Looking to start new streak, UFC 165's Michel Prazeres fighting for his mother

Michel Prazeres and Jesse Ronson have a little more in common than the octagon they’re going to share on Saturday night.

Not too long ago, each of them was walking around significantly bigger than what they were when they stepped on the scale Friday to make weight for their fight tonight.

Prazeres (16-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Ronson (13-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) fight in a lightweight bout on the preliminary card of UFC 165, which takes place at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Their fight streams on Facebook ahead of additional prelims on FOX Sports 1 and the main card on pay-per-view.

Ronson recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio that when he got his short-notice call to fight Prazeres for his UFC debut, he was about 188 pounds. That meant he needed to shed at least 32 of them in about a month to make the lightweight limit. Prazeres, who made his UFC debut earlier this year with a loss to Paulo Thiago that snapped the 16-0 start to his career, is used to walking around well north of 200.

“I normally walk around at 209 pounds,” Prazeres told MMAjunkie.com. “I used to fight at 185 pounds, though my last fight before coming to the UFC was at 170 against Leandro ‘Batata’ Silva at Shooto Brazil 30.”

For someone who recently was walking around nearly 55 pounds heavier than the lightweight division he’ll fight in tonight, he may be expecting a strength advantage against Ronson, who will fight in front of his home province Ontario fans.

In fact, Prazeres said, his “Trator” nickname, which is Portuguese for “tractor,” comes from childhood from his strength.  

Against Thiago in May at UFC on FX 8 in Brazil, he dropped a unanimous decision, the first loss of his career. But he said it wasn’t the step up in quality that an opponent like Thiago would present in the UFC that played a role.

“It’s not a matter of quality,” he said. “Sometimes it’s your day, sometimes it isn’t. Every fight is unique with its own factors. Every fight was difficult (before coming to the UFC).”

Now the second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu will go after his first UFC win against Ronson, hoping to start a new streak. And the childhood friend of former UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida said he’s fighting for one simple reason.

And it’s family related.

“It’s to provide a better life for my mother,” he said. “My sacrifices are paying off now that I am in the UFC. Always expect me to fight with a tremendous amount of heart.”

For more on UFC 165, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.