Brunno Ferreira Ready for Dustin Stoltzfus, Still Wants ‘Shara Bullet’

Brunno Ferreira is dead set on fighting Sharabutdin Magomedov before it is all over.

In January, the Brazilian middleweight known as “The Hulk” triumphantly rebounded after his first career defeat by smashing Phil Hawes before the end of the first round. This win righted the ship after a humbling 77-second knockout loss to Nursulton Ruziboev. Ferreira (11-1) will return to the cage on June 8, but it is not against the foe he wanted. The Brazilian TKO fighter would have preferred a match with Magomedov, but he will take on Dustin Stoltzfus (15-5) at that UFC Fight Night show instead.

“Unfortunately, Shara Magomedov escaped from me for a second time,” Ferreira told Sherdog. “We had a fight prescheduled for June 22 in Saudi Arabia, but he escaped from me and accepted an easier opponent where he doesn’t run any risk from being taken down. But fortunately, [the] UFC found [me] Stoltzfus, which is a great opponent to me. Just like Hawes, he will permit me to show both my striking and grappling abilities. That fight will be perfect for me to show my overall improvement for the fan.”

The judo black belt began his MMA career in 2019, and he has been training with former Chute Boxe coach Andre Dida, founder of the recently renamed camp Brazilian TKO. According to Dida, the vaunted striker has come a long way from being a judo practitioner.

“With his amazing work ethic he brought from Judo and his outstanding [explosiveness], soon he became a complete athlete mixing throws and knockout power,” Dida explained in an interview with Sherdog in March.

Ferreira put himself on the radar in 2022 by amassing eight stoppage wins, all within the first two rounds, to kick off his pro career. “The Hulk” reached Dana White’s Contender Series and crushed Leon Aliu in 95 seconds to claim a place on the roster.

Since then, all three of his UFC outings have ended by first-round knockout, win or lose. His debut went swimmingly when he dispatched the heavily favored Gregory Rodrigues. His sophomore effort, however, saw Ruziboev switch his lights out. Ferreira uses that setback as a learning moment rather than a stumbling block.

“It was very important for me both technically and mentally,” Ferreira noted. “I evolved a lot after that and consider myself a complete athlete. Nothing is new to me. I’ve knocked out and also was knocked out. And the biggest proof of that I could show in my last fight where I could show all my game with throws and [power], winning my first bonus. But my arsenal is much bigger than I could show last fight, and I hope against Stoltzfus I can show starting to climb the category and maybe get a ranked opponent in my next fight.”