Undefeated Vitor Petrino Aims for a Top 15 Opponent in His Next Outing

Vitor Petrino claims not to be in a hurry, but his penchant for finishing fights—and his rapid rise up the light heavyweight ranks—tell a different story.

After winning a contract on Dana White's Contender Series last September, the 26-year-old made a splash in the Ultimate Fighting Championship this year, winning all three of his fights. In his most recent appearance, in November in his native Brazil, the main known variously as “Icon” or “Merciless” knocked out Modestas Bukauskas in the second round, bringing his career tally to 10-0 with eight finishes.

Petrino is clearly a man on the rise at 205 pounds, and at a time when the division is jammed with aging contenders, many of whom have already fought one another, 2024 figures to be a big year for him. Nonetheless, Petrino remains wary of being given too much too soon.

“I don’t have a specific name to call out, since I’m just 26 and I’m in no hurry,” Petrino told Sherdog. “I don’t want to be another hyped guy that falls when he faces a real test, but in five months, I beat two tough opponents, submitting [Marcin Prachnio] and knocking out Bukauskas. I think I deserve a top 15 fighter next, but it's up to the UFC.”

Forty-five days after fighting with the Sao Paulo audience supporting him, Petrino remains excited about the experience. “It was like a dream come true,” he said. “Two years ago I was fighting in small Brazilian events. It’s hard to describe the emotion of fighting supported by a noisy Brazilian audience. ‘Uh vai morrer’ and other chants…it definitely pushes you forward.”

While Petrino is grateful for the support of that Brazilian crowd, he maintains that the true key to his success is in his training situation. He praised his home gym, CM System, for the quality of instruction as well as the infrastructure. “Besides having great sparring partners, the new structure of the CM System here is unbelievable,” he declared. “Besides a ring, an octagon and 400 square meters of mat space, we also have a private physical therapist. We have professionals in different areas. Cristiano Marcello is our head coach and also takes care of jiu-jitsu classes. But we also have a Cuban wrestling coach (Vladimir), a muay thai coach (Cleverson Silva) and capoeira classes three days a week. We also have a great dormitory building to support foreign fighters. CM System today is like a Brazilian Disneyland for MMA fighters.”

Even if he doesn’t wish to rush things, Petrino understands that his winning ways are elevating his profile in the division and believes he will reach a title shot naturally if he can win three or four more fights. “I believe my next opponent will be a top 15 fighter, then a top 10 and finally top 5,” he said. “When I beat a top 5 fighter, I may go straight for the title shot, or fight one more before the title shot. But as I said, I’m only 26 and I have no hurry, I’m working hard to be able to accept any challenge UFC offers me and I hope they invite me to return soon. March or April would be perfect to me.”