Diego Ferreira – Page 2 – Syndication Server

UFC Fight Night 224 predictions: Who’s picking Angela Hill to upset Mackenzie Dern?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 224 main card, featuring Mackenzie Dern vs. Angela Hill.

	Dern vs. Hill	Hernandez vs. Shahbazyan	Ducote vs. Godinez	Buckley vs. Fialho	Ferreira vs. Johnson
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 73-51	Dern (79%)	Hernandez (54%)	Godinez (74%)	Buckley (69%)	Johnson (52%)
Matt Erickson @MattE 81-43	Dern	Hernandez	Godinez	Buckley	Ferreira
Simon Samano @SJSamano 78-46	Dern	Shahbazyan	Ducote	Buckley	Ferreira
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 77-47	Dern	Shahbazyan	Godinez	Buckley	Ferreira
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 74-50	Dern	Hernandez	Godinez	Buckley	Johnson
Nolan King @mma_kings 74-50	Dern	Hernandez	Ducote	Buckley	Ferreira
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 72-52 2014 Champion	Dern	Shahbazyan	Godinez	Buckley	Ferreira
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway -70-54 2018, 2022 Champion	Dern	Shahbazyan	Godinez	Buckley	Ferreira
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 68-56	Dern	Shahbazyan	Godinez	Buckley	Ferreira
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 68-56	Hill	Shahbazyan	Godinez	Buckley	Johnson
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 68-56	Dern	Shahbazyan	Ducote	Buckley	Johnson
Brian Garcia @thegoze 65-59 2017 Champion	Dern	Shahbazyan	Ducote	Buckley	Ferreira

The UFC is back in its “Sin City” home base with a slightly delayed women’s strawweight bout at the top of the card.

UFC Fight Night 224 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) takes on [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) in a women’s 115-pound matchup that was supposed to take place this past week at UFC on ABC 4 until it was pulled to headline this card. Jiu-jitsu ace Dern nearly is a 2-1 favorite at most sportsbooks, and she’s got a big lead in the picks from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, who have it as a blowout for her at 10-1.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in a middleweight matchup. Hernandez is a big favorite at nearly 3-1, but only three of our staff members are picking him and have Shahbazyan in an upset at 8-3.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and [autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) fight at a 120-pound contract weight, granted due to the short notice for Godinez, who stepped in for Polyana Viana. Godinez is a mild favorite, and she’s got a 7-4 lead in the picks.

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) is a 2-1 favorite at middleweight against [autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC), and he’s also our only unanimous pick on the main card at 11-0.

And to open the main card at lightweight, [autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag] (21-18 MMA, 13-14 UFC) will try to get back to .500 in the UFC when he takes on [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC). Ferreira is a -150 favorite and has a big 8-3 lead from our pickers.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Dern (79 percent), Hernandez (54 percent), Godinez (74 percent), Buckley (69 percent) and Johnson (52 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

Diego Ferreira explains 17-month layoff ahead of UFC Fight Night 224 return vs. Michael Johnson

It’s been a long time away for Diego Ferriera, but he’s ready to resume swimming with the sharks in the UFC’s lightweight division.

LAS VEGAS – UFC lightweight [autotag]Diego Ferriera[/autotag] has been out of action for a lot longer than he anticipated, but is now just days away from a chance to get his career back on track.

At Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex, Ferreira (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) makes his long-awaited return to the cage after over 17 months on the sidelines to face fellow veteran Michael Johnson. The lightweight bout streams on ESPN+ and opens the main card.

Ferreira was on one of the hottest streaks in the always-stacked UFC’s lightweight division from 2016-2020. During that stretch, Ferreira won six in a row, with stoppages of Jared Gordon, Kyle Nelson, and former champion Anthony Pettis. Then the calendar flipped to 2021, where things took a sharp turn for the worse as Ferreira lost three straight and suffered an injury keeping him out of action longer than expected.

“It was under my collarbone, my rib. Like a light fracture,” Ferreira told reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “It took me a real good time to recover, but now I’m back and better than ever. It took me that time to focus on myself. … I was not in a rush to get back after an injury.”

Ferreira said he slowly ramped up his training while not pressing things too hard, despite the itch of wanting to compete in the octagon. He returned to the BJJ mats to keep his skills sharp, but didn’t press it too much in the hope of avoiding a further setback.

“It was more of a focus on myself, especially after the few losses I had,” Ferreira said. “I kind of took my time to see what was going to be my focus. I took that time to talk to my family, with my coaches to see what I need to change. After the Anthony Pettis fight, I kind of thought I wasn’t supposed to be training as much. Especially being in the rankings, in there between the sharks. I was not putting that much effort no more. I was just like, ‘OK. I need to maintain.'”

