Cezar Ferreira has not been featured on a UFC fight card in over a year, but that does not mean fans should write him off for his upcoming bout against Thiago Santos at UFC 163. In fact, he has shown tremendous confidence in himself during the pre-fight buildup.
“”It’s going to be a first-round knockout,” Ferreira said. “And if he wants, we can have a beer later.”
Ferreira’s road back to the Octagon has been a winding one. The last time we saw ‘Mutante’, he had just won a unanimous decision over Sergio Moraes at UFC 147 in June of 2012. That fight made Ferreira the winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil and justified Vitor Belfort’s selection of him with the second overall pick.
Ferreira has actually been a long-time protégé of Belfort’s. ‘The Phenom’ became Ferreira’s mentor nine years ago when they met in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The two have trained together ever since and Belfort showed faith in his pupil when he chose Ferreira with his first pick as a coach on TUF.
Ferreira emerged victorious from each of his fights on the show, despite not boasting the resume of some of the other contestants. He further demonstrated his resolve when he defeated Moraes, despite having prepared to fight fellow finalist Daniel Sarafian, who was a late scratch due to injury.
Ferreira refused to let Sarafian’s injury affect him, but injuries have been the theme of the past year for the 28-year old. He was originally scheduled to fight CB Dolloway at UFC on FX 8 earlier this year, but Dolloway had to withdraw due to injury. After Chris Camozzi replaced Dolloway on the card, Ferreira had his own injury and was forced to withdraw as well.
After being put on the UFC 163 card, Ferreira’s opponent, Clint Hester, was again forced to withdraw, so Mutante will face Santos on short notice.
Ferreira remains confident despite his long hiatus from the Octagon because he believes he has put in the work necessary to remain at the highest level of MMA.
When asked what he does during his free time, Ferreira responds, “I only train. That’s my only focus.”
He does that training with Belfort at the Blackzilian camp in Florida. There, he has a number of top-flight opponents to spar with, including Belfort himself. Some worry that he will not have enough time to study Santos before their bout, but Ferreira is not worried.
“Here I train in the best team with the best coaches and the best athletes, so it does not change anything for me. I’m ready for anyone. I’ve seen him fight, and he is strong and has good kicks, but he is predictable.”
Ferreira’s journey to return to the Octagon has not been an easy one, but there is still every indication that he has the talent and confidence to compete in the middleweight division. One day, he may even earn a fight against his mentor Belfort. Count him out at your own risk.
Dylan Sinn is a freelance contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSinn or subscribe at Facebook.com/CraveOnlineSports.
Photo via YouTube
