Diego Brandao and Brian Ortega were slated to meet in May of 2014, but the TUF 14 winner pulled out of the bout with an injury. Brandao returned to action just two months later, facing Conor McGregor on short notice in Ireland.
After that night, everything changed for the Brazilian.
Brandao, who trained at Jackson Wink for his first UFC bouts, returned to Brazil for a camp in Sao Paulo. It paid off, as he stopped Jimy Hettes and Katsunori Kikuno in the first round this year.
"I have that passion again.