| Carlos Diego Ferreira | |
| Birth Date: | 18 January 1985 |
| Birth Place: | Careiro da Várzea, Amazonas, Brazil |
| Residence: | Pharr, Texas, U.S. |
| Weight: | 155lb |
| Weight Class: | Lightweight (2012–present) Welterweight (2012) Middleweight (2011) |
| Reach In: | 74 |
| Reach Footnote: | [1] |
| Style: | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu |
| Team: | Team Ferreira (2010–present) Atos Jiu-Jitsu Fortis MMA (2015–present) [2] [3] |
| Rank: | 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[4] |
| Years Active: | 2011–present |
| Mma Kowin: | 5 |
| Mma Subwin: | 7 |
| Mma Decwin: | 7 |
| Mma Koloss: | 3 |
| Mma Decloss: | 2 |
| Sherdog: | 26358 |
Carlos Diego Ferreira (born January 18, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Legacy FC lightweight champion,[5] and vacated the championship in May 2014 to sign with UFC.[6]
Born in Careiro da Várzea, Amazonas, Brazil, Ferreira grew up playing soccer, and his first martial art was capoeira.[7] At the age of 10 Ferreira started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He moved to the United States in 2008 to make a career out of jiu-jitsu like his idol Ronaldo Souza.[8]
Despite faring fairly well in jiu-jitsu competition, he never captured gold in big tournaments and was forced to start teaching the sport to make a living. Subsequently Ferreira made his professional mixed martial arts debut on April 15, 2011, when he faced Joseph Daily at STFC 15. He won the fight via a split decision.[9] Following this, Ferreira would compile an undefeated record of 9–0, also capturing the Legacy FC Lightweight Championship from Jorge Patino at Legacy FC 25.[10] Ferreira would vacate the title in May 2014, when he signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
In his debut, Ferreira faced Colton Smith at on June 28, 2014.[11] He won the fight via submission (rear-naked choke),[12] winning a Performance of the Night bonus for the victory.[13]
For his second fight in the promotion, Ferreira faced Ramsey Nijem at UFC 177 on August 30, 2014.[14] He won the back and forth battle via technical knockout due to punches,[15] winning another bonus (this time as Fight of the Night).[16]
Ferreira next faced Beneil Dariush on October 25, 2014, at UFC 179.[17] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[18]
Ferreira faced Dustin Poirier on April 4, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 63.[19] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.[20]
Ferreira faced Olivier Aubin-Mercier on January 30, 2016, at UFC on Fox 18.[21] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[22]
Ferreira was expected to face Abel Trujillo on May 29, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 88.[23] However, Ferreira was removed from the fight on May 13 after it was announced that he had been flagged for a potential anti-doping policy violation.[24] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Jordan Rinaldi.[25]
On December 21, 2016, Ferreira accepted a 17-month sanction by the US Anti-Doping Agency for an anti-doping violation after declaring the use of a product that listed and contained a prohibited substance and testing positive for another prohibited substance.[26]
Ferreira faced Jared Gordon on February 18, 2018, at .[27] He won the fight via TKO in the first round.[28]
Ferreira was expected to face John Makdessi on December 8, 2018, at UFC 231.[29] However, on November 28, 2018, it was reported that Makdessi was removed from the card and was replaced by Jesse Ronson.[30] However, on December 4, 2018. It was announced that Ronson was pulled out of the fight due to being too heavy to safely make Lightweight and was released from UFC.[31] Ronson was replaced by newcomer Kyle Nelson.[32] Ferreira won the fight via TKO in the second round.[33]
Ferreira faced Rustam Khabilov on February 23, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 145.[34] At the weigh-ins, Ferreira weighted at 157 pounds, 1 pound and over the lightweight non-title fight limit of 156. He was fined 20% of his purse which went to his opponent Khabilov.[35] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[36]
Ferreira was scheduled to face Francisco Trinaldo on May 11, 2019, at UFC 237.[37] However, Ferreira was forced out of the bout on weigh-in day as he was deemed medically unfit due to a weight cutting issue. As a result, the bout was cancelled.[38]
Ferreira faced Mairbek Taisumov on September 7, 2019, at UFC 242.[39] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[40]
Ferreira faced Anthony Pettis on January 18, 2020, at UFC 246.[41] Ferreira defeated Pettis by submission in the second round.[42] This win earned him a Performance of the Night award.[43]
As the first fight of his new five-fight contract, Ferreira was scheduled to face Drew Dober on May 2, 2020, at .[44] [45] However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date[46] The bout with Dober was rescheduled and was expected to take place on November 7, 2020, at .[47] In turn, Ferreira pulled out on October 22 due to an illness.[48]
