Joanderson Brito | Expect The Expected

But that momentum took a hit in September 2024 when he was edged out via split decision by William Gomis in Paris, France. Then, in his next outing in April 2025, he lost another decision, to Pat Sabatini.

Brito bounced back with a unanimous decision victory over Isaac Thomson last December to get back on the winning trail, and he heads into Saturday night’s bout looking to claim back to-back victories for the first time in more than two years.

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“I’m very happy to be home in this house (the Meta APEX) to come back into a fight,” he said. “I think every time an athlete does not have fights go his way, and then he just overcomes, and then gets a win, it’s always important to prove himself and just feel good about it. It’s always good to be back in the win column, and I’m very excited to be here. I’m more than ready for another fight, and very happy to have the opportunity to come back.”

After such an encouraging run of form, those back-to-back losses gave Brito a moment’s pause. And while he didn’t see much wrong with the way he was training, he did identify the need to be more specific in his preparation for opponents.

“There wasn't much change in the way I train and the way I approach things. Only to be more prepared for what's coming,” he said. “So, if an athlete is going to bring a ground threat, maybe work more on the ground and just try to spend more time working with that. If the athlete’s gonna bring more exchanges, work a lot on the stand-up game. 

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“That’s just being more mindful of what's coming, what the opponent brings, but nothing has changed in my training, nothing. I still approach things the same way, just the same intensity, just going hard in training, because I believe in the things that brought me to where I am today.”

Brito’s well-rounded game has seen him knock out seven and submit eight of his 18 career wins, but his preference is definitely to stand and strike. So, when he was matched against Leavitt, who has finished more than half of his wins by submission, he knew that he needed to sharpen up his takedown defense and grappling work. 

That work is now complete, and Brito is in town, in shape, fully prepared and looking forward to the clash of styles that lies ahead. He said that the stylistic battle isn’t too difficult to comprehend, with the two fighters looking to attack the fight with contrasting approaches.

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“For anyone that loves fighting, I think they know exactly what’s gonna happen,” he said. “He’s going to try to grapple, I’m going to try to defend it, and then I’ll try to finish the fight. It’s not much of a secret, not much of a departure from the norm. Everybody knows he’s going to try to take me down. I’m going to defend those takedowns and then try to finish the fight upstairs. That’s how it goes.”

For a fighter who holds a victory over two-time title challenger Diego Lopes, you’d forgive Brito for wanting to fire out a reminder to the fans of just what he’s capable of inside the Octagon. But for the 31-year-old from Bauru, São Paulo, the main motivation is simply to maintain his ability to provide for his family.

“It’s not even about sending a message; it’s winning,” he said. “I’m not somebody that uses the internet as a speaker or a soapbox or anything like that. I'm not on social media, sending messages out there to people. What I want to get is wins (and), continue to be in this organization. 

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“I’m looking at the longevity of my career here, providing for my family, getting things done, and my work is to win – that is my job. My job here is to win, and that’s what I want to do.”