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Allan Nascimento | Ready To Go
After Many Fight Cancellations, Allan Nascimento Finally Makes His Return To The Octagon To Face Jafel Filho At UFC Fight Night: Blanchfield vs Barber
It hasn’t been an easy road for Brazil’s Allan Nascimento over the last two years. After his submission win over Carlos Hernandez in January 2023, “Pure Osso” has dealt with four fight cancellations. Now, as he sits a day away from returning to competition against fellow Brazilian Jafel Filho inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nascimento has never felt more ready to get back to fighting.
“I'm so happy to be back,” Nascimento said. “I trained a lot this time, so now I just have to make it happen. I'm ready to be back and show all my best for the people.”
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Even though, he may not have been in the Octagon himself, Nascimento has still been training with some of the best in the world at Chute Boxe in Brazil and even cornering some of his teammates that are also in the UFC such as Daniel Santos and former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
Being able to train alongside these athletes for many years has given the Nascimento the confidence in his preparation leading up to fight night.
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“I have two years that I have been preparing for this, so I'm better,” Nascimento said. “I’ll try to do something different this time. We've been training everyday since 2007, so let's go.”
The Brazilian admits that the time away was hard, both physically and mentally, but the support he received from his teammates helped pushed him forward. Now, he feels like a more complete fighter and is eager to showcase the things he has been working on in his fight against Filho.
Nascimento comes into the matchup on two-fight win streak, securing wins over Hernandez and Jake Hadley. His opponent, Filho, also enters on a two-fight win streak, picking up back-to-back first-round submissions after dropping his promotional debut.
Wherever things may up on Saturday night, Nascimento is ready.
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“He is a very good opponent, very good skills, but I'm ready for all the striking or on the mat,” Nascimento said. “Let's make it happen, and the best is going to be winner.”
Despite 14 of his 20 wins ending by way of submission, “Pure Osso” is looking forward to showing his striking abilities this weekend. But he made it a point to mention that he does come from Chute Boxe, so, of course, his jiu-jitsu will be on full display if things make it to the mat. On the flip side, all but one of Filho’s victories have ended inside the distance, so this fight may not make it to the final horn.
It's been quite some time since both of these men have competed, so it’ll be interesting to see how the first few minutes are and who initiates the action. For Nascimento, he couldn’t be happier to be back fighting and doing what he loves. And after a roller coaster of cancellations due to injuries and illnesses, being active is front of mind for the 33-year-old.
“I'm ready to be back again, maybe two more fights in this year and getting inside the ranking,” Nascimento said. “That's my dream for this year and I'm ready for this.”
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Getting back to fighting frequently starts with a win over Filho in Las Vegas, and as for who that next opponent will be, well that’s for a conversation after Saturday night.
“For now, I'm just thinking about my opponent and after fight, we'll talk with my coach, with my manager, and we're going to target a good fight.”
UFC Fight Night: Gamrot vs Klein took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 31, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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