Joanderson Brito | The Devil Is In The Details

But it’s not just what he does better than others that Brito had honed in on through his first six trips into the UFC cage.

After dropping his promotional debut to beguiling veteran Bill Algeo at the start of 2022, the 30-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) graduate rattled off four straight victories, all of them by stoppage, to establish himself as a rising star and person of interest in the featherweight division.

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Last September, Brito ventured to Paris for a crucial clash with streaking Frenchman William Gomis, where he landed on the wrong side of a narrow split decision verdict that halted his run of success.

Looking back on the fight — and his first three years as a whole — “Tubarao” believes the key to his immediate and future success lies in the finer points.

“I think it’s about details now,” he said when asked about his takeaways from the bout with Gomis, which hinged on the scoring of the opening stanza. “I’m getting to a point in my career where everything can be summed up by details.

“I think there are some things outside the Octagon, and some things inside, as well,” he added when asked to expand on whether those details are fight-specific or more varied, though he did make a point of singling out shot selection as one of the more important things he’s focused on going forward. “There are gonna be some times where you’re not gonna eat well, you’re not going to sleep as much, but I’m always training hard, and I think that’s my calling card with the UFC.

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“I know I did not fight my best,” Brito added in regards to the bout with Gomis. “I’m not gonna hide behind a loss like that or the fact that I think I won. I know I have the ability, the capacity to fight way better than I did that night.”

He gets the chance to show that greater ability this weekend when he steps in with Sabatini, a divisional fixture coming off a first-round submission win over a shared opponent in Jonathan Pearce.

Brito shared the Octagon with his fellow DWCS alum towards the end of 2023, getting out-wrestled for much of the opening eight minutes, prompting Pearce to urge the powerful Chute Boxe Joao Emiliano representative to “get up and do something.” A little over a minute later, the fight was over, Brito having taken Pearce’s direction and clamped onto a ninja choke the second he returned to his feet and was presented with the finishing opportunity.

Sabatini bested Brito’s time in submitting Pearce last October, getting the upper hand in the first grappling interaction 15 seconds into the fight and never disengaging from his opponent. Just after the four-minute mark of the opening round, he slipped his forearm under Pearce’s chin and squeezed out a tap.

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But as Brito is quick to point out, that’s not the only opponent the two have in common.

“It’s not just one fight in common,” he said with a smirk. "There is another fight in common because he fought Diego Lopes and he lost to Diego Lopes, and if you’ll recall, I beat Diego Lopes on the Contender Series.”

Brito did, in fact, get a victory over the surging featherweight, who is set to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant divisional title next weekend in the main event of UFC 314 at Kaseya Center in Miami, winning by technical decision seconds into the third round of their Season 5 meeting after Lopes could not continue following an accidental eye poke.

“Whenever you see a fight between two people like that, with a common opponent, you start getting a little idea of what’s going to happen,” he added, the sentiment applicable to both of their shared adversaries.

When asked about having a victory over Lopes and the success his compatriot has since gone on to enjoy since arriving on the UFC stage, the laid back native of Santa Helena fighting out of Barau, Sao Paulo, Brazil suggested that the only differences between he and his former opponent are the opportunities and backing Lopes has received.

“I don’t see much of a difference in our paths,” he began. “The difference is the UFC just said, ‘Come here, son’ and welcomed him with open arms. ‘We’re really going to stand behind you.’”

Brito smiled before continuing.

“The difference is that he’s had high profile fights that came really quick, he did his thing, and got the most out of it, and the only thing I can do is continue doing my thing.

“I’ve had success, and I just need to worry about mine. Maybe if I continue to push through and get my wins, the UFC will say, ‘Hey, son, come here’ and hug me too.”

And as far as he’s concerned, the key to making that happen is in the details.

“(I need) to win well; to win convincingly,” he said. "I made a promise to myself, told myself that it’s not just about winning; it’s about performing.”