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As for his main card opponent Johnson (21-18 MMA, 13-14 UFC), Ferriera knows exactly what he’s about to get into, but is ready to get back into the swing of things for another run in the stacked lightweight division.

“I know Johnson’s going to bring the best out of me, and I’m expecting that,” Ferreira said. “I’m expecting that he comes like fireballs on his hands and I’ll be there to accept and take it to the deep ocean and see what the fight’s going to bring to myself.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

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Video: UFC Fight Night 224 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 224 arrives, 12 athletes from the main card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC schedule for May closes out Saturday with UFC Fight Night 224, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a full card that streams on ESPN+.

A strawweight main event serves as the final act on the card. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] in a matchup of fighters looking to take the next step forward in the division.

Before fight night arrives, though, 11 athletes spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie was in attendance.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

UFC Fight Night 224 pre-event facts: Will third time be the charm for Mackenzie Dern?

Check out the numbers behind UFC Fight Night 223, where Mackenzie Dern will make her third attempt at a UFC main event victory.

After two weeks on the road, the UFC returns to its home base on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card streams on ESPN+.

The makeshift main event for the card will feature a pair of strawweight contender hopefuls. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will meet [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) in a five-round matchup.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 223.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 3-9)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from April 3-9.

Diego Ferreira returns vs. Michael Johnson at UFC event on May 20

Lightweight veterans Diego Ferreira and Michael Johnson will meet in May.

Lightweight veterans [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag] will meet in May.

Ferreira (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) takes on Johnson (21-18 MMA, 13-14 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on May 20. A venue and location have yet to be announced.

Multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA Mania. The people requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Ferreira hasn’t competed since December 2021. The 38-year-old Fortis MMA fighter will look to snap a three-fight losing skid after setbacks to Beneil Dariush, Gregor Gillespie, and Mateusz Gamrot. Prior to that, Ferreira was on a six-fight winning streak – including a submission of former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

After dropping four straight, Johnson has won two of his past three. The “Ultimate Fighter 12” finalist is coming off a unanimous decision win over Marc Diakiese this past December at UFC on ESPN 42.

The current lineup for the UFC’s May 20 event includes:

Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Anthony Hernandez vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
Ilir Latifi vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
Viacheslav Borshchev vs. Hayisaer Maheshate
Diego Ferreira vs. Michael Johnson

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 11-17)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from July 11-17.

Diego Ferreira out of UFC 277; replacement sought for Drakkar Klose

With Diego Ferreira out, Drakkar Klose suddenly is in need of a new opponent.

[autotag]Drakkar Klose[/autotag] suddenly is in need of a new UFC 277 opponent after [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] was forced to withdraw.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Junkie’s Nolan King that Ferreira pulled out of the July 30 bout because of an injury. BJPenn.com was first to report the news Wednesday, adding that the UFC is actively searching for a replacement with just over two weeks until fight night at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

It’s an unfortunate development for Ferreira (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), who trains out of Dallas’ Fortis MMA gym. The 37-year-old Brazilian was hoping to get back on track in front of a hometown crowd, looking to snap a three-fight losing streak. Prior to the skid, Ferreira was on a six-fight winning streak capped off by a submission of former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Ferreira has since lost to Beneil Dariush (split decision), Gregor Gillespie (TKO) and Mateusz Gamrot (TKO).

Klose (12-2-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC), 34, is coming off an April knockout of Brandon Jenkins at UFC on ESPN 34, which was his first fight in two years. He’s won four of his past five bouts, with his lone defeat a knockout against Dariush in March 2020.

Below is the updated UFC 277 lineup:

Champ Julianna Peña vs. Amanda Nunes – for women’s bantamweight title
Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France – for interim flyweight title
Derrick Lewis vs. Sergei Pavlovich
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Anthony Smith
Rafael Alves vs. Drew Dober
Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Michael Morales
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Alex Perez
Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Ihor Potieria
Don’Tale Mayes vs. Justin Tafa
Drakkar Klose vs. opponent TBA
Mariya Agapova vs. Ji Yeon Kim
Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Ludovit Klein
Orion Cosce vs. Blood Diamond

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 277.

UFC Fight Night 199 predictions: Who’s picking Chris Daukaus to keep rolling over Derrick Lewis?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 199 card, featuring Derrick Lewis vs. Chris Daukaus.

