Light Heavyweight Return Results in Rekindled Relevance for Philipe Lins

A move to American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, altered the trajectory of Philipe Lins’ career as a professional mixed martial artist. He won a $1 million Professional Fighters League tournament at 205 pounds roughly a year later in 2018, then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a heavyweight in order to prove himself at the sport’s highest level.

However, there was no honeymoon period in the UFC. Lins was greeted by back-to-back defeats to Andrei Arlovski and Tanner Boser, forcing him to recalibrate his position.

“A red light went off,” he said. “I needed to change something. I sat down with my coaches and manager. We made a good decision in having me drop back down to…