The first PPV of the new year, UFC 270, will see two title fights and a slew of debuts from the Contender Series season five winners. A debutant on the card outside of Dana White’s Contender Series will be Andre Fialho. A veteran of Bellator and many other promotions, he will be fighting the fan-friendly fighting style of Michel Pereira.
Andre Fialho
Standing at 6’0″
Fighting at 170 lbs (welterweight)
27-years-old
Fighting out of Deerfield Beach, Florida, US/Carcais, Portugal
Training out of Sanford MMA
A pro record of 14-3 (1 NC)
11 KO/TKOs, 1 Submission
How will Fialho fare in the UFC:
Fialho, even though is still only 27, has a lot of solid experience. He went 0-2 in PFL and 4-1 inside Bellator. He beat decent competition like AJ Matthews, Contender Series veteran Sang Hoon Yoo, and former UFC fighters Stefan Sekulić and James Vick. His losses are to either current or former UFC fighters. Fialho has won his last four finishing all his foes inside two rounds.
Fialho is what the fans want to see; a dangerous athlete and a legit finisher. Fialho does a lot of things wrong but being able to capitalize is the problem. A lot of times, Fialho lets his opponents set the pace. He gets walked down and that’s when he will counter making you pay. One of his best qualities is that he knows how to finish a wounded enemy. Fialho will whiff a lot of punches but he’s constantly hunting for the kill shot. He loves to throw the straight right hand and some nasty uppercuts. There is that one-punch knockout power and the danger of everything he throws. His feet are always squared and his head sits on the centerline. That’s caused him to get hit quite a bit but it’s the fight he likes. Fialho is comfortable in trading in the pocket willing to receive and give. His biggest issue is he only has two rounds in him. Every time he has ventured into round three so far, he’s been spent. His body language is very bad along with his durability.
Fialho is going to be an exciting fighter in the UFC. Nobody that’s going break down the barriers in the promotion, but he will get a few extra checks on top of his payroll care of some Performance bonuses. There are a lot of fighters in the UFC Fialho will be able to finish but his reckless defense and cardio will fail him going forward.
Striking: B-
Kickboxing: C
Clinch: B-
Wrestling: C+
Grappling: C+
Striking Defense: C
Takedown Defense: C
Cardio: C-
Biggest Strength: Striking
Biggest Weakness: Cardio
How he matches up with Fialho:
It’s going to most likely be a tough fight for Fialho. Fialho likes to sit back and wait for his spots. To do that against a rangy quicker fighter like Pereira isn’t going to go well. To beat Pereira you have to get in his face and cut the cage in half. Fialho isn’t that guy and when he is, he’s not near as fast nor stronger than Pereira. The best path for Fialho is to club and finish Pereira. Pereira has only been finished by strikes once and since being in the UFC his chin has held up. Just a fight that favors Pereira everywhere.
