After winning the inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” in 2012, Cezar Ferreira now counts blue-chip companies such as Gillette and Head & Shoulders among his sponsors. His first real backer, though, may surprise you. Like many Brazilians, Ferreira (5-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who meets Thiago “Marreta” Santos (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 163 pay-per-view main card at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena, found his way to MMA through capoeira, a martial-arts hybrid that combines dance and acrobatics with music. He began his training when he was just 6 years old. As a teen, Ferreira would often travel throughout the country and search out the best training possible, even though he didn’t have much money.
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