Jasmin Frank-USA TODAY Sports
The heavyweight newcomer was overly satisfied with his first-round thumping of Justin Tafa.
UFC heavyweight Yorgan De Castro used to work as security at a big soccer stadium when he lived in Portugal.
About a decade later, he found himself back in an eerily similar setting, but this time for a far different reason.
De Castro made his Octagon debut last weekend at UFC 243, which took place at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The event broke the company’s attendance record, previously held by a 2015 card held at the same venue. De Castro scored a massive walk-off knockout of Australia’s Justin Tafa in the pay-per-view opener.
“Walking to that cage was insane,” De Castro told Bloody Elbow.
“I swear to God, I always used to say, ‘One day it’s going to be me in the spotlight.’ I like that vibe — people screaming and cheering. MMA fans are exciting. I always dreamed of that.”
De Castro, who was born in Cape Verde, Africa but now lives in Massachusetts, made a name for himself this past summer on Dana White’s Contender Series. De Castro picked up a first-round stoppage on the show, earning himself a UFC contract.
De Castro said his experience on Contender Series helped him ensure he was ready for what the UFC typically has in store for a debuting fighter, from the media obligations during fight week to the increased stakes in the actual fight.
“The fight day on Contender Series was crazy. My emotion was so messed up,” De Castro said. “For this one, UFC 243, I was cool, I was ready to go.
“From the moment I walked to the cage, to the moment I left, it was my thing. I was enjoying it. Not many people get to live that dream. I’m getting to live mine right now, so I’m going to enjoy every second of it.”
Everything seemed to fall into place for De Castro. Though the travel from Boston to Melbourne — which included a layover in China — wasn’t fun, De Castro said, fight week went very smoothly. He was calm and was able to have fun just days before the biggest fight of his life. The bump up to pay-per-view after the cancellation of Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington was an added bonus.
Then, in terms of the actual fight, it can’t get much better, of course, than a devastating first-round finish.
“The people were nice. They received me well,” De Castro said of the Melbourne fans. “Fight week was nice for me. I was having fun, I was eating. I was expecting three rounds of a hard brawl, but we’re heavyweights, and we connected. He connected, too. He connected straight up with a left and with some good uppercuts. I got the clean shot, but the expectation was three rounds of war to introduce me to the UFC. But I’m glad I only did two minutes, it was good.
“I went out, I had fun, I did my thing. The UFC treated us very, very well. I enjoyed the trip. Even if we got lost, it was a good experience, anyway. It was awesome. I was living the dream for a week.”