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The impressive 28-year-old will attempt to take another step forward at 170 pounds when he meets Jake Matthews as part of the UFC 275 undercard on Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Fialho has collected six wins across his past seven appearances and owns a 2-0 record inside the Octagon. He last competed at UFC 274, where he punched out Cameron VanCamp in the first round of their May 7 confrontation.
As Fialho moves ever closer to his three-round clash with Matthews, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. Distance did nothing to deter him.
Fialho was born on April 7, 1994 in Cascais, Portugal—some 5,400 miles from Ultimate Fighting Championship headquarters in Las Vegas. Six of his 21 professional bouts have taken place in his home country, though he has not fought there in more than seven years.
2. He withstood a crucible.
The promising welterweight put himself on the map when, at the age of 20, he won a one-night tournament at Cage Fighters 4 on Nov. 30, 2014. Fialho blitzed through Wanderson Silva, Giovanni Diniz and Carlos Antonio de Souza in a little more than 10 minutes combined.
3. His value was established before he reached the UFC.
Fialho made his United States debut under the Bellator MMA banner in February 2016. He went 4-1 in five appearances with the organization, sandwiching wins over Manuel Meraz, Rick Reger, A.J. Matthews and Javier Torres around a 21-second technical knockout loss to Chidi Njokuani. Fialho later enjoyed brief stints in the Professional Fighters League, Xtreme MMA and UAE Warriors promotions before signing with the UFC in 2022.
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4. He has shown a propensity for quick-strike violence.
The Portuguese export has 12 first-round finishes to his credit, three of the sub-minute variety. Fialho knocked out Alvaro Sanches in 53 seconds at International Pro Combat 6 on Jan. 26, 2015, buried the aforementioned Meraz with punches in 29 seconds at Bellator 150 on Feb. 26, 2016 and wiped out Sang Hoon Yoo with punches in 18 seconds at UAE Warriors 20 on June 19, 2021.
5. He puts an emphasis on preparation.
Filaho operates out of the powerhouse Sanford MMA camp in Deerfield Beach, Florida, where he trains under world-class coaches like Henri Hooft and Greg Jones, all while honing his skills alongside accomplished stablemates like Michael Chandler, Gilbert Burns and Vicente Luque.