Alex da Silva, 20-1 as a professional mixed martial artist, inked a deal with the UFC two months after turning 23 years old and decided it was the right moment to finally focus on becoming a full-time fighter.
”Leko” agreed to replace injured Teemu Packalen in a short-notice bout with Alexander Yakovlev at Saturday’s UFC St. Petersburg in Russia. Signing with the North American promotion was the final push he needed to quit his job as a security guard in Santa Catarina, Brazil.
”Everybody knows you can’t get good sponsors in Brazil unless you’re at the top, nobody believes in you when you’re just starting,” da Silva told MMA Fighting.