Former Professional Fighters League heavyweight champion Philipe Lins enters the octagon to pursue his first UFC win against Tanner Boser on Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 12 in Las Vegas, and that comes two months before the 15th anniversary of his debut.
All that success — and a million-dollar check from the PFL — almost never happened, however, because “Monstro” followed his mother’s advice to walk away from such a “violent” sport back in 2006.
Lins made his in-ring debut a year before and quickly racked up a 4-0 record on the regional circuit in Brazil, including a pair of wins over future UFC fighter Antonio Mendes.