Meet the welterweight giant, a Brazilian who dreams of UFC after a frightening winning streak

In an exclusive interview with SUPER LUTAS, Luis Francischinelli told his story of overcoming and revealed how he won over Alex Poatan's managers

A rising star in the world of MMA, Luís Francischinelli has been attracting attention on the world stage. Straight from Itu, São Paulo, the 77,1-meter welterweight (up to 1,98 kg) is eager for the opportunity to finally make it to the UFC. Undefeated in five fights, all by knockout in the first round, the athlete who currently plays for the LFA has gone through ups and downs until he reached the path that leads him to success.

In an exclusive interview to SUPER FIGHTS, the 29-year-old from São Paulo told us about his journey to professional MMA; he recalled the moment that caught the attention of his managers when he trained with a renowned UFC heavyweight and addressed topics that tell about his story and dreams in the sport.

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“I'm from the city of Itu, in the interior of São Paulo, better known as the 'city of exaggerations', I think that's why I'm big. I moved to the United States four years ago (...) when the pandemic hit, I sat down with my girlfriend, who is now my wife, and said that I needed to leave, that my dream is to live from the struggle and not to survive (...) we made a list with eight names, which I sent a long text to everyone and the first one who responds and opens the doors, I'm going (...) I didn't even know the guy, most of the people were following him on Instagram, crazy.

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“(…) I arrived and went to live in the back of the Black House gym (…) I had the dream of going to the US to change my life, but when I arrived it was a struggle, I went through the worst days of my life, the greatest difficulties. But from the first day I arrived I knew that this was my new place, my new home and that I was going to succeed here. Today I am winning.”

Luís the year he arrived at the Black House alongside Renan Problem. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @luis_francischinelli

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Beginning in professional MMA

Now living in California, Luis was in the right place at the right time when he was invited to be a training partner for Alexander Volkov, a fighter who competes three categories above in MMA. Talented, the São Paulo native caught the attention of Joinha (Jorge Guimarães) and Ed Soares, who have since become his manager.

“When I arrived to train at Black House, which was the first gym I trained at, I later moved to CMMA. I stayed at Black House for about a year, made a lot of contacts, met Joinha and Ed. What changed my visibility was when I sparred with (Alexander) Volkov. I don’t use him to get promoted, the only thing was that I had the opportunity to spar with him and through that the guys saw me and called me. That’s when I was able to let my game go and show that ‘I’m here, look at me’”

“I was light at the time, he (Volkov) knocked me down twice, but I still did very well. I was like 75kg (…) and Volkov was losing weight to make the heavyweight limit (120,2kg).

Alexander Volkov was Luís's training partner at Black House. Photo: Reproduction/UFC

LFA debut

Before moving to MMA, Luís expanded his martial arts experience when he practiced kickboxing. After competing in the WGP, a renowned event in the sport, the athlete felt ready to finally test himself professionally in another sport.

“I switched to CMMA, trained for about six months, and scheduled a fight in the LFA, but it ended up falling through. Then Chad Jorge, my coach, called me and said: ‘Luís, a fight fell through here. Do you want it?’ I had never fought in MMA, but I had a lot of kickboxing fights (…) and then I was in the higher category, 83kg, against a guy who was 3-2. I looked at the guy and thought: ‘Oh my… oh, we’re here, it’s raining and we’re going to get wet’ (…) I took the fight, when I got there, the guy rehearsed it, I knew he was going to try to take me down, I defended it and it was over, I knocked him out.”

Luís F. knocked out Emmanuel Adzah in his LFA debut. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @lfa_brasil

Problems with never getting past the first round?

To date, Luís has never made it past the first round in all of his five MMA fights. Despite this fact, the São Paulo native expresses confidence that, if necessary, he will fight as many rounds as necessary to get his arm raised.

“I always (relax if I get through the rounds). Gas has never been a problem for me (…) I like to fight (…) but when I got into MMA, if the gloves get stuck, it’s no use, it can be whoever it is. I never go to fight one round, I go for five. I train for five, 10 rounds, every fight and each time I improve. I’m doing very well knocking everyone out, but if I have to fight five rounds, I’ll fight improving, because that’s the way I fight: applying pressure, improving, being smart and taking advantage of opportunities.”

Next step: UFC

Determined to take bigger steps with each presentation he has, the CMMA representative indicates that he is calm about the moment he receives the long-awaited invitation to debut in the UFC.

“Everyone dreams of going straight to the UFC (…) but I’m very down to earth, I really believe in hard work and I trust the work of my managers. If I have to fight in the Contender Series I’ll be happy, if I have to enter the UFC I’ll be happy too, if I have to fight another fight (outside) we’re there too, but my main goal is the UFC or the Contender Series and I believe that by the end of the year it will happen. There are a lot of people watching me, who like my style.”

Luís Francischinelli training at the UFC Performance Institute. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @luis_francischinelli

No trashtalk and provocations

A member of a category that includes fighters known for their gift for provocation, Luís rules out following the same path and explains that he believes his talent speaks louder than words.

“I’m not the kind of person who needs to talk to promote myself. I think it’s better to go out there and show them what I’m talking about than to talk. I believe that these guys are not my enemies, on the contrary, they have the same dream as me, they are my work partners (…) but we have two wolves: the good and the bad. But I can divide that up well. I’m good in training, but when the guy calls my name, it changes, everything changes and then, unfortunately, the guy is not my friend. Unfortunately, he’s not my work partner.”

“And as you can see, the first opportunity I will go there, grab it with all my strength, the first opportunity I have to finish my fight, whether it is a second or five rounds, I will do the same. The first opportunity I have, I will do it.”

Luís in victory at LFA. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @luis_francischinelli

1,98m tall to weigh 77kg

Finally, the Brazilian giant revealed his secret for dealing with height and weight in a division that doesn't usually have athletes with his physical condition.

“No weight loss is easy. I usually gain 10 or 11 kg more than my weight, I don’t let it go up much more than that. I don’t get that heavy. I’ve seen people lose 15 kg, that’s crazy to me. I never lose more than 10 kg. I had a very good diet change years ago (…) I’m an athlete, that’s my life, so I can’t go out there sleeping late at night, going to clubs, drinking. I only drink water, I don’t drink alcohol, soda, I only drink water, seriously. Every now and then I have a juice or two, but it’s water without ice”, he concluded.

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