Born in Careiro da Várzea, Amazonas, Brazil, Ferreira grew up playing soccer, and his first martial art was capoeira. At the age of 10 Ferreira started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He moved to the United States in 2008 to make a career out of jiu-jitsu like his idol Ronaldo Souza. Despite faring fairly well in jiu-jitsu competition, he never captured gold in big tournaments and was forced to start teaching the sport to make a living. Subsequently Ferreira made his professional mixed martial arts debut on April 15, 2011, when he faced Joseph Daily at STFC 15. He won the fight via split decision. Following this, Ferreira would compile an undefeated record of 9–0, also capturing the Legacy FC Lightweight Championship from Jorge Patino at Legacy FC 25. Ferreira would vacate the title in May 2014, when he signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In his debut, Ferreira faced Colton Smith at on June 28, 2014. He won the fight via submission, winning a Performance of the Night bonus for the victory. For his second fight in the promotion, Ferreira faced Ramsey Nijem at UFC 177 on August 30, 2014. He won the back and forth battle via technical knockout due to punches, winning another bonus. Ferreira next faced Beneil Dariush on October 25, 2014 at UFC 179. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Ferreira faced Dustin Poirier on April 4, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 63. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Ferreira faced Olivier Aubin-Mercier on January 30, 2016 at UFC on Fox 18. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Ferreira was expected to face Abel Trujillo on May 29, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 88. However, Ferreira was removed from the fight on May 13 after it was announced that he had been flagged for a potential anti-doping policy violation. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Jordan Rinaldi. On December 21, 2016 Ferreira accepted a 17-month sanction by the US Anti-Doping Agency for an anti-doping violation after declaring the use of a product that listed and contained a prohibited substance, and testing positive for another prohibited substance. Ferreira faced Jared Gordon on February 18, 2018 at. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Ferreira was expected to face John Makdessi on December 8, 2018 at UFC 231. However, on November 28, 2018, it was reported that Makdessi was removed from the card and was replaced by Jesse Ronson. However, on December 4, 2018. It was announced that Ronson was pulled out of the fight due to being too heavy to safely make Lightweight and was released from UFC. Ronson was replaced by newcomer Kyle Nelson. Ferreira won the fight via TKO in the second round. Ferreira faced Rustam Khabilov on February 23, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 145. At the weigh-ins, Ferreira weighted at 157 pounds, 1 pound and over the lightweight non-title fight limit of 156. He was fined 20% of his purse which went to his opponent Khabilov. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Ferreira was scheduled to face Francisco Trinaldo on May 11, 2019 at UFC 237. However, Ferreira was forced out of the bout on weigh-in day as he was deemed medically unfit due to a weight cutting issue. As a result, the bout was cancelled. Ferreira faced Mairbek Taisumov on September 7, 2019 at UFC 242. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Ferreira faced Anthony Pettis on January 18, 2020 at UFC 246. Ferreira defeated Pettis by submission in the second round. This win earned him a Performance of the Night award. Ferreira is expected to face Drew Dober on May 2, 2020 at. However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date
Personal life
Ferreira worked as a salesperson in a mattress store before getting signed to the UFC. He is married to Yvonne Ferreira, and has three children.
