Cleiton Pereira da Silva never would have gotten this far if clearing hurdles had been an issue for him. He has made a career out of proving others wrong.

“The culture where I grew up doesn’t appreciate fighters,” da Silva told Sherdog.com. “A lot of friends tried to dissuade me from fighting. My family never encouraged it. Financially, the only support I had was from my trainers. I helped maintain and clean my academies to be able to graduate. That’s how I made things happen.”

Those early struggles afford da Silva a sense of appreciation for his achievements and the position in which he now finds himself. The 37-year-old Brazilian middleweight will make his Professional Fighters League debut in a global qualifier opposite Tom Breese as part of the PFL Europe 4 undercard on Friday at 3Arena in Dublin. The winner earns a spot on the PFL roster for 2024.

A two-division Levels Fight League champion and far from a pushover, Breese enters the cage on the heels of back-to-back victories. The Team Renegade rep enjoyed an eight-bout run in the Ultimate Fighting Championship between May 2015 and January 2021, accumulating invaluable experience while securing wins over Luiz Jorge Dutra Jr., Cathal Pendred, Keita Nakamura, Daniel Kelly and K.B. Bhullar. Breese, 32, sports 16 finishes among his 17 career victories.

“It’s my time to go to war against him,” da Silva said. “My opponent is a complete fighter. He’s very tough. He’s a good kickboxer. At our level, everyone is complete and knows what to do. Our goal is to force him to make mistakes. If he makes a mistake striking, he’ll get knocked out. If he makes a mistake in grappling, he’ll get submitted.

“In the end, the idea is to make him make mistakes, as he’s very tough and intelligent,” he added. “When that happens, we’ll be ready to get a finish.”

Da Silva steps into the PFL spotlight with some momentum of his own, even though he has not competed in more than a year. He last suited up under the Brave Combat Federation banner on July 30, 2022, when he wiped out Leonardo Mafra Texeira with a spinning backfist. More than half (12) of da Silva’s 16 professional wins have resulted in finishes. He operates out of the Full House camp in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where he trains under Eduardo Lopes. They plan to set traps for Breese.

“We got ready keeping in mind my opponent’s strong suits,” da Silva said. “We already know how to exploit what he doesn’t do as well. We aim to force mistakes in the areas where he’s actually good.”

Da Silva understands the high stakes involved in his showdown with Breese.

“My goal is to win this fight and go on to win the PFL $1 million tournament in 2024,” he said. “I want that belt.”