LAS VEGAS – UFC lightweight Diego Ferriera has been out of action for a lot longer than he anticipated, but is now just days away from a chance to get his career back on track.
At Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex, Ferreira (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) makes his long-awaited return to the cage after over 17 months on the sidelines to face fellow veteran Michael Johnson. The lightweight bout streams on ESPN+ and opens the main card.
Ferreira was on one of the hottest streaks in the always-stacked UFC’s lightweight division from 2016-2020. During that stretch, Ferreira won six in a row, with stoppages of Jared Gordon, Kyle Nelson, and former champion Anthony Pettis. Then the calendar flipped to 2021, where things took a sharp turn for the worse as Ferreira lost three straight and suffered an injury keeping him out of action longer than expected.
