Diego Ferreira hasn’t been that active as of late, and he blames Drew Dober and Dan Hooker for not entering the UFC cage more than once in 2024.
Ferreira has only fought twice since 2022, winning performance bonuses for his knockouts of Michael Johnson and Mateusz Rebecki in the UFC. He said he’s only returning to action this weekend at UFC 311 because Dober and Hooker turned down fights in the second half of this past year.
“I want to fight guys that are ranked ahead of me, but I want to stay active,” Ferreira told MMA Fighting ahead of his UFC 311 clash with Grant Dawson. “[UFC] offered me Dober, and Dober said, ‘Ah, I don’t want to fight.’ They offered me Hooker, and he said, ‘Ah, I don’t want to fight.’ Come on, brother. I do what I have to do, you know? Grant Dawson is in front of me now and I have to walk through him to show I’m here.”
Dober ended up losing to Jean Silva in July, while Hooker won a split decision over Mateusz Gamrot in his sole appearance of 2024. Ferreira would love a chance to fight either next, or maybe avenge a past loss to Gamrot. More than that, his goal is to stay active inside the cage.
“I thought I would get another fight right away [after beating Rebecki] but it didn’t happen, they kept me on the shelf for almost a year,” Ferreira said. “I’ll make the most of the opportunity now. Short-notice fights, whatever, I’ll be ready. I’m not getting any younger, I can’t deny that, so I have to make the most of every opportunity, of every fight.”
Ferreira fights Dawson on Saturday, the same day he celebrates his 40th birthday. The Brazilian lightweight scored his most recent submission on his 35th birthday, tapping out ex-UFC champion Anthony Pettis in the main card of Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone in Las Vegas, so it’s “good energy” that he’s once again feeling as he goes for a finish on his birthday.
“My training was focused on his wrestling, which was good for me,” Ferreira said. “I want to show my jiu-jitsu again and go for the submission. I got two knockouts now. It’s not my style, but thank God I got those two wins, and now I want so bad to get another submission for my career.”
Dawson scored submissions in 13 of his 22 MMA wins, including four finishes over Mark Madsen, Jared Gordon, Darrick Minner and Michael Trizano under the UFC banner. Ferreira said Dawson has potential, “but I’m in my prime now.”
“He doesn’t like being in the cage,” Ferreira said. “I think he’s too desperate sometimes. Me, I love being in the octagon and doing what I do. I think I’ll take this fight to later rounds because it will favor me a lot. I need to be careful, I know he will shoot at my legs to wrestle me and keep me against the cage, and I’m ready to counter that.”
