The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 140: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio

#2 Worst: Cezar Ferreira flatters to deceive

Despite his physical gifts, Cezar Ferreira failed to impress against Ian Heinisch

When he broke onto the UFC scene back in 2012 with his win on the first series of TUF: Brazil, it looked like big things were ahead for Cezar Ferreira. A physical specimen at 185lbs, the Vitor Belfort protégé was equally deadly standing and on the ground, and it looked like just a matter of time before he ascended the Middleweight ladder.

Some 6 years on though, and we might be witnessing the end for ‘Mutante’ when it comes to his UFC run. Ferreira went into last night’s show with a 9-4 UFC record and appeared to be a huge favourite over his late replacement opponent Ian Heinisch. But in the lone dull fight on the main card, he didn’t look good at all.

‘Mutante’ looked exhausted early on in the fight, couldn’t really get his offense going, and was threatened by Heinisch in all areas, with the newcomer taking a deserved unanimous decision. Coming into this show Ferreira had garnered some praise for protecting his questionable chin by using a more economic, safety-first fight style, but judging on last night, that doesn’t seem to be working for him either.

Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess – he likely won’t be cut by the UFC, but he has to be clinging on now – but any notion of him becoming a contender is probably gone. It just goes to show that you need a lot more than physical tools to get to the top in the UFC.