Carlos Diego Ferreira (born January 18, 1985) is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

, currently competing in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He is the former Legacy FC lightweight champion, and vacated the championship in May 2014 to sign with

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Mixed martial arts career

Born in Careiro da Várzea, Amazonas, Brazil, Ferreira grew up playing soccer, and his first martial art was capoeira. At the age of 10 Ferreira started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He moved to the United States in 2008 to make a career out of jiu-jitsu like his idol

Ronaldo Souza Ronaldo Souza dos Santos (born December 7, 1979), nicknamed " Jacare" (), is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist and submission grappler who competed for UFC from 2013 to 2021. A highly regarded grappler on the world s ...

. Despite faring fairly well in jiu-jitsu competition, he never captured gold in big tournaments and was forced to start teaching the sport to make a living. Subsequently Ferreira made his professional mixed martial arts debut on April 15, 2011, when he faced Joseph Daily at STFC 15. He won the fight via a split decision. Following this, Ferreira would compile an undefeated record of 9–0, also capturing the Legacy FC Lightweight Championship from

Jorge Patino Jorge Luis Patino (born May 8, 1973) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 1995, Patino has formerly competed in the UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, ...

at Legacy FC 25. Ferreira would vacate the title in May 2014, when he signed with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his debut, Ferreira faced

Colton Smith Colton Thomas Smith (born August 14, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Smith is best known for competing on, and winning The Ultimate Fighter: Team ...

at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens on June 28, 2014. He won the fight via submission (rear-naked choke), winning a

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

bonus for the victory. For his second fight in the promotion, Ferreira faced

Ramsey Nijem Pedro Ramsey Nijem ( ar, رامزي نجم, born April 1, 1988) is an American retired mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor from 2008 to 2021, Nijem is perhaps best known for his 10-fight stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championshi ...

UFC 177 ''UFC 177: Dillashaw vs. Soto'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 30, 2014, at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. Background The event was originally planned to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev ...

on August 30, 2014. He won the back and forth battle via technical knockout due to punches, winning another bonus (this time as Fight of the Night). Ferreira next faced

Beneil Dariush Beneil Khobier Dariush (born May 6, 1989) is an Assyrian-American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 in the UFC lightw ...

on October 25, 2014 at

UFC 179 ''UFC 179: Aldo vs. Mendes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held on October 25, 2014, at Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Featherweight Championship, Featherweight Championship re ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Ferreira faced

Dustin Poirier Dustin Poirier (born January 19, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. As of May 9, 2022, he is #2 in the UFC lightweight rankings and as of October 24, 2022, he is #11 in the U ...

on April 4, 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 63 ''UFC Fight Night: Mendes vs. Lamas'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 63'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 4, 2015, at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Background The event was the third that the organization hosted at the ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Ferreira faced

Olivier Aubin-Mercier Olivier Aubin-Mercier (; born February 23, 1989) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Professional Fighters League. He formerly competed for the UFC until October 2019 when he became a free agent. A pr ...

on January 30, 2016 at

UFC on Fox 18 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 18'') was a mixed martial arts event held on January 30, 2016, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background The event was headlined by a potential UFC Light Heavyweight C ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Ferreira was expected to face

Abel Trujillo Abel Nazario Trujillo (born September 18, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Trujillo attended Ri ...

on May 29, 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 88 ''UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 88'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 29, 2016, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background A bantamweight bout between top undefeated p ...

. However, Ferreira was removed from the fight on May 13 after it was announced that he had been flagged for a potential anti-doping policy violation. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Jordan Rinaldi. On December 21, 2016, Ferreira accepted a 17-month sanction by the US Anti-Doping Agency for an anti-doping violation after declaring the use of a product that listed and contained a prohibited substance and testing positive for another prohibited substance. Ferreira faced

Jared Gordon Jared Gordon (born September 6, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist. He was the lightweight champion of Duelo De Gigantes in Mexico and featherweight champion for Cage Fury Fighting Championships in United States. He competes in the lightwe ...

on February 18, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Ferreira was expected to face

John Makdessi John Makdessi (born May 3, 1985) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Makdessi was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on May 3, 1985, ...

on December 8, 2018 at

UFC 231 ''UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on December 8, 2018 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background A UFC Featherweight Championship bout between M ...

. However, on November 28, 2018, it was reported that Makdessi was removed from the card and was replaced by

Jesse Ronson Jesse Ronson (born December 24, 1985) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competed the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the Lightweight division. A professional fighter since 2009, he has previously competed in promotions such as UFC, ...

. However, on December 4, 2018. It was announced that Ronson was pulled out of the fight due to being too heavy to safely make Lightweight and was released from UFC. Ronson was replaced by newcomer Kyle Nelson. Ferreira won the fight via TKO in the second round. Ferreira faced

Rustam Khabilov Rustam Khabilov (born 4 November 1986) is a Russian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. He is a Combat Sambo World Champion and a former member of the Legion Sport Club fight team in Rostov-on-D ...

on February 23, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 145 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. At the weigh-ins, Ferreira weighted at 157 pounds, 1 pound and over the lightweight non-title fight limit of 156. He was fined 20% of his purse which went to his opponent Khabilov. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Ferreira was scheduled to face

Francisco Trinaldo Francisco Trinaldo Soares da Rocha (; born August 24, 1978) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2006, he has also competed for Jungle Fight in h ...

on May 11, 2019 at

UFC 237 ''UFC 237: Namajunas vs. Andrade'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 11, 2019, at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event was originally expected to be held ...

