The third and final member of the DWCS triumvirate to keep tabs on this weekend is Brito, who has bounced back from a debut loss to Bill Algeo in impressive fashion.
Actually, impressive doesn’t even quite cover it.
After dropping a decision to Algeo to begin his UFC tenure, the 28-year-old, who bested Diego Lopes on the annual talent-search series to earn his UFC deal, scored a 41-second stoppage win over Andre Fili and followed that up with a first-round submission win over Lucas Alexander, giving him two victories in a combined two minutes and 42 seconds to close out his rookie campaign inside the Octagon.
For everyone that will have the urge to downplay the win over Alexander, who was a short-notice replacement making his promotional debut, please note: (1) Brito can only face the guy in front of him, and he handled business in dominant fashion, and (2) Alexander thoroughly out-worked veteran Steven “Ocho” Peterson in his follow-up fight, proving he’s worthy of a place in the UFC featherweight division.
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Originally scheduled to face Khusein Askhabov on Saturday, Brito will instead face-off with another newcomer tagging in with limited prep time, as 34-year-old Westin Wilson steps in to replace the injured Askhabov. A brown belt under “The Arm Collector,” Giva Santana, Wilson trains alongside Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at Upstate Karate and enters the contest having won three straight and six of his last seven.
Brito is one of those fighters whose profile and stock is going to continue increasing as more people become familiar with some of the names he faced and beat prior to arriving in the UFC, as he stopped Chepe Mariscal, who made his UFC debut last weekend in Jacksonville, in 44 seconds prior to facing Lopes, who showed out as a short-notice replacement against Movsar Evloev earlier in the year.
He’s looked very good over his last two appearances, and with another victory on Saturday, it might be time for “Tubarāo” to share the Octagon with someone closer to the Top 15.
