Diego Brandão

Turning Pro

Brandão made his MMA debut against Michel Bastos which he won via submission. He went 3-1 before fighting against UFC veteran Ronys Torres. He lost the fight by TKO due to punches. He got his biggest win to date against longtime UFC veteran Brian Foster in which he won by highlight reel KO in the first round. After that win he went 6-4 with 3 wins by KO, 2 by submission, and 1 by decision before signing with the UFC.

Brandão later became a permanent member of Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is now managed by New Idea Sports & Marketing.

The Ultimate Fighter

In 2011, Brandão had signed with the UFC to compete on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. In the first episode, Brandão fought Jesse Newell to gain entry into the Ultimate Fighter house. Brandão quickly defeated Newell via first round knockout. He was the number one featherweight pick for Team Bisping.

Brandão proved to be a loose cannon with confrontations with Marcus Brimage and Steven Siler. In the fifth episode it was announced that he would fight Siler on episode six. In this fight Diego charged out of the gate with a flying knee and knocked Siler unconscious 30 seconds into the first round with a left hook. With this win he advanced to the semi finals to fight former WEC fighter, Bryan Caraway. Brandão defeated Caraway via KO due to a flying knee and follow up punches late in the first round. With the win over Caraway, Brandão moved on to the finale against Dennis Bermudez.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Brandão officially made his UFC debut on December 3, 2011 at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale against Dennis Bermudez to determine the first ever featherweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 14. After a back-and-forth first round Brandão was knocked down and hit with heavy shots on the ground until he caught Bermudez with an armbar, and quickly forced the tapout. With his performance, Brandão was awarded Fight of the Night as well as Submission of the Night honors giving him a total of $80,000 in bonuses. During the post-fight interview Diego proclaimed of his mother; "The only thing on my mind [is to] buy her [a] house".

Brandão fought Darren Elkins on May 26, 2012 at UFC 146. Brandão lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Brandão fought and defeated Joey Gambino on October 13, 2012 at UFC 153 via unanimous decision.

Brandão faced Pablo Garza on April 6, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV 9. He won the fight via first round submission.

Brandão faced Daniel Pineda on August 17, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26. He won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.

Brandão faced Dustin Poirier on December 28, 2013 at UFC 168. There was some bad blood between the two that was evident during the staredown at the weigh-in, with Poirier claiming Brandão had threatened to, "Stab me in the neck." Brandão weighed in at 153 pounds, seven pounds over the accepted 146-pound limit for a featherweight non-title fight. Brandão would continue to cut weight and weighed in an hour later, but could only get down to 151.5 pounds. He was fined 25 percent of his purse, but the bout went on as scheduled. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Brandão was expected to face Will Chope on March 23, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 38. However, Chope was released from UFC when documents were released that showed Chope was discharged from the U.S. Air Force for domestic violence towards his ex-wife.

Brandão was expected to face promotional newcomer Brian Ortega on May 31, 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale. However, Brandão pulled out of the bout in the days leading up to the event citing an injury. Due to the late nature of the change, officials did not try to find a replacement and Ortega was pulled from the card as well.

Brandão faced Conor McGregor on July 19, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 46, replacing an injured Cole Miller. Brandão lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Brandão was expected to face Jimy Hettes on January 31, 2015 at UFC 183. However, the fight was canceled right before the event started, as Hettes passed out backstage. He was taken to a local hospital for precautionary reasons. Subsequently, the bout with Hettes was rescheduled for April 18, 2015 at UFC on Fox 15. Brandão won the fight due to a doctor stoppage between the first and second round.

Brandão faced Katsunori Kikuno on September 27, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 75. He dropped his opponent in the bout's opening seconds and followed up with a flurry of punches earning a TKO stoppage. The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award.

Brandão faced Brian Ortega on January 2, 2016 at UFC 195. After controlling the first two rounds with his striking, Brandão lost the fight via submission in the third round.

On January 15, 2016 it was announced that Brandao had tested positive for marijuana stemming from an in-competition test on January 2. On April 28, 2016 Brandao was released from the UFC on account of a felony arrest.

Eurasia Fight Nights Global

On 20 October 2016 Brandão signed a contract for fight with Russian MMA super star Rasul Mirzaev. However, on December 3, Mirzaev pulled out of the bout due to an unknown cause. Brandão defeated Murad Machaev on 28 January, 2017 at Fight Nights 58.

Mixed martial arts