LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) continued unveiling more fights this morning for its upcoming RFA 4 card, which is set to take place on Friday, November 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada. The RFA has announced a very exciting featherweight showdown that will see a pair of experienced Brazilian fighters square off, as Alessandro "Zoio" Ferreira (10-2, 1 NC) is set to clash with his fellow countryman and jiu-jitsu black belt Fredson Paixão (10-4, 1 NC).
Ferreira made his long-awaited American-soil debut in March at RFA 3, where he stepped in to replace an injured Mark Dickman on short notice. His bout at RFA 3 with Jared Downing was contested at a 150-pound catchweight, so this will be Ferreira’s first fight in America in his true weight class of 145-pounds. Ferreira first made a name for himself fighting in his native country of Brazil where he won two 8-man, 1-night tournaments in 2007 and 2008.
After compiling 10 wins and 1 loss in Brazil, which involved being victimized by a decision loss in a fight he dominated, Ferreira moved America to begin training and teaching in northern California as a member of Gracie Fighter, which is the world-renowned MMA team led by Cesar Gracie.
Once Ferreira joined Gracie Fighter, he got to spend 2011 working on his boxing technique with Richard Perez, who is the same boxing coach of Nick and Nate Diaz. He also got to work with sambo master Val Ignatov, while fine-tuning his grappling and MMA skills alongside the Diaz brothers, Jake Shields, Gilbert Melendez, Caio Terra, and many of the world’s most accomplished jiu-jitsu and MMA fighters.
All of those training partners and jiu-jitsu training will come in handy on November 2nd, when he meets one of the most decoared jiu-jitsu black belts on the planet. Ferreira will face Paixão, who is a 3-time World champion, 8-time Brazilian National champion, and holds a jiu-jitsu win over 7-time World champion Robson Moura. In MMA, Paixão is a 5-time Jungle Fight veteran, 4-time WEC veteran, and he is also noted for participating in the first featherweight bout in UFC history.
Paixão holds MMA wins over UFC fighters Rani Yahya and Bryan Caraway, as well as WEC veterans Mike French and Courtney Buck. Paixão’s most notable MMA win came while fighting for DEEP in Japan, when he defeated Japanese MMA star and leglock master Masakazu Imanari. Known and revered worldwide as "The King of Wristlocks", Paixão has been enlisted to teach jiu-jitsu at the Zuffa gym in Las Vegas. His "Fredson Paixão Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Association" has affiliate schools in Las Vegas, California, and Japan.
RFA 4 is set to be headlined by a light-heavyweight showdown pitting former UFC and PRIDE star Gilbert "The Hurricane" Yvel against former UFC and ADCC star Marcio "Pe De Pano" Cruz. The co-main event will feature two former UFC lightweight stars, as Tyson Griffin meets Efrain Escudero. These fights and more will take place at the Dallas Event Center inside Texas Station Gambling Hall & Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.