Correira debuted on July 22, 2000, at the "Rings USA: Rising Stars Block B" regional qualifying tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii, losing to Eric Pele by submission due to an armbar in round two of their semi-final bout. After joining the SuperBrawl promotion, he would then lose to Travis Fulton by the same method three months later and Preston Hartzog by split decision a month after that. Having begun his career with three consecutive losses, he won his first fight with a disqualification victory over Marcelo Tigre at "SuperBrawl 21" on May 24, 2001, before a string of three technical knockout wins brought his record into the winning margin.