Brunno Ferreira readies for Aliskerov at UFC Baku

Brunno Ferreira – Brunno “Hulk” Ferreira returns to action at UFC Baku on Saturday against Ikram Aliskerov after his original bout was delayed by an injury. Coach Andre “Dida” says Ferreira arrived early in Baku to adapt and believes Aliskerov’s familiar style will be met by a

Brunno “Hulk” Ferreira arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, this past Thursday with his coach, Andre “Dida,” and the plan is simple: turn preparation into momentum. Ferreira will look to return to the win column when he faces Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Baku on Saturday.

There’s a specific kind of frustration behind this matchup—one that came from timing, not training. Ferreira was initially supposed to fight Aliskerov at UFC 318 last July. But Aliskerov withdrew from that event due to injury. Ferreira then submitted replacement opponent Jackson McKey in the first round.

Speaking after “Hulk” landed, Dida explained how close the original timeline came to breaking again. “That fight should have happened before, but Ikram hurt his foot six days before the fight. The opponent changed [then], but we had already studied his game a lot,” the Brazilian TKO head coach said.

Baku itself has become part of the build-up. Dida said he was impressed by the fans and the way the city seems built for combat. “I´m very impressed with the fans here. They are very excited about the event. Baku breathes fighting. They have a big statue of a wrestling champion on the street of the hotel.”.

Ferreira’s early arrival is also practical. Dida said, “‘Hulk’ wanted to arrive on Thursday, so we can get totally adapted to the local time zone. He is coming very prepared for this fight.”

The matchup, though, isn’t just about adaptation—it’s about style. Dida framed Aliskerov as a fighter with consistency in how he attacks. “Ikram fights the same way since his Brave tenure.” But he also believes Ferreira’s tools—and how he’ll use them—can change what the audience expects. “’Hulk’ is more unpredictable and also has a good judo and jiu-jitsu game, He also has KO power. So he has all the tools to surprise and neutralize the Russian.”.

Training history sits close to the surface in Dida’s comments, too. He has coached Bruno Silva for a fight against Alex Pereira. and he revisited Silva’s loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC White House. Dida said, “Poatan took a lot of punches. He was counting a lot on his range advantage at middleweight and light heavyweight. If it were not for that advantage, ‘Blindado’ would have hit him more when they fought. I predicted that at heavyweight. where he lost his reach advantage. fighting a guy like Gane with long range that moves like a welterweight would give him problems. I cheered for him, but unfortunately my prediction came true.”.

That same coaching attention is now shifting toward Mauricio Rua. Dida said Rua is training to face Glover Teixeira under boxing rules at Spaten Fight Night 3 in August. “‘Shogun’ is training every day at my academy in Curitiba,” he said. “Yesterday he called me to say how happy he is that he has to train for only one discipline for this fight since he trained MMA all his life. He is really motivated and so am I. After all. the promotion couldn’t have choen a better main event. because Glover and ‘Shogun’ are both very aggressive fighters always looking for the KO. There is no way this fight will not be exciting.”.

Brunno Ferreira Ikram Aliskerov UFC Baku UFC 318 Andre Dida Jackson McKey Baku UFC White House Ciryl Gane Bruno Silva Mauricio Rua Glover Teixeira Spaten Fight Night 3