Las Vegas — Heavyweight Jhonata Diniz got a big win on Saturday, but it wasn’t his victory over Alvin Hines that people were necessarily most interested in.
Rather, it was his participation in the “world’s highest fight,” a 5,000 meter high MMA bout that ended with a parachute jump.
The spectacle took place earlier this year, with the balloon circling Boituva, Brazil, known as the world capital of skydiving.
“I just did that because I’m a skydiver for more than five years. I love some adrenaline in my life,” Diniz (9-1), a former kickboxer, recalled during the UFC 317 post-fight press conference, with Cageside Press on hand. A friend brought Diniz the idea of fighting in a hot air balloon, and the skydive afterwards. “I can celebrate two of the biggest things that I love in my life, fighting and skydiving, jumping. I love that we did that.”
Believe it or not, Diniz has plans to top that spectacle. “I promise, it’ll be ten times more exciting than the last one,” he finished with a laugh. To be fair, the hot air balloon fight was more of a light spar, for obvious reasons.
Well this is something you don't see everyday 🤯
Heavyweight Jhonata Diniz decided to put the Octagon in the air for the highest altitude fight ever! pic.twitter.com/nnrmt3I1pP
— UFC (@ufc) April 19, 2025
Diniz is now hoping to stay busy in 2025. “I think in just one week, I’ll be ready enough to fight again,” he exclaimed early in his press conference appearance. In kickboxing, “it was normal to make three, four, five fights in a year,” he later added. “I don’t care, it doesn’t matter against who or when I will fight, I just want to make a minimum one [more] fight in this year yet. I’m ready to fight against everybody, I don’t care about who or when.”
Ultimately, he added, he’s looking to stay “more busy than we can do.”
As for the fight with Hines, Diniz was happy with his cardio, and admitted to playing it safe in the third round. “I’m not so tired in the last round, but I have to keep [it] a safe fight, because I already won the first and second round. I talked with my trainers and my coach, [they said] just keep fighting, for the victory.”
“It’s not my fight style, I hate to fight like that, but they already changed my opponents two and a half weeks from the preparation up to [the fight]. I really had to make a good, safe fight for this victory.”
Watch the full UFC 317 post-fight press conference with Jhonata Diniz above.
