Style alone makes Brunno Ferreira a person of interest in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division. All 12 of his bouts—his 11 wins and his lone defeat—have concluded inside the distance, 10 of them in the first round.
Ferreira views his 77-second knockout loss to Nursulton Ruziboev in July as a blessing in disguise and the final piece to his puzzle as a prizefighter. “It’s something that had never happened before,” he said. “It was a learning experience. Now I can consider myself complete: I’ve won by KO, and I’ve lost by KO, so nothing will be new to me from now on. I learned from it all. It ended up making me a much better athlete.” Ferreira rebounded at UFC Fight Night 234 six months later, as he took apart Phil Hawes with punches in the first round of their Jan. 13 pairing. With that, he added resilience to his long list of redeeming qualities.
The 31-year-old Ferreira draws his second assignment of 2024 at UFC on ESPN 57, where he locks horns with Dustin Stoltzfus in a three-round middleweight feature this Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Stoltzfus owns a subpar 2-4 record across his six appearances inside the Octagon, though he has shown signs of life in his more recent outings. The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate last competed on Dec. 2, when he put away Punahele Soriano with first-round punches at UFC on ESPN 52.
“I like this booking against Dustin, even though I had no clue who he was before,” Ferreira said. “I’ve watched his fights. He does a little bit of everything. There are more difficult opponents, but it doesn’t mean he’s not a complete fighter. I have knockout power. I’m an excellent grappler with black belts in judo and jiu-jitsu. I believe that he won’t be able to fully grasp all my abilities. This is a good fight for me to showcase my skill set. I’ve mapped out his game. We worked during my camp with that in mind.” A re-energized Ferreira sees Stoltzfus as a potential steppingstone at 185 pounds.
“He’ll help elevate my status in the organization,” he said. “I’ll bring a war to the cage. I’m confident in a win. He’s not someone who will stop me. He doesn’t bring surprises. He always fights the same way. None of my fights were the same. I never fight with the same style. I think he’ll get lost against me, and that’s when I’ll catch him by knockout or submission.”
Ferreira continues to operate out of the Brazilian TKO camp in Curitiba, Brazil, where he hones his skills under Dream and K-1 Hero’s veteran Andre Amado.
“We have several strategies for Dustin: Either I’ll knock him out, or I’ll use my jiu-jitsu and add another submission win to my record,” Ferreira said. “We always do excellent work in every area. We never have camps. ‘Dida’ keeps us training up to 80% at all times, so we’re always ready for any last-minute bookings.”
Armed with renewed confidence, Ferreira intends to move forward with his short- and long-term plans at 185 pounds. It all starts with Stoltzfus.
“We have the objective to go on an unbeaten streak,” he said. “The first step is Dustin. I’ve renewed my contract. My goal is to go to the Top 15 and then the belt. I want to show my work and keep advancing step by step. We have a few other opponents in mind, but let’s win this fight first so I can grab the mic and book my next battle. I’m very ready. I’m confident my arm will be raised in the end.”