Diego Ferreira and Mairbek Taisumov will kick off the action on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, and being in a such position is something Ferreira never truly anticipated when he joined mixed martial arts.
A decade ago, Ferreira was just another Brazilian who wanted to make a name for himself in the jiu-jitsu circuit. Hoping to move up the ladder in competition and be considered one of the best in the world, Ferreira left Manaus to try his luck in the United States, but turning his dreams into reality proved to be tougher than expected.