. However, Ferreira was forced out of the bout on weigh-in day as he was deemed medically unfit due to a weight cutting issue. As a result, the bout was cancelled. Ferreira faced

Mairbek Taisumov Mairbek Vakhaevich Taisumov (Russian: Майрбек Вахаевич Тайсумов; born August 8, 1988 in Chechnya) is a Russian-born Austrian mixed martial artist. He fights in the lightweight division. A professional mixed martial artist ...

on September 7, 2019 at

UFC 242 ''UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on September 7, 2019 at The Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event mark ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Ferreira faced

Anthony Pettis Anthony Paul Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of the ...

on January 18, 2020 at

UFC 246 ''UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 18, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. Ferreira defeated Pettis by submission in the second round. This win earned him a

award. Ferreira was scheduled to face

Drew Dober Andrew Martin Dober (born October 19, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also formerly competed for Bella ...

on May 2, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Weidman. However, on April 9,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date The bout with Dober was rescheduled and was expected to take place on November 7, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira. In turn, Ferreira pulled out on October 22 due to an illness. A rematch with

took place on February 6, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 184 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 184'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 42'' and ''UFC Vegas 18'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 6, 2021 at the UF ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. This fight earned him the '' Fight of the Night'' award. Ferreira faced

Gregor Gillespie Gregor Volz Gillespie (born March 18, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and graduated collegiate wrestler who currently competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since ...

on May 8, 2021 at UFC on ESPN 24. At the weigh-ins, Ferreira weighed in at 160.5 pounds, four and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 30% of his purse, which went to Gillespie. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. The bout was named '' Fight of the Night'', but Ferreira was not eligible to receive the award after missing weight and the full bonus went to Gillespie. Ferreira was scheduled to face

Grant Dawson Grant Dawson (born February 20, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 19, 2022, he is #15 in the UFC lightweight rankings. Background Daws ...

on October 2, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 193 ''UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 193'', ''UFC Vegas 38'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 51'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...

. However, Ferreira pulled out of the fight in early-September citing an injury. Ferreira faced

Mateusz Gamrot Mateusz Gamrot (born December 11, 1990) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gamrot is a former KSW Featherweight Champion and KSW Lightwei ...

on December 19, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus. He lost the bout in the second round after verbally tapping due to a knee to his ribs. Ferreira was scheduled to face

Drakkar Klose Drakkar Don Klose (born March 9, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised alongside six other siblings in South Haven, Michigan, K ...

on July 30, 2022 at

UFC 277 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

. However, Ferreira was forced out the event due an injury.

Personal life

Ferreira worked as a salesman in a mattress store before getting signed to the UFC. He is married to Yvonne Ferreira, and has three children.

Championships and accomplishments

Legacy Fighting Championship Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

**Legacy FC Lightweight Championship (one time) *

** Fight of the Night (Two times) **

(Two times)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 17–5 ,

, TKO (submission to knee to the body) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:26 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–4 ,

, TKO (elbows and punches) , UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:51 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–3 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:46 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 15–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Santos , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Kyle Nelson , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:23 ,

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:58 ,

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Dustin Poirier Dustin Poirier (born January 19, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. As of May 9, 2022, he is #2 in the UFC lightweight rankings and as of October 24, 2022, he is #11 in the U ...

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Mendes vs. Lamas , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:45 ,

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:53 ,

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 ,

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Legacy FC 25 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Chris Feist , Decision (unanimous) , Legacy FC 24 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 ,

Carlo Prater Carlo Ricardo Prater (born June 25, 1981) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2002, Prater has also formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, Strikeforc ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Legacy FC 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Danny Salinas , Submission (rear-naked choke) , STFC 24: Bad Blood , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:41 ,

McAllen, Texas McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Jorge Cortez , Submission (kimura) , STFC 23: Ferreira vs. Cortez , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:43 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Travonne Hobbs , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UWF: Tournament of Warriors Finale , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:57 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Hector Muñoz , Submission (armbar) , UWF: Tournament of Warriors Round 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:38 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Clint Roberts , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UWF 1: Huerta vs. War Machine , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:39 ,

Pharr, Texas Pharr is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 70,400, and in 2019, the estimated population was 79,112. Pharr is connected by bridge to the Mexican city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Pharr is p ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Joseph Daily , Decision (split) , STFC 15 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, United States , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferreira, Carlos Diego Brazilian male mixed martial artists 1985 births Living people Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Brazilian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in mixed martial arts Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male judoka Sportspeople from Amazonas (Brazilian state) Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters