Eduardo Neves enters PFL Charlotte after Dana White's ContenderSeries appearances and a difficult two-year layoffEduardoNeves has an unusual nickname: Bbzao. But it makes perfectsense if you learn about its origin.When joining his first mixed martial arts class around the age of14 in his native Brazil with the goal of losing weight, Eduardoalready towered over his adult teammates. So, they called himBbzao, a creative way to spell big baby in Portuguese.The 26-year-old heavyweight, a two-time participant in Dana Whites Contender Series, is preparing for his Professional Fighters League debut against MaxwellDjantou Nana at PFL Charlotte on Aug. 7.Having recently switched to the CMSystem academy in Curitiba, Brazil, the young fighter feels hehas all he needs for an impressive showing against theEngland-based Cameroonian.I worked with a great team for this fight -- CM System. Our headcoach is CristianoMarcello, who has a great history in the sport, he toldSherdog.com in his native Portuguese.My main sparring partner, as well as strategist, is PFL veteranMatheusScheffel. I had a lot of great help with current UFC fighter VitorPetrino. Im confident Im very ready for an impressive debutin the PFL.Getting started in the sport as a teenager in Brazil was rough, butNeves made the best of it.Our hometown academy in Paraiba was basically a backyard. Istarted training with older vale tudo-era fighters. I learned a lotfrom them. As I was being introduced to the sport, I kept learningtechniques from outgoing fighters. By the time I wrapped up myschooling at age 19, I took the time to determine what Id be doinggoing forward. I had the option to go to college, work a full-timejob, or focus on my MMA training with the goal of being an athlete.I started training two to three times a day. After my pro MMAdebut, I saw that this would be my pursuit for the rest of mylife.Although some municipalities in the country do contributefinancially to support local athletes, that is the exception, notthe rule.It was very hard to get financial support from the localgovernment. But I was able to finance my career with my familysand my wifes frequent help, as well as working jobs as a securityguard, in addition to loading and unloading trucks. Often, Id beworking security all night long, and by the time I was off in themorning, it was already time to go train.Despite the occasional setback, capturing belts in Legacy Fighting Alliance and Centurion FC left him feeling pride in his abilities.A recent two-year gap with no pro bouts, from 2024 to 2026, did notdiscourage him. The 265-pounder kept training and hoping for theright opportunity.I was inactive for some time because, besides the fact thatBrazilian promotions dont pay very well, no one wanted to risklosing to me and having a stain on their record. It was very hardto find a fight, even though Ill face anyone. So, in 2025, I onlytrained as no one would sign up to fight me. I even had fightersoutside Brazil who refused to face me.An elitemiddleweight clash headlines PFL Charlotte: Tune in on Friday, Aug.7 at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.A submission win over BadrMedkouri in May of this year caught the PFLs attention.And now Neves has a few things to say about his next opponent.I think its a good fight for my PFL debut. Hes not a veryexpressive fighter. And his hands dont seem to be very heavy. Ican see he has shown many improvements from fight to fight, but Imconfident he wont be ready for my game. Im confident that ourstrategy will play out as expected on Aug. 7.Beyond this fight, Neves sees only good things going forward.I feel very happy to see the PFL merge with MVP. It feels great to be part of the promotion during this keymoment. I want people to get to know me and appreciate my brutalfight style. The time that was wasted when I wasnt getting fightswont determine who Ill be in the future. I see a bright futureahead.