UFC Fight Night 28's Yuri Villefort inspired by father's 200-fight career

Most fans know Yuri Villefort has a brother, Danillo, who also fights professionally. But you may not know about their father’s history in combat sports.

Villefort (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who fights fellow welterweight Sean Spencer (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) today at UFC Fight Night 28, is just eight bouts into his MMA career. His father, though, notched literally hundreds during a storied career.

Long before the term mixed martial arts was coined, and decades before organizations like the UFC brought fighting to the mainstream, Brazil was a breeding ground for generations of fighting trailblazers.

Villefort took his cue from his father, a legendary jiu-jitsu practitioner. He saw the pictures and heard the stories, and he wanted to walk in his footsteps.

“Our father, Francisco, was a [vale tudo] fighter back in the day,” Villefort told MMAjunkie.com. “He had more than 200 fights in Brazil. That was a very long time ago, in the ’60s, when Carlson Gracie was active. He was fighting even before the rivalry with luta livre existed. He would normally face (fighters from) other martial arts like capoeira or karate.”

Villefort began his earliest training in judo, detoured into soccer, but then ultimately settled on jiu-jitsu and MMA. But the 22-year-old is likely fighting for his UFC life today at Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. As the night’s only Facebook-streamed prelim, he can’t afford another loss; he’s already bottomed out in an untelevised bout on a cable-TV card.

The placement is likely the result of recent results: After a split-decision loss to Quinn Mulhern in Strikeforce, he moved to the UFC and suffered a unanimous-decision defeat to Nah-Shon Burrell at UFC 157.

Was he surprised he got another chance at a first win with Zuffa?

“A loss is a loss,” he said. “In my UFC loss, I though I was more aggressive and came closer to finishing the fight. But I don’t dwell on the past. We’re moving forward and I have a new opponent ahead of me.

“I always put on a show, win or lose. And that’s what matters to [the UFC]. I don’t just fight to win. The UFC wants to see action, and that’s what I always bring. When I step in the octagon, I bring action not only to the owners of the UFC, but primarily to the fans who pay to see us fight. That’s my focus.”

The Mulhern loss came after a 23-month layoff that followed knee surgery. He experienced a slight ACL tear before the fight, but he didn’t want his layoff to extend any longer. So he fought anyway, suffered a loss, and then dropped the decision to Burrell in his octagon debut nine months later.

This time, though, Villefort said he’s healthy and prepared like never before. Working with veterans such as Luiz “Buscape” Firmino, Cosmo Alexandre, Andrews Nakahara, Jorge Santiago, Gesias Cavalcante and Eddie Alvarez, he believes his easiest day of training is tougher than anything a UFC opponent such as Spencer can offer him.

“I am training like never before,” he said. “This is the most important fight of my life. I see a few flaws in his takedowns and ground game. I think his best attribute is boxing, but I’m not afraid of that. I train with the best fighters in the world. I’m sure he can’t pressure me as hard as my fellow Blackzilians.”

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 28, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.