Several world-class kickboxers have made it onto the MMA scene, especially in the UFC, to become champions in this sport as well. Just like Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya, who’ve achieved some of the most impactful accolades after switching from Glory to the UFC, Brazilian heavyweight contender Jhonata Diniz also hopes to inch closer to his dreams as he makes his pay-per-view debut at UFC 309.

Jhonata Diniz’s first PPV bout will be against Polish heavyweight Marcin Tybura, and he’s got all the momentum he needs to head in there at UFC 309 with confidence. In just a short span of time he’s made a significant impact in MMA, achieving the unbeaten eight-win zero-loss record, and since he is making a lot of noise for the UFC fans to notice, let us analyze him more based on his roots and background from a personal level.

What is Jhonata Diniz’s ethnicity and nationality?

Jhonata Diniz was born in the same city which is home to arguably the greatest Brazilian fighter ever, Anderson Silva. Yes, the 33-year-old is from Curitiba, and his nationality is, in fact, Brazilian. There’s no exact word on what Diniz’s ethnicity is, but if we had to guess, his hometown is inhabited by several ethnic groups – from Europeans (Germans, Italians, Polish, and Ukrainians), Japanese to Arabs. The 33-year-old can belong to any one of these communities of people.

Despite failing to win a title in Glory, Jhonata Diniz does have a heavyweight championship win in kickboxing, which he won under the Absolute Championship Akhmat promotions banner. He’d register a 22-7 kickboxing record, and guess what? 15 of his 22 wins were knockouts. Diniz has proven that he is currently one of the most dangerous fighters on the feet.

But how did it all start for the Brazilian star? Let’s explore Jhonata Diniz’s early life and see what compelled him to take up martial arts all those years ago.

More about Diniz’s early life

It seems like Jhonata Diniz used to fall in trouble a lot in his growing-up phase. He revealed it all to the UFC when he got signed, and as far as his statements on the organization’s website are concerned, it was one year before he became a teenager that he decided to enroll in Muay Thai after his cousin suggested he do it. The reason behind that decision is that Diniz claimed to have always come up short when he got into fights during his school days.

“I started training when I was around 12 to learn how to defend myself, I used to get the worst in some fights with the kids at school, so I needed to learn how to fight,” Jhonata Diniz told the UFC. “My cousin took me to my first Muay Thai class and here we are today.”

Jhonata Diniz is a knockout machine because seven of his eight wins have come from knockouts. But can he overcome a seasoned Marcin Tybura? Let us know in the comments down below.