When it comes to areas with the best MMA prospects in the world, most may think of the U.S. Some consider Russia to have the most dominant fighters. A few even believe that England has the most potential with talented prospects. Brazil doesn’t get nearly enough love these days and frankly, it’s the most stacked county there is. Not just high-level talent but exhilarating, exciting fighters.
On the Brazilian scene, you see Future MMA, Thunder Fights, Shooto Brasil, Jungle Fight, Arena Global, Mr. Cage, SFT, WOCS, SFFN, Iron Man MMA, and the Brazilian Fighting Series. All these shows are able to have active events and be successful due to the deep talent pool Brazil has.
Now it’s time to show some love to Brazil and its fighters.
Here is a list of fifty of the best prospects representing Brazil. Fifty seems like a lot but it was actually hard just to narrow this list down to get to the desired number.
Light heavyweight: Bruno “Brunão” Lopes (11-0)
Lopes is possibly already signed to the UFC and nobody knows it yet. He’s coming off the biggest win in his career winning the vacant LFA 205-pound title. Lopes was away from the sport for six years until he made his comeback last year and has gone on a tear. When I scouted Lopes I labeled him more as a grappler but his hands are serious. If you watch his last fight you’ll see how lethal his striking is. 205 is always in need of prospects and I think Lopes is easily top five worldwide.
Strawweight: Julia “The Dragon” Polastri (10-3)
Polastri is best known for her fight on the Contender Series last year. She lost to Jasmine Jasudavicius but it was a fight she never should’ve taken. She took that fight up a weight class against a much bigger girl. Made a big statement in 2019, beating a solid opponent in Jéssica Delboni. In that fight, she won the Shooto Brazil strawweight title. “The Dragon” has some good hands. She is fast and has shown good power in her hands. There isn’t a ton of fight footage but Polastri has the resume to back herself up.
Heavyweight: Max Gimenis (1-0)
Gimenis is the least experienced fighter on this feature but it would be crazy not to mention him here. He comes from a well-accomplished jiu-jitsu background. Gimenis is a two-time IBJJF Pan Championship and a two-time Pan Ams NO GI champion along with other titles. He’s 1-0 in MMA and won that by submission in a little over a minute. It’s impossible to tell how good he is just yet. Saying that, Gimenis has all the potential to be something special at heavyweight.
Bantamweight: Jean Matsumoto (12-0)
Matsumoto, in my opinion, is one of the best Brazilian prospects across all weight classes. Matsumoto hasn’t been fighting for all that long and has a strong resume. That resume started in 2019, the same year he won the SFT flyweight title. He then moved up to bantamweight and won the bantamweight title as well. This year, he won and defended his Fight Pro Championship bantamweight title. With how good he is on the feet, he’s looked even better on the mat. He throws very active ground and pound and that mixed in with solid jiu-jitsu makes him a huge threat.
Strawweight: Rose Conceição (6-0)
Conceição debuted for LFA recently and basically put herself on the mat. She’s unbeaten in her MMA career and last year she won a regional title. Conceição was a Brazilian national wrestling champion. Her wrestling has translated well in her MMA career and has been her main weapon. Conceição’s stand-up has been coming along with sharp striking and kickboxing. Conceição is only just 25 and even in a stacked division, I believe she could go a long way.
Bantamweight: Matheus Henrique Correia (6-0)
Correia in just six pro fights has already won four different titles. He’s won the bantamweight title for Iron Man MMA, Cidade da Luta, and Nação Cyborg and also the flyweight title for Nacao Cyborg. All that and he’s also got an extensive career competing in the ADCC trials. Correira can wrestle and the mat is where he wants to be. He isn’t bad at all on the feet but it’s not his primary focus. What he does so well on the feet is press forward and throw heavy to close the distance. Correira has a good gas tank and has shown he’s able to go five rounds once and three rounds twice. He’s already advanced for such a young man.
Featherweight, Gabriel “Mosquitinho” Santos (9-0)
Santos is a good talent out of Brazil but hasn’t fought in over a year. He had some good fights lined up against Gabriel Alves Braga and Jackson Loureiro but both guys pulled out. He was last seen winning the Future MMA featherweight title. “Mosquitinho” which translates to Mosquito fits Santos well considering he’s all over his opponents. He has good muay thai but it’s the ground game that’s the difference. He’s displayed dominant wrestling and slick grappling. He just knocked out Márcio Barbosa which is a legit win.
Lightweight, Brendo “The Monster” Bispo (17-5)
Bispo is one of the most underappreciated prospects from Brazil. He is coming off a loss but to Manoel Sousa so no shame in that. He’s a sharp striker that produces a lot of power and a great deal of explosiveness. If he’s not getting it done with his hands he will with his kicks with thudding power. If the technical prowess of Bispo isn’t enough he has good wrestling and is solid on the mat. He can pound you out to a TKO finish or sub you at any point. Bispo is still young and is someone I really like.
Bantamweight, Allan “Mini” Begosso (7-2-1)
Begosso is a stud but has unfortunately come up short in big fights. He came up short last year losing a shot at the vacant LFA bantamweight title. He had a fight this last season on the Contender Series but lost that as well. Begosso is still only 26 and training out of Team Alpha Male in the States will only help him improve. Due to the excitement level Begosso brings he’s a fun guy to watch out for. He has a lot of power in his hands, is very explosive, and can finish the fight at any time. Maybe a move down to 125 would benefit him.
Featherweight, Hilario “Espartano” Silva (8-1)
The team Chute Boxe Diego Lima is filled with talented fighters. From Charles Oliveira to Allan Nascimento to Daniel Santos to all the other rising up-and-comers. Since losing his third pro fight in early 2019 he’s won his last six. Silva is a muay thai striker who has good fundamentals in his striking and kickboxing. He’s a bit stiff but as the fight goes he’s more loose and fluid. Silva is a fun exciting prospect that’s going to cause a lot of damage in his career.
