Geraldo de Freitas realized his lifelong dream when he got the call from the UFC.

It didn’t matter if it was at featherweight, a weight class above where he normally competes, de Freitas (12-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) wasn’t going to miss out on the opportunity.

He made good in his UFC debut, defeating Felipe Corales via unanimous decision at February’s UFC on ESPN+ 2, extending his win streak to seven.

He now faces Chris Gutierrez in a bantamweight bout at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 14 in Uruguay.

Ahead of UFC on ESPN+ 14, get to know more about Brazil’s de Freitas below:

Full name: Geraldo de Freitas Junior

Nickname: “The Spartan.” The nickname is in honor of a great friend of mine, Igor Silva. He was very supportive of my dream of becoming a professional MMA fighter. We practiced jiu-jitsu together. When I was starting out, we used to watch the “300” movie, and he’d encourage me by saying we were Spartan warriors. He eventually passed away. So, this nickname is in his honor, so he’ll always be remembered.  

DOB: Sept. 30, 1991. I’m 27 years old. 

City of birth: I was born in the city of Conselheiro Lafaiete, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. I currently live in Rio de Janeiro. 

Height:  5-foot-9

Weight:  135 pounds

Team: I represent the Nova Uniao team.

1 2 …3