Kaue Fernandes felt wronged in UFC debut, changed mindset for UFC Abu Dhabi return

Kaue Fernandes | Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

Kaue Fernandes returns to the octagon Saturday at UFC Abu Dhabi to face Mohammad Yahya and achieve redemption after suffering a split decision loss to Marc Diakiese at UFC 301 in his native Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Fernandes is switching from home-field advantage to enemy territory in his second UFC appearance, but is focusing more on the things he has to do inside the cage rather any pressure brought from the stands, either with cheers or boos.

“I think I had a good debut,” Fernandes told MMA Fighting. “I made mistakes, but I think I won the fight. There was only one aggressor in that fight, and I was the aggressor. His only good moment in the fight was to stall. He’s an excellent fighter but he didn’t want to fight me, and they gave him the win even though he was almost knocked out and submitted with an armbar.”

Only one judge scored the bout in Fernandes’ favor, giving him a 29-28 scorecard with advantages in rounds one and two, however the other two judges disagreed.

Fernandes said he learned lessons from that fight, mainly to focus on improving his wrestling and conditioning.

“It’s a lot of pressure to debut in the UFC and I expected to feel very nervous, but I think I did well. I wasn’t intimidated,” said Fernandes, whose opponent had a 7-7 UFC record going into that bout. “Many people choke under those circumstances and I’ve shown I’ll perform and give my all against whoever, so that gives me confidence going forward.”

Diakiese completed his UFC contract that night and chose not to re-sign with the promotion, inking a deal with PFL instead.

Fernandes doubles down on his opinion that Diakiese should’ve left on a three-fight losing skid — following prior defeats to Michael Johnson and Joel Alvarez — rather than a win.

“I can’t cry over spilled milk,” Fernandes said. “I’ve rewatched that fight 1,000 times and I think he won the third round, but you can’t give him rounds one and two.”

“UFC naturally renews its roster and they wouldn’t re-sign him without an excellent performance, and he won in highly contested fashion,” he continued. “The fight was exciting until he made it boring. I’d rather get beat up and bloody and lose than [that]. … I left with a clean face and he went straight to the hospital. Who won the fight? He realized in the first round he couldn’t stand and trade with me. I could have done more. I have to get out of those situations because I might face that again, but it’s hard to fight someone who just doesn’t want to get finished.”

Yahya, a former lightweight champion in his native United Arab Emirates, is also attempting to rebound from a decision defeat in his UFC debut after losing to Trevor Peek at UFC 294.

Fernandes vows to do anything needed to emerge victorious for the first time inside the octagon.

“I think Mohammad might come to grapple after seeing that opening in my last fight, or he might do his thing and stand and trade,” Fernandes said. “Or maybe I can grapple him? Winning is what matters. If I have to grapple to beat him, so be it. I don’t rule anything out in this fight. I’m very powerful in the first round, and if it lands, he will feel it. That’s the perfect scenario, but I’m in no rush. I’m ready to go three rounds too.”