Lerryan Douglas

When and why did you start training for fighting? I started in 2009. We had a group of friends in the school, every day after school we used to get together outside, wrap our shirts around the hands and box each other. One of the kids trained boxing before, so he invited me to come to the gym and since then I’ve never stopped doing it.

What professional titles have you held? I got the interim LFA belt in August last year. I unified it in January this year against the champion. Now I’m LFA champion and NC (Brazilian promotion) champion in 2020.

Any accomplishments in amateur combat sports? Yes, I did 1 boxing fight against a guy 20 pounds over my weight in 2010 and 10 MMA amateurs, 10-0

Any belts/ ranks in grappling disciplines? Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Muay Thai Black belt, National Champion of freestyle wrestling in 2012 in Curitiba, Brazil.

What does it mean for you to fight for the UFC? To fight for the UFC is a dream I have worked for since I was 15 years old.  It was a long journey with many obstacles, and many times it felt like an impossible mission, but I never stopped believing and working hard.  Now I am so grateful for this opportunity.  Now that I am here, I want to fight as much as possible and climb my way to the top of this division where I know I belong. My coaches and I feel confident that I am ready for anyone the UFC wants me to fight. I am excited to show the world why they call me the Gunslinger!

What has been your toughest fight to date and why? My toughest fight was in 2020 for the Nação Cyborg title, I fought 5 rounds for the first time. It was a tough fight.

Who is your favorite fighter and why? Dustin Poirier, first of all I love his fighting style, and he’s a hard worker, a very humble man and he cares a lot about his family! He’s just a great example of a good man - he kicks ass, provides for his family and gives back to the community. 

What was your job before you started fighting? I always worked with fighting, I stared coaching Muay Thai and Boxing at the age of 16. Nowadays, I still coach clients who are willing to have a healthy lifestyle and take care of their bodies.

Is there a cause that you want to use your platform for? I want to be the best fighter in my division and use my story to motivate the young generation of fighters, specially those from Brazil or who are in a place in their life where the goal feels so impossible and distant. I am here to show that through hard work, consistency, and surrounding yourself with the right people, a distant dream, can become reality.

Beyond a championship or money, what motivates you? What motivates me now is my newborn daughter and wife, they have given me a new level of purpose and focus.  Our team is named Bloodline, because there is no greater purpose for us then representing and giving a better life to our family.  I want my daughter to always be proud of our name and for her to see me as a father who came to America from Brazil with a dream, faced adversities, and worked really hard to provide her a better life.  The American Dream!

Origin of nickname: Cub and my team used to call me Dougie because they had a hard time pronouncing my name. They still call me that, but I got my fighting nickname during my fight for the interim title at LFA 190. When I was fighting, the legend Gilbert Melendez was commentating and he was calling me “Billy the Kid” and said “he looks like a gunslinger, calm and precise” so Gilbert Melendez gave me this nickname.

Personal Life / Background: I was born in a small town in Brazil called Paranaguá, around 50 minutes from Curitiba (the capital). I moved to Curitiba for training at the age of 15 and became a professional fighter at 18 in 2013 when I did my first professional fight. In 2023 I moved to the US. I wasn’t sure if I was still gonna fight anymore, but my friend Ryan flew me out to his house to spend a couple months, then my manager Mani Ahmadi believed in me and gave me a short notice fight at LFA. I wasn’t training at all anymore; I literally ran and hit the bags for nine days for that fight. Since then, I went to Albuquerque to help my friend Aaron Pico in his camp, then moved to CA to help Cris Cyborg and joined Cub Swanson’s team Bloodline CSA. Now I am a father and a husband, so family takes up most of my time outside of training.  I do still try to make time for hunting, fishing, and playing video games with my friends.  I am the fastest Gunslinger on Fortnite : )