Leandro Higo Thinks He’ll Go To Major Promotion After RFA 37

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Leandro Higo (15-2) said that he thinks that after RFA 37 today, he’ll get a call to go to one of the major MMA promotions. He will fight Joey Miolla (8-1) for the vacant bantamweight belt. The event takes place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It airs on AXS TV.

On his two year hiatus: “My last professional fight had been in 2013, when I faced Eduardo Souza to defend my Coliseu Extreme Fight title. The two-year gap was a difficult period for me, one of the worst phases of my career. Several of the events in which I was booked were canceled. Several of my opponents would get hurt on the eve of our fight, and some of them didn’t make weight. In 2014, I traveled to three fights, made weight, and my opponents came in very heavy, making the matchup impossible. During that period, I also entered ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4,’ where I won one fight but lost the next. It didn’t turn out the way I envisioned it. I thought I would do better in the house, but it didn’t happen. But life goes on.”

On winning since he came back: “As soon as I left ‘TUF’, I fought in RFA against Terrion Ware, a very experienced fighter, having faced several notable opponents. I submitted him. And the next fight was the most important of my career. I faced Melvin Blumer in the main event and won by technical knockout. I’ve been feeling very confident during this time after ‘TUF.’ I’ve been adding a few things to my training camps, which I didn’t do before. From now on, I expect to only get better and put on a show for the fans.”

On his motivation: “I was awaiting this opportunity. I am highly motivated. I will be the RFA champion. And I will then earn my chance to enter a major promotion.”