Carlos Diego Ferreira

ANALYSIS
Ferreira managed to pull off a major upset over Mateusz Rebecki in his most recent bout, which had been Ferreira's first fight since May 2023. He'll now look to extend his winning streak to three fights against Dawson, who has dropped just one of his 12 career UFC fights.

ANALYSIS
It was a trademark performance from Ferreira, who is now 39 years of age and was the largest underdog on the card at +325. Diego doesn't move as well as he used to, and he paid for it in Round 1, getting knocked down by Rebecki and finding himself in all sorts of trouble. He battled through it, and aided by his opponent badly gassing out, dominated the vast majority of the final ten minutes before finally earning the stoppage with less than ten seconds remaining. The come-from-behind victory would go on to earn him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. There was a time Ferreira was one of the best fighters in a loaded lightweight division. He's getting up there in age and has competed just six times dating back to January 2020, but it's nice to see he's capable of a performance like this in the latter stages of his career.

ANALYSIS
Ferreira got back to winning ways by knocking out Michael Johnson back in May 2023. While the 39-year-old faces a great challenge to elevate himself in the lightweight division, he takes on a motivated Rebecki 19-1 in MMA action and eager to fight after seeing his previously scheduled bout with Joel Alvarez canceled.

ANALYSIS
The loser of three in a row and without a victory dating back to January 2020 (Anthony Pettis), there's a real argument to be made no fighter on the entire card needed a victory as badly as Ferreira. He responded in a major way. Of course, getting there was a struggle. Diego appeared to have nothing going prior to the finish. Johnson was easily the faster man on the feet, and Ferreira isn't exactly known as a power puncher, so few could have seen the finish materialize in this matter. Diego could care less, as long as he emerged victorious. The win likely saved Ferreira's roster spot, but at 38 years of age, his margin for error remains quite small. The exciting finish would also go on to earn him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

ANALYSIS
Ferreira has not been in the Octagon since December of 2021 when he lost by TKO to Mateusz Gamrot. He has lost three straight following a strong six fight win streak. Ferreira really needs to get back on track in May.