Ryan Gandra fights for a UFC contract when he faces Trent Miller in the principle occasion of Dana White’s Contender Sequence on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and that shot was solely potential as a result of he believed in his goals.
The Brazilian expertise was coached by UFC bantamweight Norma Dumont in his native Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, however felt he was getting too previous to be considered as a MMA prospect. That each one modified in 2025, when Dumont invited him to be a part of Marco Tulio’s camp at Chute Boxe.
That may be his ”final try” at making it large within the sport, Gandra instructed MMA Preventing. He was 7-1 as knowledgeable, victorious in his previous six with 4 finishes — the final two underneath the LFA banner —, and supervisor Lucas Lutkus requested him to belief the method.
Two items of stories modified his life.
First, his spouse revealed she was anticipating a child boy, David Emanuel. Days later, Lutkus known as informing him he had been chosen to compete on DWCS. Gandra was initially slated to face Preventing Nerds’ Vitor Costa, who was ultimately changed by Miller.
“I had no inspiration,” Gandra mentioned. “I used to be turning 30, however then I heard Cesar Almeida inform his story. I observe Cesinha’s profession for a few years, earlier than he was within the UFC, and he mentioned the identical factor. While you get to a sure age, you sort of lose hope. When David information got here I believed to myself, ‘It’s not an if anymore, it will occur.’ I’ll make it occur.
“David will likely be certainly one of my greatest inspirations. He got here on the proper time. I’ve had a number of relationships however by no means thought I might be a dad, and that information got here proper earlier than the Contender.”
Gandra additionally had the chance to be a part of Paulo Costa’s newest coaching camp as he additionally works with coach Johnny Vieira, and feels ready to earn a UFC deal Tuesday night time.
“It’s not about profitable, it’s about impressing,” Gandra mentioned. “Did you see the primary [DWCS] card? Guys didn’t ship. The worry of dropping takes away the will to win, proper? Technique is essential, however it’s not in regards to the technique [at DWCS]. It’s about making issues occur. You need to ship. In case your opponent doesn’t wish to struggle, it’s a must to make them struggle.”
