Brazilian featherweight Darlan Ferreira looks to have all the talents to make it to the UFC, and is training alongside a quickly-rising UFC star already. Here’s a closer look at this talented Brazilian 145’er.
Tale of the Tape
Fighting out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Age: 27
Weight class: Featherweight
Height: six-foot-one
Training out of Galpão da Luta
Record: 9-2
8 KO/TKO’s, 1 Submission
Pros
- Uses feints well
- Good movement
- Good elbows
- Fast starter
- Dangerous lethal knees
- Athletic
- Nasty clinch work
- Dangerous kicks
- Explosive
- Diverse/Tricky
Cons
- Struggles against the cage
- Questionable TDD
- Hands held too low
- Can be too reckless
If Ferreira doesn’t turn out to be a higher-level fighter he’ll be very entertaining at the very least. The 26-year-old Ferreira is a training partner of UFC’s Jailton Almeida who headlines the UFC Charlotte card this weekend. The training goes as far as Almeida being in the corner of Ferreira. Ferreira is a showman that likes to do a lot of trash-talking and taunting during his fights. And so far he has backed up all his trash talk.
Ferreira lost his pro debut but went on a good run after that winning eight in a row. He did suffer a setback a year ago but to his credit, it was to a top prospect in Manuel Exposito. Ferreira got back on the board with a win last July.
The Brazilian is all action once the bell rings. All eight of his wins come by a finish inside two rounds — eight alone in the first round. He throws a lot of kicks up the middle, goes to the legs, to the head, and will throw a lot of flashy kicks. He fights long throwing a lot of straight punches and throwing different patterns of combinations. Ferreira stays busy and is always the one that tends to set the pace. He will motion his opponent to come forward and then blast them with a knee. That knee is his best weapon whether that’s stepping in with it, from the Muay Thai clinch, or launching through the air.
Ferreira is so confident in his ability that he holds his hands down low relying on his movement. Not sloppy at all but he can be too willing to engage. Ferreira is so focused on inflicting damage that he can be a little reckless. He’s been taken down before but jumps right back up. He’s primarily a striker so the chapter on his grappling/wrestling has barely been started. He was submitted pretty quickly against Exposito but Exposito is a strong grappler.
“Draco” deserves more fans. He’s not well-known as Brazil is loaded with talent so it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. Also, Ferreira has been fighting for the smaller shows in Brazil. Ferreira is exciting, always brings it, is high-paced, a violent finisher, and has an awesome personality inside the cage. He could turn out to be a special but also can be not as successful under the brighter lights. Ferreira is lacking a key win and that is slightly concerning, especially with nine wins.
