UFC Vegas 53: Joanderson Brito Happy With KO Win, Grieving For Lost Uncle

Las Vegas, NV – If it wasn’t for how the main event went down UFC featherweight Joanderson Brito’s 41-second knockout of Andre Fili might be the talk of UFC Vegas 53 on Saturday night.

Throughout the week the talk of the fight was Fili’s 8-month absence, the uncertainty of his situation, and ultimately how he felt he would dominate this fight. Come fight night however Brito took less than a minute to force all eyes on him.

“Obviously I thought it was amazing. It was spectacular, and I train a lot. I think this was gratifying to have this happen,” Brito said through a translator at his post-fight media scrum.

“It’s not what I expected specially after the last fight that I had, but we’re going to just enjoy the night.”

Few thought Brito would be able to finish Fili in the way that he did considering Fili’s physical attributes and style would cause certain problems for Brito.

“I expected a war like I mentioned in all my interviews before. Even when I grew up and in Brazil I’ve always admired him. I’ve been watching him since I started becoming an MMA fan. So I expected it to be a war, but it was just amazing to be in this situation,” Brito said.

As unexpected as the finish was to many fans it wasn’t so to Brito.

“I know that I’m starting my career in the UFC you want to have your two feet on the ground, and I want to be very humble about it, but if you go back and look on YouTube and see my fights throughout my career it’s aways been like this. Even if I go down I’m going to go down hard. So it’s always going to be very intense,” said Brito.

No next opponent in mind for Brito, but he’s got one thing that he wants to see happen soon.

“Too early to tell, but all I’m thinking about is get my contract renewed. That’s it. My thinking is get that contract renewed,” Brito said.

As for a bonus coming off a spectacular knockout Brito sounded confident.

“I believe, and I’m very confident this could happen. I already have some land back where I am home to buy, so the money has a destination already. I know what to do with the bonus money if I get it,” laughed Brito.

In the post-fight interview Brito revealed that he had received news of his uncle’s death the morning of the fight.

“Everything was very quick. He was admitted to the hospital 24 hours. He was admitted into the hospital yesterday and he just passed away,” Brito said.

“My family first of all. My coaches who are family to me being with me. As I said, my family tried to hide it from me. When I found out I talked to them briefly, but I tried to talk to virtually no one. Not to actually just prolong the conversation,” Brito continued.

“But now after winning, and after I had this moment. I just want to take a shower, and now I’m going to talk to my family about this.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 53 post-fight media appearance from Joanderson Brito above. More coverage from the event can be found below.