Las Vegas — Lightweight Manoel Sousa, a Bellator and PFL vet, finished Cristian Pérez in the third round at Dana White’s Contender Series to win his way into the UFC on Tuesday.
Winning fighters went five for five on contracts in Week 3, and the fight that earned Sousa his UFC deal wasn’t exactly what he expected.
“First of all, I was ready for a war. I came here ready for a war and to do whatever I needed to win. But I was very surprised with the fact that he used jiu-jitsu. I thought he came to perform like me, to go on an all-out battle and a banger, basically go on a slugfest with striking,” Sousa (13-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the UFC Apex. Sousa continued by saying “but he didn’t, he started shooting, he started going for the takedown. So I have to say, I was surprised that that happened, but I knew that I was going to get up, and I was going to finish that fight with a knockout. So very happy with the fact that I came through.”
Sousa later spoke of having a dream, and purpose, telling his parents as much when he left home to train in Sao Paulo, Brazil. “I’m going to train very hard, and I’m going to go into the UFC, and I’m going to be a UFC fighter. To leave a mark, to be here, to mean something in the UFC,” he told them. “I have a purpose in life, I have goals, and I work very hard for them. So that’s my life. I came here with a purpose. I want to be right up there.”
Watch the full DWCS 2025 Week 3 post-fight press conference with Manoel Sousa above.
