Diego Ferreira is invigorated after leaving the UFC Fight Night 284 co-main event with a Fight of the Night bonus and his first win since May 2024.
At 42, many were questioning if Saturday's lightweight bout against Billy Quarantillo (18-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) would be the swan sang for Ferreira (20-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) after losing his past two fights. Instead, he turned in his best performance in years, rocking his opponent several times en route to a unanimous decision win where he won all three rounds from every judge.
Ferreira has been a difficult out for anyone for the entirety of his more than 12-year UFC tenure. He wants to close it out strong over the next few years, and is using former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira as his inspiration
to make what's left ahead, some of his best moments.
"I want to take it one-by-one first," Ferreira told MMA Junkie post-fight at UFC Fight Night 284. "I saw Glover Teixeira fighting to 45 or 46, so why not? I can maybe go further than that. But my family is first, so I'm going to sit down with my family thinking about it. But for sure a few more years to go thinking about that."
Ferreira was sharp in the octagon at UFC Fight Night 284. His right hand found a target over and over on Quarantillo's chin throughout the 15 minutes, and much to the surprise of Ferreira, he never touched the canvas.
"I was hitting that boy with everything I have, with all the power in my hands, but he was not going down," Ferreira said. "But I was well prepared, especially with my conditioning. I think there was some points I could've done better, but just some things I need to adjust."
Despite his non-traditional age, Ferreira showed he can still bang for 15 minutes, and got a $100,000 bonus for his efforts. He wants to deliver more entertaining fights to the fans, and said he thinks another fellow veteran like King Green (36-17-1 MMA, 17-12-1 UFC) or Jim Miller (39-19 MMA, 28-18 UFC) would be a suitable next step.
"I want to fight Bobby Green," Ferreira said. "I was supposed to fight him and then he got hurt and I could not have the match. I'd love to share (the octagon) with Bobby Green or Jim Miller – one of those fighters if they're going to be available at the end of this year. I really want to get back as soon as I can and look forward to already training and being back to my gym. I'm healthy, just a little bruising here and there, but I want to get back in there as soon as I can."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: 42-year-old Diego Ferreira inspired by Glover Teixeira's late-career UFC title run
