Rivalries: Diego Ferreira

Diego Ferreira stands at a career crossroads in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The 38-year-old Fortis MMA rep will seek his first win in more than three years when he dukes it out with Michael Johnson in a UFC Fight Night 223 lightweight attraction on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Ferreira enters the Octagon in the throes of a three-fight losing streak. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 199, where he was struck into submission by former two-division KSW champion Mateusz Gamrot on Dec. 18, 2021.

As Ferreira approaches his showdown with Johnson at 155 pounds, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped chart his course to this point:

Jorge Patino

Ferreira did not shrink in the spotlight—he basked in it—when he laid claim to a unanimous decision over the well-traveled “Macaco” and captured the Legacy Fighting Championship lightweight title in the LFC 25 main event on Nov. 15 at the Arena Theatre in Houston. Scores were 50-45, 48-47 and 48-47. Ferreira twice knocked down his 40-year-old counterpart, doing tangible damage with a rear-leg head kick and a crisp left hook. He followed the head kick in the third round with a volley of punches and hammerfists but failed to procure the desired stoppage. Patino answered with some of his patented aggression, only to wander into more danger. Ferreira decked him with a sweeping left hook in Round 4, withstood a fifth-round rally from the UFC 18 alum and called upon airtight submission defense in the closing moments. Soon after, a new champion was crowned. It served as a springboard for the undefeated Ferreira, who arrived in the UFC less than a year later.

Ramsey Nijem

Fortis MMA’s Ferreira wiped out “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 runner-up with punches in the second round of their UFC 177 lightweight showcase on Aug. 30, 2014 at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. The end came 1:52 into Round 2. Nijem secured a takedown and scored with some mild ground-and-pound in the first round, but his inability to corral the Brazilian on the canvas proved costly. Ferreira capitalized on the Californian’s overzealousness in the middle stanza. His head and chin held high, Nijem walked into a counter right hook and collapsed where he stood. Ferreira pounced for the finish, polishing off his dazed adversary with a burst of hammerfists. The encounter resulted in $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses for the two participants.

Dustin Poirier

The American Top Team ace blew away Ferreira with punches in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 63 lightweight feature on April 4, 2015 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Poirier drew the curtain 3:45 into Round 1, becoming the first man to ever stop the Brazilian inside the distance. The setback established a clear ceiling for Ferreira at 155 pounds. Poirier lit up the former Legacy Fighting Championship titleholder with punching combinations and invited him to exchange in the pocket. The Lafayette, Louisiana, native floored Ferreira with a straight left, avoided his advances on the ground and allowed him to return to his feet in a compromised state. Poirier dropped him again with a sneaky right uppercut, then sealed the deal with vicious punches and hammerfists.

Beneil Dariush

Multiple takedowns, stellar positional control and effective ground-and-pound carried the Kings MMA product to a split decision over Ferreira in their three-round UFC Fight Night 184 rematch on Feb. 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three judges scored it 29-28: Jerin Valel for Ferreira, Chris Lee and Dave Hagen for Dariush. Ferreira weathered a brutal knee strike to the body in the first round but ran into considerable difficulty with takedown defense. Dariush grounded him repeatedly across the first 10 minutes, frustrating the onetime Legacy Fighting Championship titlist with his relentless effort. Ferreira, to his credit, never gave up his pursuit. He staggered Dariush with an overhand right and front kick in Round 1, then used his hand speed advantage to rack up effective punching combinations in the third. However, Ferreira’s efforts fell short on the scorecards, and he went down to defeat for the first time in nearly six years. The victory gave Dariush a 2-0 advantage in his head-to-head series with the Brazilian, as he had beaten him by unanimous decision in their first pairing at UFC 179 on Oct. 25, 2014.