Mario Pinto is embracing his nervous jitters as he seeks another vicious knockout at UFC Rio.Pinto, 27, jets off to the Barra da Tijuca region of Rio de Janeiro this week to fight Jhonata Diniz for UFC Fight Night 261 in Brazil.Pinto brutally knocked out Austin Lane on his UFC debut in MarchGettyHe left the ex-NFL player unconscious on the Las Vegas canvas just 39 seconds into round twoGettyThe Lisbon-born British fighter – training with Stuart Austin at Fightzone London and the likes of heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall – made his inaugural UFC appearance in March, having emerged through Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) in October 2024.He knocked out former NFL defensive end Austin Lane on his debut to take his professional MMA record to 10-0, with both of his finishes in DWCS and the UFC coming via knockout. Pinto called his DWCS fight ‘nerve-wracking,’ as UFC CEO White had a front row seat for the fight, but said he’d never felt pressure like making the walk before stopping Lane on his debut.Speaking to talkSPORT.com ahead of his Rio clash with Diniz, Pinto admitted things haven’t got any better since. Mario Pinto: Pressure to fight ‘gets worse every time’“I’m nervous about performing,” Pinto said.“But I understand it’s perfectly normal to feel that way. Regardless of what I’m going through, it’s just part of it. You’re meant to feel these things.“You just have to perform with it. You’ve got to just get better at dealing with it.“It gets worse every time. When you’re an amateur, you think, ‘Oh, is this going to get any better?’“You just can’t accept it, and you just get better at dealing with it, but you never actually lose the nerves.“You don’t lose that feeling. It’s always going to be there. You’ve just got to learn to go with it.”Pinto said he will never lose the feeling of nerves before fights, but is ready to start his journey to the UFC’s heavyweight rankings in Rio this weekendGettyDescribing the build-up to his debut, Pinto added: “When you’re there on fight week, people like to let it be known that it’s your debut. “And then they’re like, ‘Oh, you only get one debut. You only get one time. You only have to go for it once.’ “And I was just like, ‘Oh, my God.’ Then, when you actually walk out at the Apex, you can feel the lights.“The lights were different compared to the contender series, the lights that’re shining on you in the Octagon, you can feel it burning on your skin.”Pinto grew up in Lisbon as an infant and lived in the capital of Portugal for around nine months before he moved with his mum to the UK.He played basketball in his youth, but knew MMA was something he always wanted to try his hand in.Pinto is 10-0 in pro MMA and has ended both of his fights under the UFC banner with a knockoutGettyThe 27-year-old was introduced to mixed martial arts at the London-based gym Urban Warriors Academy, competing in the amateur scene under the WCMMA banner.Pinto went 5-1 as an amateur before making his pro debut in 2021.He scored consecutive first-round finishes in his first three fights before going undefeated in five at Levels Fight League and being crowned the Dutch promotion’s heavyweight champion.After stopping Lucas Camacho in front of UFC CEO White, Pinto got the UFC call in early February and hasn’t looked back since.“I feel like the problem is when guys get to the UFC or they’re coming up the circuit, everyone puts too much pressure on them,” Pinto said.“Their expectations are really high – you’ve got to let people build. Let people build their careers, build their brands, and work their way up… Pinto has spent time training with UFC heavyweight champion Aspinall ahead of his fight in BrazilGetty“It’s hard in a business like this because to be extremely successful, sometimes it’s not just winning. “You can’t just win. It’s also an entertainment business. So you’ve got to appeal to the fans and be a personality.”Pinto asserted that the goal is to eventually join the heavyweight ranks in MMA’s premier promotion, having seen first-hand what it takes to rule his division.He has spent time, just like fellow British UFC fighter Modestas Bukauskas, training with UFC heavyweight champion Aspinall, who makes his first defence of the title against Ciryl Gane on October 25. Pinto said he enjoyed the ‘welcoming’ nature of Aspinall’s camp, where no one was ‘trying to kill each other,’ and is using his fight in Rio as another stepping stone on his journey to reach the UFC’s summit, just as Aspinall has achieved.Pinto not rushing to become ranked UFC heavyweight“I’m not in a massive rush,” Pinto concluded.View Tweet: https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFCRio?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“I feel like I want to get some fights to build myself up, and have different experiences. I’ve fought on different shows, and fighting in the UFC is completely different…“People get offered fights too soon, and you get derailed very quickly. “I’ve got no rush, to be honest. I just want to keep building fights, building my brand, building my name, and getting experience.“So when I’m given these shots, I’m ready to deal with them, ready to take them out.”UFC Fight Night 261 takes place at the Farmasi Arena on Saturday.Charles Oliveira makes his return to face Mateusz Gamrot in a lightweight title eliminator in the main event, while fellow Brazilians Deiveson Figueiredo, Vicente Luque and Ricardo Ramos all feature on the main card.