Ryan Gandra fights for a UFC contract when he faces Trent Miller in the main event of Dana White’s Contender Series on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and that shot was only possible because he believed in his dreams.
The Brazilian talent was coached by UFC bantamweight Norma Dumont in his native Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, but felt he was getting too old to be viewed as a MMA prospect. That all changed in 2025, when Dumont invited him to be part of Marco Tulio’s camp at Chute Boxe.
That would be his ”last
attempt” at making it big in the sport, Gandra told MMA Fighting. He was 7-1 as a professional, victorious in his past six with four finishes — the last two under the LFA banner —, and manager Lucas Lutkus asked him to trust the process.
Two pieces of news changed his life.
First, his wife revealed she was expecting a baby boy, David Emanuel. Days later, Lutkus called informing him he had been selected to compete on DWCS. Gandra was originally slated to face Fighting Nerds’ Vitor Costa, who was eventually replaced by Miller.
“I had no inspiration,” Gandra said. “I was turning 30, but then I heard Cesar Almeida tell his story. I follow Cesinha’s career for many years, before he was in the UFC, and he said the same thing. When you get to a certain age, you kind of lose hope. When David news came I thought to myself, ‘It’s not an if anymore, it will happen.’ I’ll make it happen.
“David will be one of my biggest inspirations. He came at the right time. I’ve had several relationships but never thought I would be a dad, and that news came right before the Contender.”
Gandra also had the opportunity to be part of Paulo Costa’s latest training camp as he also works with coach Johnny Vieira, and feels prepared to earn a UFC deal Tuesday night.
“It’s not about winning, it’s about impressing,” Gandra said. “Did you see the first [DWCS] card? Guys didn’t deliver. The fear of losing takes away the desire to win, right? Strategy is very important, but it’s not about the strategy [at DWCS]. It’s about making things happen. You have to deliver. If your opponent doesn’t want to fight, you have to make them fight.”
