UFC Fight Night 96 winner Andre Fili: When I say I'll fight anyone at 145, I'm not playing around

PORTLAND, Ore. – In a night of upsets, Andre Fili’s unanimous decision win over Hacran Dias could easily get lost in the shuffle. Fili, however, said he refuses to let himself get lost in the chaos of the featherweight division.

Following his win over Dias (23-5-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 96, Fili (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) made it clear he wants to fight the biggest names in the division.

The catchweight bout (Dias missed weight for the featherweight limit) was part of the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 96 at Moda Center in Portland, Ore. It aired on FS2 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FS1.

The win was the biggest of Fili’s career. He almost scored a knockout in the early stages of the fight, but Dias rode out the moment to force the bout to continue. Those are the little moments Fili said he’s focused on as his career continues.

“If that’s my best fight yet in the UFC, I’ve got a lot more to show you guys,” Fili told MMAjunkie following his victory. “I felt good, but there are a lot of things I’d like to fix. Obviously, I’m still happy with the win, especially on short notice. But I’m a perfectionist when it comes to the fights. There are not that many things I give a (expletive) about in life, just fighting is one of the very few things. I want to be perfect at it.”

A member of Team Alpha Male, Fili said he was also disappointed in not getting the finish after seeing some big name teammates put up impressive highlight reel knockouts.

“I should have finished him,” Fili said. “I wanted that knockout really bad. Cody (Garbrandt) and Paige (VanZant) have been knocking people out left and right. I’m trying to knock mother(expletives) out.”

Coming into the event, Dias held the No. 14 spot in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings.

Picking up a win over a ranked opponent puts Fili in the mix going forward. He said he agreed to face Renan Barao at UFC Fight Night 95 before the UFC matched the Brazilian with Phillipe Nover.

Fili isn’t abandoning his “anyone, anywhere” mentality, he said. And wants to face the best fighters he can get lined up against to prove his place in the division.

“I’m not calling anyone out,” Fili said. “I have nothing but respect for the Nova Uniao guys, they’re one of the best teams in the world. When I say I’ll fight anyone at 145, like that’s some huge (expletive) deal, I’m not playing around. I’m not just saying that to sound cool. I’ll fight anyone in the world at 145. The better the opponent, the more I’ll rise to the occasion.”

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For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 96, check out the UFC Events section of the site.