Matheus Camilo didn’t go into his fight with Gabe Green banking on a loss.
But after it happened 15 months ago in his UFC debut, he found a way to turn it around to work in his advantage – like the old adage about learning more from a loss than a win.
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“I think my loss taught me a lot – to improve, to fix my mistakes,” Camilo told MMA Junkie Radio. “Like a personal (thing), and everything, I think it was very important for me. I don’t take this loss like a loss. I learned a lot from it and I think this part of my career made me grow as a fighter.”
After the loss to Green in May 2025, Camilo got back on track when he outworked Viacheslav Borschev at UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden in New York – easily his biggest stage yet. And he made it consecutive wins when he knocked out Nazim Sadykhov in just 91 seconds in June – though he came up short of a $100,000 bonus and had to settle for just $25K extra for the finish.
Now Camilo (11-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has been booked for a lightweight fight against Jai Herbert (14-6-1 MMA, 4-5-1 UFC). They’ll throw down Oct. 10 at UFC Fight Night 290 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas (Paramount+).
Herbert has been the definition of an up-and-down fighter throughout his UFC tenure. He lost his first two bouts in the promotion, but hasn’t been able to put together a winning streak. A win over Camilo would be his first back-to-back UFC wins, but Camilo doesn’t expect he’ll get that far.
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He said he’s paid some attention to Herbert through his years in the UFC, including his loss to former champion Ilia Topuria at featherweight.
“I saw his fight against Topuria (four years) ago. He’s very good. He’s a good striker,” Camilo said. “I think he sometimes struggles on the ground, and I see few spaces I can catch him striking, also. I really like the match.
“… Striking and my grappling, I can work – in the fight, this is going to work. I see sometimes he struggles in the grappling, and he struggles also when the guys close distance to him. Ilia Topuria caught him on that because he’s very long. So I see few spaces out there.”
Ultimately, Camilo said he has to pay some mind to Herbert’s time in the UFC. Even though it’s been largely win-one-lose-one, Camilo thinks he can show the 38-year-old Herbert that he’s one of the new younger fighters to watch.
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“We always need to respect experienced guys,” Camilo said. “But I want to show my level. I know he’s there for a long time. He’s an experienced guy. But I am, too. I want to show my level to him.
“… This is going to be my fourth fight in the UFC. I’m still here. Step-by-step, I’m going to get there. That’s how I see me. Every fight, you need to win and you’re going to grow. It’s going to happen.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Matheus Camilo plans to respect Jai Herbert’s experience at UFC Vegas 122
