UFC Vegas 18’s Carlos Diego Ferreira has big plans for his year of 2021.
UFC lightweight contender Carlos Diego Ferreira has some big plans for 2021, starting with a rematch against the man who handed him his first professional loss. Paired up against Beneil Dariush at UFC Vegas 18, the Brazilian expects to put on an impressive performance and get a little closer to the division’s top 5.
In an interview with Combate, Ferreira revealed to be inspired by Charles Oliveira’s current moment and hopes to get into the title mix with two more wins. In fact, Diego hopes to fight three times in 2021, to end the year with the lightweight belt within his grasp.
“Two more fights will put me into the mix. For now, I think this is the fight that’ll show whether or not I deserve to be in this division. I’m really excited to fight in this division. Everyone is looking for the money fights, but I just want to fight for now. I want to get to the top with a nice reputation, like Charles Oliveira did, after winning many fights. Now he’s really close to a title fight. After one or two fights, of course, I have to go up. I want to fight three times this year and get to the top 5.”
Back in 2014, Dariush became the first of two men to ever defeat Ferreira so far. For the rematch, Ferreira feels more prepared to even the score against Dariush and promises to be ready for any situation.
“I think it’s going to be a wild striking battle, but I’m not just thinking about going out there and throwing hands. I’m ready for any situation, be it on the ground or against the cage. I want to put on a show for the Brazilian people. I dropped the ball six years ago, now I want to bring them this win.”
Currently on a six-fight winning streak, Carlos Diego Ferreira (17-2) tapped out former champion Anthony Pettis in his last outing, in January 2020. Alongside that win, the 36-year-old’s also picked up victories over other notable names, such as Mairbek Taisumov and Rustam Khabilov, The Brazilian’s last loss happened in April 2015, when got knocked out by Dustin Poirier.
Now, Carlos Diego Ferreira is expected to take on Beneil Dariush at UFC Vegas 18, on February 6, in Las Vegas. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a heavyweight bout between contenders Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov.