Cezar Ferreira meets Jorge Masvidal at Sunday’s The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale card in Las Vegas, but he almost quit fighting a year ago.
Winner of the first season of TUF Brazil in 2012, "Mutante" has dealt with injuries for years. He wasn’t even able to sleep properly over the past couple years, and undergoing a spinal surgery made it possible to train and continue fighting for the UFC.
"I decided to drop down to welterweight right after my surgery. They inserted eight screws in my spine," Ferreira told MMAFighting.com. "I lived with pain for 20 years, and the last couple years before my surgery I couldn’t event sleep normally anymore.