin
Stoltzfus with a spinning back elbow to claim a “Performance of
the Night” bonus along with his show and win money. “The Hulk”
revealed to Sherdog that he decided to stay in Las Vegas to attend
Wanderlei
Silva’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony on June 27.
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“Besides being a friend and a longtime training partner of my
master Dida [Andre Amado],
Wanderlei is an idol to all Brazilian fighters. So, I wouldn’t lose
the opportunity to stay two more weeks in Vegas and testify to such
an important moment of his career,” Ferreira said gleefully.
Ferreira’s team has already informed the promotion that he is
available to serve as a late replacement in a fight in the
middleweight division falls through in the next few weeks. While
one opportunity did arise as the main attraction of UFC on ABC 6,
Ikram
Aliskerov ended up replacing Khamzat
Chimaev against Robert
Whittaker. Ferreira is ready for any other opportunity that
comes his way.
After challenging Bo Nickal in
the Octagon, suggesting a clash between judo and wrestling in their
next fight, “The Hulk” reacted to a statement from ATT coach,
Marcos da
Matta, on a Brazilian podcast last Monday. The coach suggested
that Nickal already has a fight lined up against a different
Brazilian in November—potentially against grappling ace Rodolfo
Vieira.
“We are both national team level fighters in our styles and I truly
believe judo has [many] more weapons for MMA than wrestling, and I
was going to prove that against him, but I found out, after the
event, that he will face Rodolfo
Vieira, 100%,” Ferreira explained.
If Nickal is not in the cards for the marauding striker, he will
not lose sleep over it. He states that he is willing to take any
opening in the next few weeks, unless the UFC has other plans for a
fight scheduled in the future. As for now, Ferreira is just playing
the waiting game.
“I’m already training every day in [the UFC Performance Institute
in Las Vegas]. If they need me for next week, I’m here,” Ferreira
concluded.