LAS VEGAS – After three fight cancellations, Nikolas Motta finally will make his UFC debut Saturday.
Motta meets Jim Miller (33-16 MMA, 22-15 UFC), the record-holder for most UFC fights, on the UFC Fight Night 201 main card. But his journey to the octagon has been a turbulent one. Motta inked a deal through “Dana White’s Contender Series” in November 2020, but a string of bad luck led to three bookings falling through.
Chomping at the bit to compete, Motta (12-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) said he has struggled to make ends meet since he hasn’t been getting any paychecks.
“I definitely don’t want to be not fighting for a year,” Motta told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s media day. “I’m broke as f*ck, and I live in America now. I better make money.
“It’s been very stressful. But all those moments that I wasn’t fighting, I was getting ready for fights and I was working my ass off, so I’m ready.”
UFC Fight Night 201 takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+.
UFC Fight Night 201: Nikolas Motta says he’s ‘broke as f*ck’ after long wait for debut