That was back when Altamirano fought under the LFA banner, a promotion he had called home since turning pro in 2017 until his UFC contract-winning performance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. It was something of a history-making performance. Dana White himself described the bout as “an absolute dogfight” and awarded both Altamirano and the man he defeated by split decision (Carlos Candelario) contracts for their epic battle.
His UFC debut would also end in a split decision, but this time on the wrong side when he met Carlos Hernandez in the Octagon six months later.
RELATED: San Antonio Fighters On The Rise
“I felt like I won that one,” he says evenly, but insists there are no hard feelings.
“It’s not really disappointment, it’s more like an encouragement and inspiration. It’s like, ‘Hey, you could have done better. Let’s go do better. You know, let’s put this behind us and let’s use it as a lesson. We need to not fight. We need to finish.’”
He took that mantra into his next UFC outing and executed brilliantly, stopping Daniel da Silva in the second round at UFC 278. The effort won him Performance of the Night honors.
