Diego Ferreira celebrates birthday in style, wants top-five spot after UFC 246

LAS VEGAS – Diego Ferreira beat Anthony Pettis with a second-round submission Saturday to open the main card at UFC 246 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Ferreira, who won for the sixth straight time and got his first submission since June 2014.

Result: Diego Ferreira def. Anthony Pettis via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:46
Updated records: Diego Ferreira (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) vs. Anthony Pettis (22-9 MMA, 9-8 UFC)
Key stat: Ferreira landed three takedowns and nearly 60 percent of his significant strikes.

Ferreira on the fight’s key moment

“I feel great. It’s a big weight to get off my shoulders. Now I can finally enjoy my birthday – I (turned) 35 years old (Saturday), so I’m going to enjoy it and have fun with my family and my team. This week was fun. I enjoyed it. All of this is still new to me with the media and the build-up. I like to talk to media because I get to practice my English more and I get to meet so many people, so it’s fun for me.”

Ferreira on moving up the rankings

“My dream is getting into the rankings, so now I think I will take Anthony’s spot and be close to the top 10. I really want to get to the top five. I’m not worried about the title yet, but I want to get to the top five.”

Ferreira on what he wants next

“Right now, I want to focus on my business a little. I have my gym back home in Texas. I want to get two or three of my fighters into the UFC. When the UFC calls with the next opponent, I’ll be happy to accept.”

To hear more from Ferreira, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.