Jefferson Nascimento received a call on June 16 and just over a week later will be standing inside the octagon to make his UFC debut, battling Tahir Abdullaev at UFC Baku on June 27, and that’s something he’s dreamt of for a long time. Nascimento has been very vocal about being in the UFC — and beating one of their lightweight veterans — for a while now.
Back in April, a month before he defended his LFA lightweight title with a fourth-round knockout to improve to 13-0 as a professional and earn the UFC contract, Nascimento posted on social media a fake announcement of a UFC fight with Chase Hooper, who had just lost by knockout to Lance Gibson Jr..
It wasn’t about Hooper specifically, he explained, but the fact that fighters like him were under the bright lights of the UFC while he still worked his way up in Brazil.
“He lost, actually,” Nascimento told MMA Fighting, “and I kept asking myself, ‘What does this guy have that I don’t? Does he just sell really well?’ I couldn’t understand it. He got to the UFC at a very young age but I thought, ‘I’ll throw it out into the universe. If it happens, it happens.’ I had nothing to lose, so I went for it.”
Hooper is scheduled to fight Mitch Ramirez on July 18 in Oklahoma City, his 14th octagon appearance, and Nascimento is down to finally getting the chance to share the cage with him.
“Easy money,” Nascimento laughed. “Honestly. I don’t know what he’s doing here, or why he was here and I wasn’t. I kept asking myself that. But it is what it is, he had his opportunity. Still, it’s a fight I’d love to have. Now I’m finally here.”
Nascimento took the UFC Baku bout on short notice against a fellow promotional newcomer and moves up from his original weight class to take on Abdullaev at welterweight. “Toddynho” said he expected a call “at any moment” as the UFC has plenty of events booked for Abu Dhabi, Serbia and Azerbaijan, and it finally came through.
“I like that atmosphere, you know?” Nascimento said of facing an opponent in enemy territory. “I think it motivates me and gives me an extra boost. Of course it’s great to fight at home, close to my family and friends, but seeing the crowd booing me and then proving them wrong gives me even more motivation. I enjoy it. And the pressure ends up being even greater on my opponent because of that.”
Nascimento was named one of the top Brazilian prospects to watch in 2024 and felt ready enough for the UFC at that time. Two years later — and three LFA title wins under his belt —, Nascimento says “my game is different now.”
“I’m calmer,” Nascimento said, “and this is the right moment for me to shine and build a long career here.”
The RFT talent will return to the 155-pound class after UFC Baku but plans to leave the door open for other short-notice opportunities at welterweight after he gets through Abdullaev.
“It’s going to be a war,” Nascimento said. “He’s the kind of guy who comes to fight, and so am I. I never back down. I’m really happy about this opportunity. He might underestimate me a little because of the weight class, thinking he’s stronger, but I can see my right hand landing on him, and it could very well end in a knockout.”
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