Victorious in his UFC debut, former LFA champion Jose Delano promises fireworks in his octagon return Saturday night at Meta APEX, when he faces off with undefeated featherweight Murtazali Magomedov on the preliminary portion of UFC Vegas 124.
Delano was one of the most touted 145-pounders coming out of Brazil in recent years and inked a deal with the UFC after topping Manuel Exposito at Dana White’s Contender Series in 2025. He won his debut in April with a decision over Robert Ruchala, and now returns
“more relaxed and confident” with the UFC debut already in the rear-view mirror.
“I think it’s going to be more fun than the last one,” Delano told MMA Fighting.
Magomedov, his opponent Saturday, walks back to the cage after making short work of Melsik Baghdasaryan in June, locking up a twister for the tap in just 77 seconds.
Delano, however, says he’s in for a shock.
“I don’t think things are going to turn out too well for him,” Delano said with a laugh. “He’s going to start out striking, and when he starts getting uncomfortable with the striking, because he will get uncomfortable, he’s going to want to close the distance, smother me, try to get a body lock and put me against the cage. I don’t think he’s going to try to shoot for single or double legs because he’s seen that I’m very good at defending single- and double-leg takedowns.
“I think he’s going to start exchanging with me using that Soviet boxing style of feinting with the jab and pulling back into the straight right, which is very orthodox, but works really well. He has heavy hands, he lands his jab and guys go down. I have to be careful with that because even though it’s a simple game, it’s effective. It’s jab, straight right to the mouth, and the opponent goes down, so I have to be careful with him in that regard when it comes to striking. But his striking is, let’s say, limited. He doesn’t have a big toolbox, that’s all he has to offer, so I think I can smother him in that area and make him uncomfortable enough that he wants to grapple with me.”
Delano sees this battle of promising featherweight as UFC “testing both me and him” early in their respective careers, and feels he’s been through a lot more outside of the UFC octagon to better prepare for the deep waters.
“Using Sean Shelby’s words, I’ve already been tested a lot,” Delano said. “I’m one of the best-prepared guys ever to come out of the Contender Series and make it into the UFC. I’ve already been tested extensively in the LFA, so this is just a consequence of that. If they put me against a ranked opponent, I’ll handle it. Those are Sean Shelby’s own words. He said I have what it takes to fight any ranked opponent and put on a good fight. Winning is a different story [laughs]. I believe I can go toe-to-toe with some guys in the rankings, but with some of the top 10 guys, man, I still have some work to do.”
“He has never been tested, with all due respect, against someone at my level,” he continued. “I’ve been tested a lot, I’ve fought against the best on both the regional and international scenes. I’ve fought outstanding strikers, outstanding grapplers, so this is a test for him, because he’s never fought someone with experience on both sides. And it’s a test for me as well, because I’m going up against a high-level grappler.”
Delano said that his previous opponent, Ruchala, was “a little more dangerous” than Magomedov “because of his unpredictability.” That doesn’t mean he’s overlooking the unbeaten Kyrgyzstani talent, though.
“Once again, with all due respect, I know my worth,” Delano said. “He’s never fought someone who constantly changes the pace of the fight, who gives him all kinds of problems to deal with defensively. He’s fought guys who are either A or B, they don’t have such a big toolbox. I can fake a takedown, I can work my kicks, I can work my boxing, my movement, block, evade, and constantly put pressure on him. He’s fought guys who are all-or-nothing, which contributes to ending fights before the three rounds are over.”
