Hindsight may be 20/20, but Jafel Filho’s ill-fated Ultimate Fighting Championship debut certainly looks like a classic case of too much too soon.
The former Shooto Brazil champion fell short in his Octagon debut, as he submitted to a neck crank from the unbeaten Muhammad Mokaev in the third round of their UFC 286 pairing on March 18. The loss was Filho’s first in more than five years, snapped his five-fight winning streak and sent him back to the proverbial drawing board.
“I fought a very tough guy,” he told Sherdog.