Andre Fialho turned bad situations into big stage debut at Bellator 150

Andre Fialho

Andre Fialho has been a force on the regional MMA scene since his November 2014 pro debut after picking up five stoppage wins in five bouts. Only one man has made it to the second round, and his last three bouts lasted a combined four minutes and 24 seconds.

Now, Fialho (5-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is ready to make his debut on a major stage when he faces fellow welterweight Manuel Meraz (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at Bellator 150, which takes place tonight at Kansas Star Arena in in Mulvane, Kan. The preliminary-card bout streams on MMAjunkie prior to the Spike-televised main card.

While his career has gone well to this point, Fialho, 21, told MMAjunkie he has no illusions about his level of competition to date.

“I have six fights, actually, not five,” Fialho said. “I’m missing my first fight, where I won by knockout on the first round. I don’t think I’ve had any tough or good opponents. I’ve faced some experienced guys. Definitely my biggest challenge was the Cage Fighters tournament. I had to beat three guys on the same night. I didn’t realize I’d won it. I was so focused that time just flew, fight after fight. Then I realized I had the belt.

“I didn’t enjoy the night. It was crazy how time flies. It was a great feeling. (Nova Uniao’s) Giovanni Diniz is the best guy I’ve ever fought, but when I fought him, he was not in his prime anymore. So I don’t think I’ve had any good opponents up to now. I can’t wait to show what I’m capable of. I actually believe that I’m the best. I will prove it.”

A tumultuous relationship with his coach led to Fialho taking his chances in the U.S.. First, he said he made the trip to Las Vegas to try out for the UFC’s flagship reality show. Things didn’t work out as he’d hoped, but the failure to make “The Ultimate Fighter” left the door open for a trip to American Kickboxing Academy, his new home camp.

“My last coach and I didn’t agree on a lot of things,” Fialho said. “We didn’t have the same opinions. First, he kicked me out of the team. Then he accepted me back, but things were never the same. We had a lot of disagreements. So I decided to follow my own path, and I left the team. So I came to Las Vegas on April 25, last year, for ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ tryouts. I thought I was going to be on that season, to be honest. When I got there, they didn’t even give me the chance. So I got really mad.

“I had some money saved in a bank account. I came to California, to San Jose. And when I got here, I had the hotel booked for four days. They opened their doors to me right away. I got here on a Tuesday. My first practice was on a Wednesday.

“Then on Friday, (AKA head trainr) Javier Mendez brought in (Bellator President) Scott Coker to see me spar. Scott liked my record, and he wanted to see me personally. Javier liked me, so he got me the contract so I could stay here. He thought that I could become a better fighter if I stayed here, training every day with the best in the world. And he was right. So that’s how the Bellator contract came about. Everything happens for a reason. I feel blessed that I met Javier Mendez.”

With a new home opening doors for him, Fialho is staring down Meraz, a fighter whose lone professional loss came this past September. He rebounded from the defeat with a rear-naked-choke submission over Cody Sherwood (3-4) in December.

Fialho said he’s ready for a tough fight but has little self-doubt heading into his Bellator debut.

“I only could see one fight of his,” he said. “But I believe I’m on another level. And I will prove it. I don’t believe he can stand one round with me. There’s just one way to find out.”

For more on Bellator 150, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.