	Lewis vs. Daukaus	Muhammad vs. Thompson	Hill vs. Lemos	Assuncao vs. Simon	Ferreira vs. Gamrot	Elkins vs. Swanson
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2021: 204-120	Lewis (60%)	Thompson (77%)	Lemos (65%)	Simon (61%)	Gamrot (68%)	Swanson (62%)
John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2021: 208-116	Daukaus	Thompson	Lemos	Simon	Gamrot	Swanson
Simon Samano @SJSamano 2021: 206-118	Lewis	Muhammad	Lemos	Simon	Ferreira	Swanson
Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2021: 200-124 2014 Champion	Lewis	Thompson	Lemos	Simon	Gamrot	Swanson
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2021: 199-125	Lewis	Thompson	Lemos	Simon	Ferreira	Elkins
Nolan King @mma_kings 2021: 198-126	Lewis	Thompson	Lemos	Assuncao	Gamrot	Elkins
Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2021: 197-127 2020 Champion	Daukaus	Thompson	Lemos	Simon	Gamrot	Elkins
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 2021: 126-82 (60.57)	Lewis	Thompson	Lemos	Simon	Ferreira	Swanson
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 2021: 192-132	Lewis	Muhammad	Hill	Assuncao	Ferreira	Elkins
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2021: 190-134 2018 Champion	Lewis	Muhammad	Lemos	Assuncao	Gamrot	Swanson
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2021: 188-136	Lewis	Muhammad	Lemos	Assuncao	Gamrot	Elkins
Brian Garcia @thegoze 2021: 186-138 2017 Champion	Lewis	Muhammad	Lemos	Assuncao	Gamrot	Elkins
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2021: 186-138	Lewis	Muhammad	Lemos	Simon	Ferreira	Swanson
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2021: 184-140	Lewis	Thompson	Lemos	Assuncao	Gamrot	Elkins

The final UFC event of the year takes place Saturday in Las Vegas with heavyweights at the top of the bill.

UFC Fight Night 199 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, former title challenger [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] (25-8 MMA, 16-6 UFC) takes on [autotag]Chris Daukaus[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC). Daukaus is a slight -140 favorite at Tipico. But our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking slight underdog Lewis in a big way at 11-2 margin.

In the co-feature, two-time welterweight title challenger [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag] (16-5-1 MMA, 11-5-1 UFC) meets [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] (19-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC). Thompson is more than a 2-1 favorite, but he’s only got a 7-6 edge in the picks.

[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (10-1-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is the biggest favorite on the main card at more than 3-1 in her women’s strawweight fight against [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (13-10 MMA, 8-10 UFC). Only one of our pickers is taking Hill in an upset.

[autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag] (27-8 MMA, 11-5 UFC) meets [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in a key bantamweight bout. Simon is nearly a 3-1 favorite, but the picks are tight and he has just a 7-6 lead from our staff members.

[autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is a 2-1 favorite at lightweight against [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC). Gamrot has a slight edge in the picks at 8-5.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag] (26-9 MMA, 16-8 UFC) and [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] (27-12 MMA, 12-8 UFC) throw down in a featherweight fight that seems like it should have happened years ago. Swanson nearly is a 2-1 favorite, but our pickers have Elkins with the smallest possible edge at 7-6.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Lewis (60 percent), Thompson (77 percent), Lemos (65 percent), Simon (61 percent), Gamrot (68 percent) and Swanson (62 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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UFC books Diego Ferreira vs. Mateusz Gamrot for final event of 2021

A lightweight clash has been added to the final UFC event of 2021.

A lightweight matchup is the latest addition to UFC Fight Night 199.

On Dec. 18, it’ll be Brazil vs. Poland as [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] battles [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] in a three-round lightweight matchup. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and the card will stream on ESPN+.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Ferreira (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) will look to turn his luck around after a difficult 2021 thus far. In February, his six-fight winning streak was snapped against Beneil Dariush. Three months later, he was finished via strikes by Gregor Gillespie.

Gamrot (19-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), a former KSW lightweight champion, has finished back-to-back fights against Scott Holtzman and Jeremy Stephens since he lost his promotional debut via split decision in October 2020.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 199 lineup includes:

Chris Daukaus vs. Derrick Lewis
Angela Hill vs. Amanda Lemos
Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Gerald Meerschaert
Darren Elkins vs. Cub Swanson
Anthony Hernandez vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
Don’Tale Mayes vs. Josh Parisian
Raphael Assuncao vs. Ricky Simon
Jordan Leavitt vs. Matt Sayles
Harry Hunsucker vs. Justin Tafa
Julia Avila vs. Raquel Pennington
Andre Ewell vs. Charles Jourdain
Raoni Barcelos vs. Trevin Jones
Sijara Eubanks vs. Melissa Gatto
Diego Ferreira vs. Mateusz Gamrot

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