FBThe Fight Brief
LightweightMain Card · 8:00 PM ET

Carlos Diego Ferreira vs. Billy Quarantillo

UFC Fight Night · August 8, 2026 · Meta Apex

OddsCarlos Diego Ferreira -191·Billy Quarantillo +158(DraftKings)

What kind of fight is this?Veteran crossroads brawlFinish likelihood: High

Neither of these men knows how to be in a boring fight, and both are at the stage where durability fades fast. Quarantillo's pace could absolutely break a 41-year-old Ferreira over three rounds, but his leaky defense has now produced stoppage losses in two straight, and Ferreira hits harder and has the far more dangerous ground game. Expect a wild, back-and-forth fight with both men hurt at some point. Ferreira by finish in the middle rounds, with a Quarantillo decision as the fallback if his engine holds up.

The Matchup

Carlos Diego Ferreira
BJJ Veteran
BJJ Black BeltHeavy HandsVeteran
GrapplingStriking
Billy Quarantillo
Volume Pressure Fighter
VolumeCardioPressure
GrapplingStriking

This is a crossroads fight between two beloved action fighters who are both on two-fight losing streaks and both closer to the end than the beginning. Quarantillo will do what he always does - march forward and drown opponents in volume - but his 43 percent striking defense means he gets hit constantly, and Ferreira still carries real power plus an elite submission game if it hits the floor. Ferreira, at 41 and coming off a knockout loss, has to weather the early pace and make his cleaner counters and grappling count. Quarantillo also hasn't fought in 20 months, which adds rust to the equation. Someone's skid ends, and someone's UFC future gets very cloudy.

Tale of the Tape

Carlos Diego FerreiraBilly Quarantillo
19-7Record18-7
41Age37
5'9"Height5'10"
74"Reach70"
OrthodoxStanceOrthodox
BrazilCountryUnited States
Team Ferreira BJJTeam

The Numbers

Career UFC averages. Red bar = statistical edge.

Carlos Diego FerreiraBilly Quarantillo
4.7Sig. strikes landed / min (volume)7.44
40%Striking accuracy (precision)55%
3.46Sig. strikes absorbed / min (lower is better)5.83
56%Striking defense (strikes avoided)43%
0.82Takedowns / 15 min (wrestling offense)1.47
24%Takedown accuracy26%
58%Takedown defense61%
0.55Submission attempts / 15 min1.02

Carlos Diego Ferreira

Carlos Diego Ferreira is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and former Legacy FC champion who has been a UFC lightweight since 2014, with wins over names like Anthony Pettis and Mateusz Rebecki on his resume. He blends slick submissions - seven career sub wins - with surprisingly heavy hands, as his ground-and-pound stoppage of Rebecki showed. Now 41, he is on a two-fight skid after losses to Grant Dawson and Alexander Hernandez. Fighting out of Pharr, Texas, he is deep in the twilight of a long career and likely fighting to extend it.

How they win
5 KO/TKO7 SUB7 DEC
Last 3 fights
  • LAlexander Hernandez · KO/TKONoche UFC · September 13, 2025
  • LGrant Dawson · Decision (unanimous)UFC 311 · January 18, 2025
  • WMateusz Rebecki · KO/TKO (ground and pound)UFC on ESPN · May 11, 2024

Billy Quarantillo

Billy Q

Billy Quarantillo is a Buffalo-born action fighter who earned his UFC deal through the Contender Series in 2019 and has been in wars ever since. His style never changes: relentless forward pressure and one of the highest strike outputs in the sport at over seven significant strikes landed per minute. That approach has produced 13 finishes in 18 wins - but also a lot of absorbed damage, and he enters on a two-fight skid after losses to Youssef Zalal and Cub Swanson. This is his first fight since December 2024 and his move up to lightweight, taking on Diego Ferreira at 37 years old.

How they win
8 KO/TKO5 SUB5 DEC
Last 3 fights
  • LCub Swanson · KO/TKOUFC Fight Night · December 14, 2024
  • LYoussef Zalal · Submission (rear-naked choke)UFC Fight Night · March 23, 2024
  • WDamon Jackson · Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night · August 5, 2023