Felipe Lima Motivated by Corner Pep Talk Before Third Round at UFC on ABC 6

Felipe Lima credits his corner for helping him find the second wind in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut on Saturday.

Lima replaced Melsik Baghdasaryan against Muhammadjon Naimov on five days’ notice at UFC on ABC 6 on Saturday in Saudi Arabia. The Brazilian ,who usually fights at bantamweight, also stepped up to 145 pounds for his UFC debut against Naimov. While Lima wasn’t particularly concerned about his opponent’s six-fight winning streak going into the bout, he admitted to being a little nervous about fighting under the UFC’s bright lights.

“I mean yeah, I kind of was nervous, yeah,” Lima told ESPN. “It’s not because of the guy or anything like that. I was nervous [about] how I’m gonna perform in the UFC. Many people, bigger cage, it’s a dream come true. And just everything in less than one week, five days. It was hard but I managed.”

Lima went toe-to-toe with Naimov for two rounds in a high-paced affair which could have easily have gone either way. However, “Jungle Boy” appeared to have found the proverbial second wind in the third round, as he came out with guns blazing and secured a rear-naked choke submission. Lima revealed that it was the pep talk from coach Andreas Michael in the corner that got him motivated to secure the bonus-winning finish.

“So, in the second round I was a little bit sleeping and like, I let my opponent get a little bit [of] confidence,” Lima said. “So, when I went back [to my corner] for the third round, when I sit down, he said, ‘Do this for your mom, remember why you’re here, why you’re fighting? People depend on you so you gotta wake up. So let’s go get it.’”

Lima has a visit to his mother in Brazil all planned out for Aug. 6.

“I’ve already bought the tickets and I’m so excited to see my mom, can’t wait to go to Brazil,” he said.

Lima’s lone professional loss came via submission in his pro debut in 2015. The Brazilian standout has since won 13 fights straight with seven finishes. While his UFC debut only came to fruition on Saturday, Lima has been prepared for the opportunity for almost three years since moving to Sweden to train at the Allstars Training Center in Stockholm under the tutelage of Michael.

“[For] the UFC, I’ve been waiting since 2021, since when I moved to Allstars, when I moved to Stockholm. It has been three years already waiting for this opportunity and being ready all the time for the call.”