Daniel Lacerda’s Make-or-Break Moment

Whatever margin for error Daniel Lacerda once enjoyed likely disappeared in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut, as he succumbed to elbows and punches from Jeff Molina in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 196 pairing on Oct. 23. Now, he gets a second chance to make a first impression.

Lacerda will look to bounce back from his second career setback when he squares off with Francisco Figueiredo in the featured UFC on ESPN 35 prelim this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The 25-year-old seems to understand the precarious nature of his position.

“My focus is only on Francisco,” Lacerda told Sherdog.com. “He’s the reason I wake up every morning and train. My goal is to beat him and show the UFC that I’m here to stay and that I’m going to be champion. To make that happen, I have to beat Francisco.”

A former Jungle Fight champion, Figueiredo also finds himself on the rebound following a unanimous decision loss to Malcolm Gordon at UFC on ESPN 26 in July. He has yet to emerge from the shadow of his older brother: reigning UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo. Nevertheless, he has Lacerda’s full attention.

“He’s a good fighter,” Lacerda said. “He’s intelligent and technical, but he makes mistakes, as do I. We’re working with Francisco’s errors in mind, while being mindful of his good qualities. We’re looking to improve what I already do well. We can see that Francisco fights smart, looking to win by points, but I believe that when he feels my pressure, he’ll change his game and come after me, too.

“That’s how the fight will play out,” he added. “We’ll be in each other’s danger zone. Whoever has the heavier hands will walk away the winner. When he feels my hands, he’ll probably resort to grappling. That’ll give me a chance to submit him, and if he chooses to stand, then I’ll have to drop him.”

Lacerda will need to exorcise whatever residual demons remain from his ill-fated encounter with Molina a little more than nine months ago.

“I make no excuses,” he said. “Molina was better than me on that particular night. He got the win, but I’ve identified my mistakes and fixed what could be fixed.”

In addition to his customary work under trainer Andre Tadeu with the ATS Team in Tres Rios, Brazil, Lacerda sought out the expertise of former UFC heavyweight contender Pedro Rizzo.

“Pedro is an MMA and UFC legend,” he said. “This time, again, you’ll be seeing a fighter who keeps moving forward. You can be sure of that. I’m always chasing either a knockout or submission. The only difference is that we’ll be doing it with more intelligence and care.”

Lacerda has never suffered back-to-back losses and expects to emerge from his confrontation with Figueiredo victorious, rejuvenated and pointed towards a much brighter future.

“I’m going to give my best,” he said. “I’m working hard to be champion. It’s going to happen at the right time.”