The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): Brazil winner Cezar Ferreira wants one more UFC victory to his official record, and he has been in some “unofficial UFC fights” during his training camp for UFC Fight Night 61.
Set to meet fellow TUF veteran Sam Alvey on Feb. 22 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, “Mutante” feels confident after a “perfect” camp at Blackzilians.
“My training camp was perfect. I’m 100 percent prepared for this fight,” Ferreira told MMAFighting.com. “Every day I feel I’m a better fighter because I train with some of the best fighters in the world in the gym. The best UFC fighters train with me there, so I’m ready.”
Middleweight contender Vitor Belfort won’t face UFC champion Chris Weidman on Feb. 28, but the fact that he was scheduled to fight for the gold six days after Ferreira’s fight with Alvey helped “Mutante” prepare for his UFN 61 bout.
“He was scheduled to fight a week after my fight at UFC 184, so we helped each other a lot. I learned a lot from him,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for a better training camp. We have a UFC event every Tuesday and Friday at Blackzilians. That’s the best sparring session in the world.”
Ferreira hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision win over Andrew Craig in June, improving to 4-1 under the UFC banner. Recovered from the back injury that forced him out of action for months, “Mutante” expects a stand-up war with Alvey in Porto Alegre.
“I’ve seen his last fights, his fights on The Ultimate Fighter as well. He has a good boxing, he’s aggressive. That’s it. There’s no easy fight in the UFC,” Ferreira said. “Every fighter in the UFC is good and dangerous, so I always prepare myself in all areas because you never know what’s going to happen in the fight. His best weapon is his striking, but I expect everything from him. Everything changes really fast in a fight.”
All of “Mutante’s” pre-UFC wins came with finishes, but he only sopped one opponent inside the Octagon. He doesn’t plan on going the distance once again versus Alvey, though.
“I always expect to win no matter how,” he said. “My strategy is to go there and finish the fight before the third round by knockout or submission. But if I can’t finish him, I will put some pressure and dominate him for three rounds.”
Right after his win over Craig, Ferreira told MMAFighting.com he was hoping to get a rematch against C.B. Dollaway, the only man to beat him in the UFC. He’s not focused on “The Doberman” anymore, as he sets a higher goal.
“My goal is to be the number one. I want to climb the rankings and be the UFC champion,” “Mutante” said. “I don’t have this goal to go there and break this guy’s face of that guys’ face. If we have the opportunity to fight again, great. If we meet again, good. That’s extra motivation. But my goal is to be the champion.”