A rematch with Beneil Dariush took place on February 6, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 184.[49] He lost the fight via split decision.[50] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.[51]
Ferreira faced Gregor Gillespie on May 8, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 24.[52] At the weigh-ins, Ferreira weighed in at 160.5 pounds, four and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 30% of his purse, which went to Gillespie.[53] He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.[54] The bout was named Fight of the Night, but Ferreira was not eligible to receive the award after missing weight and the full bonus went to Gillespie.[55]
Ferreira was scheduled to face Grant Dawson on October 2, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 193.[56] However, Ferreira pulled out of the fight in early-September citing an injury.[57]
Ferreira faced Mateusz Gamrot on December 19, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus.[58] He lost the bout in the second round after verbally tapping due to a knee to his ribs.[59]
Ferreira was scheduled to face Drakkar Klose on July 30, 2022, at UFC 277.[60] However, Ferreira was forced out the event due an injury.[61]
Ferreira faced Michael Johnson on May 20, 2023 at UFC Fight Night 223.[62] He won the fight via knockout out in round two.[63] This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award.[64]
Ferreira faced Mateusz Rębecki on May 11, 2024, at .[65] He won the fight by technical knockout from ground punches at the end of the third round.[66] This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.[67]
Ferreira worked as a salesman in a mattress store before getting signed to the UFC. He is married to Yvonne Ferreira, and has five children, with his youngest daughter being born in September 2023.[68] [69] [70]
|-|Win|align=center|19–5|Mateusz Rębecki|TKO (punches)|||align=center|3|align=center|4:51|St. Louis, Missouri, United States||-|Win|align=center|18–5|Michael Johnson|KO (punch)|||align=center|2|align=center|1:50|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-|Loss|align=center|17–5|Mateusz Gamrot|TKO (submission to knee to the body)|||align=center|2|align=center|3:26|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-|Loss|align=center|17–4|Gregor Gillespie|TKO (elbows and punches)|||align=center|2|align=center|4:51|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-|Loss|align=center|17–3|Beneil Dariush|Decision (split)|||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-|Win|align=center|17–2|Anthony Pettis|Submission (rear-naked choke)|UFC 246 ||align=center|2|align=center|1:46|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States||-|Win|align=center|16–2|Mairbek Taisumov|Decision (unanimous)|UFC 242 ||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates||-|Win|align=center|15–2|Rustam Khabilov|Decision (unanimous)| ||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Prague, Czech Republic||-|Win|align=center|14–2|Kyle Nelson|TKO (punches)|UFC 231 ||align=center|2|align=center|1:23|Toronto, Ontario, Canada||-|Win |align=center|13–2|Jared Gordon|TKO (punches)| ||align=center|1|align=center|1:58|Austin, Texas, United States||-|Win |align=center|12–2|Olivier Aubin-Mercier|Decision (unanimous)|||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Newark, New Jersey, United States||-|Loss|align=center|11–2|Dustin Poirier|KO (punches)|||align=center|1|align=center|3:45|Fairfax, Virginia, United States||-|Loss|align=center|11–1|Beneil Dariush|Decision (unanimous)|UFC 179||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil||-|Win|align=center|11–0|Ramsey Nijem|TKO (punches)|UFC 177||align=center|2|align=center|1:53|Sacramento, California, United States||-|Win|align=center|10–0|Colton Smith|Submission (rear-naked choke)|||align=center|1|align=center|0:38|San Antonio, Texas United States||-|Win|align=center|9–0|Jorge Patino|Decision (unanimous)|Legacy FC 25||align=center|5|align=center|5:00|Houston, Texas, United States||-|Win|align=center|8–0|Chris Feist|Decision (unanimous)|Legacy FC 24||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Dallas, Texas, United States||-|Win|align=center|7–0|Carlo Prater|Decision (unanimous)|Legacy FC 20||align=center| 3|align=center| 5:00|Corpus Christi, Texas, United States| |-|Win|align=center|6–0|Danny Salinas|Submission (rear-naked choke)|STFC 24||align=center|2|align=center|1:41|McAllen, Texas, United States||-|Win|align=center|5–0|Jorge Cortez|Submission (kimura)|STFC 23||align=center|1|align=center|0:43|McAllen, Texas, United States||-|Win|align=center| 4–0|Travonne Hobbs|Submission (arm-triangle choke)|UWF: Tournament of Warriors Finale||align=center|2|align=center|1:57|Corpus Christi, Texas, United States||-|Win|align=center|3–0|Hector Muñoz|Submission (armbar)|UWF: Tournament of Warriors Round 1||align=center|1|align=center|3:38|Corpus Christi, Texas, United States||-|Win|align=center|2–0|Clint Roberts|Submission (rear-naked choke)|UWF 1||align=center|2|align=center|0:39|Pharr, Texas, United States||-|Win|align=center| 1–0|Joseph Daily|Decision (split)|STFC 15||align=center|3|align=center|3:00|McAllen, Texas, United States||-[72]