The Ultimate Fighting Championship has just signed
the youngest fighter to ever come out of Amazonas, Brazil.
At just 20 years of age, Brazilian prospect Jose Henrique
Nascimento de Souza, better known as Jose
Henrique Souza (6-1) or just Henrique “Canela,” has signed a
contract with the UFC. The 6-foot-3 athlete will likely compete in
the welterweight division, although he started his career at 185
pounds. As a result, he becomes the youngest fighter from Amazonas
to join the organization, putting him one step closer to the dream
he has held since he was eight years old to become a UFC champ. At
that time, the promotion had the likes of Anderson
Silva and Jose Aldo
holding belts.
Considered by some to be the martial arts capital of Brazil, the
state of Amazonas is home to many top talents including Bibiano
Fernandes, Ketlen
Vieira and Adriano
Martins, among several others. Born in Manaus, the youngster
first started practicing jiu-jitsu when he was eight, but not for
competition purposes. Instead, the boy now called “Canela” wanted
to lose weight. It did not take long for him to be opened up to
MMA, and he decided he would like to become a fighter shortly into
his training. Now, he trains at Nova Uniao, learning from some of
the best fighters in the world.
“I’m very happy to be in the UFC, feeling like a dream come true,”
Souza excitedly explained to Sherdog. “I worked every day to make
this happen, now I’ll work twice as hard to [improve] myself and
one day I can become champion.”
Winning once under the Legacy Fighting Alliance banner in 2022, at
5-0, Souza was then selected for the 2022 season of Dana White’s Contender Series. There, he met
Japanese fellow neophyte Yusaku
Kinoshita, and he suffered the first loss of his career.
“Canela” rebounded in February by obliterating Alan Silva
with a knee with just five seconds left in the third round. The
20-year-old signed a four-fight contract, and the date of his debut
and prospective opponent have not yet been announced.