The Rookies: UFC on ESPN 55

Jhonata Diniz now has a target at which to aim.

The undefeated Santa Fe Team heavyweight will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against Austen Lane in a featured UFC on ESPN 55 attraction this Saturday at the UFC in Apex in Las Vegas. Diniz was welcomed onto the UFC roster in September, when he buried then-Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Eduardo Neves with punches in the first round of their showcase on Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series. The Brazilian drew the curtain 3:15 into Round 1, improving to a perfect 6-0.

“That knockout for me was so special because the situation is special,” Diniz said at the post-fight press conference. “Of course, this will be a special highlight for me.”

The 32-year-old kickboxer weathered some early adversity, as he met with jabs, front kicks to the body and a few combinations from his aggressive countryman. He eventually pushed Neves to the fence before uncorking a right hook and a plunging right cross upstairs. It proved to be the beginning of the end. Neves marched forward and walked into a searing one-two that leveled him where he stood in the center of the cage. No follow-up shots were required. Diniz, who has finished all six of his opponents inside one round, was not surprised it turned into a firefight.

“I was waiting for that because I know I’m in the heavyweight division,” he said. “Everybody’s strong, everybody’s dangerous, everybody’s tough for three minutes. If you have a good mentality for making the right game plan, that’s it. We made a good plan for this fight, and the result was this.”

Lane, meanwhile, spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears during an abbreviated NFL career. He transitioned to mixed martial arts in 2017, striking gold in the Fury Fighting Championship, Combat Night and Warfare MMA organizations. Lane last suited up at UFC 293, where he lasted just 82 seconds in a knockout loss to Justin Tafa on Sept. 10. Diniz wants to make an immediate impact in the heavyweight division, starting with his 6-foot-6 counterpart.

“I don’t care who I fight,” he said. “If you give me a top guy, I’ll face him. I’ve been a kickboxer my whole life, and I’ve been fighting tough guys. If the UFC gives me an easy fight, I’ll do it. I’m here for work.”

Two other competitors—lightweights James Llontop and Chris Padilla—are also scheduled to draw their first UFC paychecks at the event, albeit against one another.

A Fusion Fighting Championship titleholder, Llontop called upon violent creativity in a contract-clinching unanimous decision win over Malik Lewis on DWCS in September. Scores were 30-27, 30-26 and 30-26. Llontop, 24, dazed the Texan with a stabbing right hand in the waning seconds of Round 1 and never looked back. He racked Lewis’ body with a painful kick in the second and put the impressive depth of his tool box on display with shovel uppercuts, takedown-deterrent elbows to the side of the head and close-range knees. Llontop made even more progress on the ground, where he hammered away with knees and elbows before threatening with a late face crank to close the third round. It was the promising Peruvian prospect’s 12th straight victory.

On the other side of the equation, Padilla steps up to the plate as a short-notice replacement for Lando Vannata. He finds himself on a three-fight winning streak following a second-round technical knockout of Justin Jaynes under the Up Next Fighting banner on Oct. 21. A well-traveled Bellator MMA, CES MMA, Brave Combat Federation, King of the Cage and Resurrection Fighting Alliance alum, the 28-year-old Padilla sports 11 finishes among his 13 professional victories.