Daniel Sarafian won’t call himself the TUF: Brazil winner if he beats Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira on Nov. 9 in Goiania, Brazil.
Sarafian, who earned his spot on the finale after three consecutive wins on the reality show last year, was pulled out of UFC 147 with an injury, and Sergio Moraes took his place against Cezar Ferreira. Moraes, who suffered a devastating knockout against Sarafian in the semifinal, ended up losing to Ferreira via decision.
Ferreira and Sarafian will finally meet at UFC Fight Night 32, 16 months after the final, but the reality show is in the past for Sarafian.
“He fought and became the champion,” Sarafian told MMAFighting.com. “I fought once in the UFC and lost, and then I fought again and won the right to fight against the TUF Brazil champion. It’s wonderful to me.
“Defeating him would mean just a step ahead for me, and that’s it. He’s the TUF winner and it won’t change anything. TUF died that night. That fight was a relief for me because TUF became the past after that.”
Sarafian suffered a close decision loss to CB Dollaway in his UFC debut last January. He then submitted Eddie Mendez to earn his first win inside the Octagon on June, and looks ready to add another win to his record on November.
“I heard millions of people saying I would have beaten him that night, others said I would have lost,” he said. “And then millions of people asking when we would finally fight and I was tired of this. Now, the fight is on and we will finally see who wins, and TUF has nothing to do with this.”
Sarafian and Ferreira used to train together at TUF: Brazil 1 when they both fought for Vitor Belfort’s team, and he doesn’t seem to worry about his former teammate’s weapons.
“He is a tall fighter, but that doesn’t say much,” he said. “I’ve fought a lot of taller guys and won. He’s a good athlete, dedicated, has good wrestling, striking and jiu-jitsu. But so do I. But it’s hard to analyze someone, so I will analyze myself going into this fight. Get ready (Ferreira), because I will be ready.”