Diego Brandao is determined to fight for the UFC once again.
After spending several years competing in Russia and other regions, often outside his natural weight class, Brandao`s professional record saw a significant change. Upon leaving the UFC in 2016 with a 20-11 record, it had shifted to 29-22 by this year.
At that point, he decided enough was enough.
As a veteran of the UFC and a winner of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter, Brandao resolved to “fix [his] life.” This meant leaving those promotions and returning to North America with a clear objective: to demonstrate to the world that he still possesses the skills to compete in the UFC. To achieve this, the 38-year-old readily agreed to face up-and-coming prospects in the United States.
In March, Brandao took on 12-2 featherweight talent Jamie Siraj and secured a spectacular first-round knockout with a spinning wheel kick that quickly went viral, earning him the Tuff-N-Uff belt. Just this past Sunday, only four miles from where Ilia Topuria made history at UFC 317, Brandao once again successfully defended his title with another wheel kick knockout victory, this time against Canaan Kawaihae, a younger fighter with experience from the Contender Series.
Following his recent win, Brandao shared his anticipation with MMA Fighting on Tuesday night. “I think the UFC is going to call,” he stated. “We’ll talk to them tomorrow and see what they thought [of the fight]. Sean Shelby was there but people wouldn’t leave him be, there was a bunch of people around him, so he left before the co-main event.”
Brandao revealed that his decision to cease fighting in Russia was directly influenced by UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby.
“I left the Russian money because I went to Las Vegas and asked Sean Shelby what was missing for me to be back [in the UFC],” Brandao explained. “[He said] ‘Diego, leave Russia and fight in your weight class. Knock three people out and call me.’ [I replied] ‘F*ck, why didn’t you tell me that a while ago?’” Now, with two knockout wins under his belt, he is fully focused on the third. “First fight, killed the man. Second one, boom, it’s over. The man said three fights? Let’s go. My head is on that third fight because Sean Shelby is a man of his word. He said that, so he’ll do what he said.”
Brandao believes UFC President Dana White has given him informal approval, but sees Sean Shelby as the key figure for a contract. He understands that White won`t simply grant him an easy return, likely wanting him to work for it and prove his dedication given his past. “Dana White won’t open the doors for me because he knows how I am, my past. ‘I’ll put Diego here easily and he can mess things up. No, let me see if he really wants it. Let him work.’ I believe that’s how Dana thinks,” Brandao speculated, acknowledging, “And I’m not as important as Conor McGregor to call Dana White like that.”
“And I like this way, to fight, because that’s how you appreciate things,” he added. “If I have to fight a third fight, I’ll go for it with hunger because then they will see and know it. They want to see me like that, in a war, fighting, because they won’t just put him back in there like that. They know who I am, they know I need to work hard to value it. They know that.”
Brandao emphasized that he is a much more mature individual and athlete now compared to his previous stint in the UFC. Having moved past past controversies and currently defeating prospects decisively, he stated that he will likely defend his Tuff-N-Uff featherweight title in November against UFC, Bellator, and PFL veteran Kai Kamaka III if a call from the UFC doesn`t arrive sooner.
Regarding facing Hawaiian fighters, Brandao expressed confidence, saying, “Hawaii, BJ [Penn] is the only one from there that beats me, when we trained together. The others, no chance. I’ll finish him.”
