Diego Ferreira

Overview

Diego Ferreira's UFC record is 11-7, and seven of those wins ended before the judges got involved. Five came by knockout or TKO, two by submission. A lightweight from Terra Nova, Brazil, he has fought out of Team Ferreira BJJ in Pharr, Texas, and made his UFC debut in 2014.

It is a record built on finishing, and it also shows the cost: four of his seven losses ended by KO/TKO.

He carries a one-fight winning streak into his next outing.

UFC Career

Ferreira started fast. He submitted Colton Smith in 38 seconds of round 1 on his debut, then stopped Ramsey Nijem in round 2 two months later. That run ended with a unanimous decision loss to Beneil Dariush and a first-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier, which our model rates as a strong opponent.

After a unanimous decision over Olivier Aubin-Mercier in January 2016, he did not fight again until February 2018. When he came back, he won six straight, the longest streak of his UFC career. It opened with a round 1 TKO of Jared Gordon and a round 2 TKO of Kyle Nelson. The next two were decisions over Rustam Khabilov and Mairbek Taisumov, rated elite and strong. The streak closed with a second-round submission of Anthony Pettis at UFC 246.

Then it turned. A split decision loss to Dariush, rated elite, snapped the streak, and a second-round TKO loss to Gregor Gillespie followed three months later. He lost to Mateusz Gamrot by second-round TKO that December, then rebuilt with a TKO of Michael Johnson and a round 3 TKO of Mateusz Rębecki in 2024.

Grant Dawson beat him by unanimous decision in 2025, and Alexander Hernandez stopped him in round 2 that September. His most recent fight was a unanimous decision win over Billy Quarantillo.

Eleven wins, seven losses, and almost nothing in between.

Fighting Style

Ferreira is a busy striker who throws a lot of volume, even if his accuracy isn't sharp. He is also hard to hit, so he leaves exchanges with fewer marks than most fighters on the UFC roster.

He rarely shoots for takedowns and doesn't hunt for submissions. When opponents try to take him down, he usually stops them. Two of his UFC wins still came by submission, so the grappling is there, but it is not how he builds a fight.

His finishes tend to come in the middle rounds. Of his seven finishes, four came in round 2, two in round 1 and one in round 3. Five of his 11 UFC wins are knockouts or TKOs, and four went to the scorecards.

Notable Wins

• Anthony Pettis — submission, round 2, UFC 246 (2020)
• Rustam Khabilov — unanimous decision, UFC Fight Night (2019), an elite opponent by our model
• Mairbek Taisumov — unanimous decision, UFC 242 (2019)
• Mateusz Rębecki — TKO, round 3, UFC Fight Night (2024)

Quick Facts

• Division: Lightweight
• UFC record: 11-7
• Professional record (all promotions): 20-7-0
• UFC debut: 2014
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 5'9" / 74"
• Team: Team Ferreira BJJ, Pharr, TX
• Born: Terra Nova, Brazil