UFC veteran Diego Brandao will not be competing at Friday’s Karate Combat 59 card in Miami after his opponent Shahzaib Rind missed weight for their lightweight contest.
Brandao, who is moving up a weight class after winning and defending the Tuff-N-Uff title in 2025, opted against taking the fight after Ring, the former Karate Combat 150-pound champion, stepped on the scale at 160 pounds on Thursday morning.
“The fight is off, unfortunately,” Brandao told MMA Fighting. “He didn’t make weight. He’s
at 160 now. How heavy is he going to be tomorrow? 170? There’s no reason I should take this fight, especially since I’m coming up from a lighter division.”
It’s still unclear if Brandao will be moved to a future Karate Combat card. He’s currently scheduled to be part of a 8-man MMA grand prix in Russia, which kicks off March 7, and still hopes to one day return to the bigger leagues in the United States.
Brandao hasn’t fought in the UFC since January 2016, when he lost to Brian Ortega after back-to-back first-round finishes the year before. The Ultimate Fighter season 14 winner went 6-4 under the UFC banner with four stoppage to his credit, and has faced off with future superstars Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
“I still believe I can go back to the UFC so I have to take the right fights, fair fights,” Brandao said. “I lost 20 pounds this week, and I’ve done my part, so f*ck it.”
Karate Combat 59 will be headlined by an openweight grappling match between UFC heavyweight Valter Walker and legless wrestler Zion Clark.
