LAS VEGAS – Look up, UFC welterweights. There's a new smiling giant in town.
Luis Francischinelli is just happy. He's happy to be a UFC fighter and even happier to be a father. One month ago, he was neither of those things. But as he sat backstage Tuesday at Meta APEX in his Dana White's Contender Series sweatshirt, his swollen hand gripping a UFC microphone, he was both.
"I still don't believe it," Francischinelli told MMA Junkie and other reporters. "I'm so happy to be part of the UFC right now. My dream is coming true. Right now, I'm living my dream."
Standing at 6-foot-6, Francischinelli (7-1) will become the tallest welterweight on the promotion's roster as soon as he puts pen to paper on the UFC contract that was offered to him. Francischinelli faceplanted
fellow UFC hopeful Will Rentz to impress UFC CEO Dana White and earn the nod. Many who were not familiar with Francischinelli were captivated by the performance.
"(Fighters) need to worry about my punches because as soon as I land it, everybody falls, with all respect for sure," Francischinelli said. "My length, I'm so long and so weird – so weird. I can say that. Yeah, I can say it. It's me. But I'm different than everyone else. I'm so tall, 6-foot-6, skinny, but I punch heavy. That's how they need to work."
When the Dana White's Contender Series call comes, many fighters can't get the opportunity out of their minds. For Francischinelli, the circumstances at home, however, had it further down in the queue of mental priorities. His wife gave birth to their baby daughter 25 days beforehand, but also had to return to the hospital for a procedure a few weeks later.
"Man, for truth, I didn't think about the fight," Francischinelli said. "I don't think one minute. All I think is come back home and stay with my family."
When Francischinelli went to the Meta APEX on Tuesday, his wife was in the hospital. Shortly after he exited the cage victoriously, he received news that she was being discharged.
"I'm so grateful because God put too much things on me," Francischinelli said. "He knows I will handle this because he did this. This year, I think is my best year. I've got my daughter. I've got my green card after five years. I came back to Brazil because I want to see my family, my mom. This is so hard for me. It's been a long time of not seeing my family but all the sacrifice is worth it. Now, I can close the year with the contract and change my life and change my family's life.
"... Straight away, the first thing I did after was call her. She told me, 'Baby, I will get discharged today.' But she still has to do a surgery. But she's much better, I know that. But I'm so grateful. She can come back home and see our daughter. It's been almost one week that she hasn't seen her. My daughter just has 25 days today. One week she don't see her. This is so hard for her."
In a landscape of expletive-drops and mean-mugs, Francischinelli is found stuck in a different facial expression. But it's not an act – and the positive attitude isn't going anywhere.
"I'm a real guy," Francischinelli said. "I'm this. It doesn't matter if I'm in front of the cameras or not. I'm the same guy. When there are no cameras, I'm the same person. In front of the cameras or other people, I'm a real one. I'm a husband, father. I work hard every single day like everyone else. The only thing that's different is I never give up on my dreams. Today, I'm here, living my dream."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Meet the UFC's new friendly giant: Luis Francischinelli is 'weird' – and grateful
