Jafel Filho: Bounce-Back Candidate

Hindsight may be 20/20, but Jafel Filho’s ill-fated Ultimate Fighting Championship debut certainly looks like a classic case of too much too soon.

The former Shooto Brazil champion fell short in his Octagon debut, as he submitted to a neck crank from the unbeaten Muhammad Mokaev in the third round of their UFC 286 pairing on March 18. The loss was Filho’s first in more than five years, snapped his five-fight winning streak and sent him back to the proverbial drawing board.

“I fought a very tough guy,” he told Sherdog.com. “He’s undefeated as a pro and used to be a world champion as an amateur. He’s a rising star and could be a future champion in our weight class. Facing him wasn’t easy. It was on a numbered UFC card, and I felt the weight of that. I was fighting on his turf. In the end, he did everything correctly. I learned that I should be more aggressive and not mess up the details.”

Filho will get another chance to prove he belongs at the sport’s highest level when he faces Daniel Barez as part of the UFC Fight Night 224 undercard on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. A substitution for Juancamilo Ronderos, Barez steps up to the plate on the strength of a four-fight winning streak. The Entram Gym rep last fought at an Ultimate Warrior Challenge show on Feb. 24, when he needed just 93 seconds to punch out Soslenis da Silva Carvalho.

“Daniel has very good boxing,” Filho said. “He strikes well and has fast, heavy hands, but I believe that I possess more weapons. I bring more against him. I believe that our performance against him may be even better. The main difference is that Ronderos is a southpaw and Barez is orthodox. That was the main change in training. In the end, we train to face anyone. We’re used to it. Since I bring more weapons, I expect to win by knockout or submission.”

The 30-year-old Brazilian flyweight continues to train out of the esteemed Nova Uniao camp, where he hones his craft under Andre Pederneiras.

“My strategies are always put together with my opponent’s attributes in mind,” Filho said.

Filho, who has yet to suffer back-to-back defeats as a pro, understands he cannot afford another misstep at this crucial stage of his career.

“My plans are focused on my next fight,” he said. “I want redemption since I lost on my UFC debut. I want to remove that bitter taste from my mouth and get back on a winning streak. Hopefully, I can face someone who’s close to being ranked next, so I can fight someone ranked after that.”