Mission accomplished, Jussier Formiga doesn't believe head butt was deciding blow at UFC Fight Night 38

NATAL, Brazil – While opponent Scott Jorgensen believes it was a head butt that rocked him moments before he was choked out by Jussier Formiga, the Brazilian flyweight isn’t so convinced.

“I don’t think it was a head butt,” Formiga told MMAjunkie in his native Portuguese. “I think it was like a counter blow.

“I think when I came in, I did some movement, but it wasn’t like head-to-head. It was my head against his chest, and he ended up falling on his back. Then I took the opportunity and went to his back. Everything worked out, and I was able to submit him.”

Formiga (16-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Jorgensen (14-9 MMA, 3-5 UFC) met in a FOX Sport 1-televised preliminary bout of Sunday’s “UFC Fight Night 38: Henderson vs. Shogun 2? at Ginasio Nelio Dias in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

In the battle of two key flyweights, Formiga – a grappling specialist by trade – actually looked surprisingly crisp on his feet in the early going. The 28-year-old credited his work with UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao for helping him improve his striking skills and have him well prepared for what Jorgensen brings to the cage.

“Barao has been helping me out for a long time,” Formiga said. “It’s not like it was just for this fight, but for this fight, he had already fought Jorgensen, so he showed me some ways and how he moved. He just really helped me get my game together for this fight, and thankfully everything worked out.

“Usually in my training, I’m able to maintain well my boxing, but I hadn’t been really able to show my boxing game. But I’m gaining confidence, and I think that every fight is different. From now on, I have a lot of stuff to perfect, and I just have to go against these guys. They’re very, very tough.”

Formiga’s road through the UFC’s flyweight division certainly hasn’t been an easy one. Past foes include top-ranked contenders John Dodson and Joseph Benavidez, not to mention an always-tough Chris Cariaso.

But with this win, which Formiga picked up in front of his hometown crowd, the Nova Uniao Kimura product said he’s again feeling confident in his abilities, and a run to the top of the division is on his to-do list.

“I felt like it was like mission accomplished,” Formiga said. “People that I knew asked me if it would be too much pressure to be fighting in my hometown. But I always saw it not as pressure but as a reason to put on a good show. Thankfully, I was able to perform my work and come out with a win.

“Currently I’m No. 7 in the UFC. I don’t think about the belt now, but I’m thinking about moving up and just keep evolving in my weight division.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 38, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.