Flyweight: Hugo “Pequeno” Paiva (5-1)
Outside of an undefeated MMA record Paiva has titles in kickboxing as well. He has a 1-0 pro boxing career too. Paiva before turning pro had an amateur MMA record of 5-0. Paiva won the vacant Thunder Fight flyweight title a year ago. The young man is a really talented striker. He’s an athletic explosive power puncher. Along with power Paiva rips the body really well and uses the body in combinations. I do have strong concerns about his cardio but he is young enough to fix it. He did prove his worth in his last fight even though it was a loss to Felipe dos Santos.
Light heavyweight: Rafael “Kratos” Xavier (11-6)
Xavier has been fighting over in the Czech Republic and Germany for the last couple of years. He’s from Sao Paulo, Brazil Brazil but hasn’t had a fight in his country since 2016. Xavier has been up and down in his career but has hit his stride as he’s on a four-fight win streak. Xavier has a long frame and uses it with his kicks and long straight punches. He has the power to sit guys down with just a jab. His grappling is probably his best weapon. He will accept being off his back but on top he’s very dangerous. An action fighter that’s trying to get to the next level.
Welterweight: Brenner Alberth (8-1)
Alberth came back from a two-year layoff last July. Unfortunately for him, he had to return against Gabriel Bonfim and ended up losing. Alberth was undefeated before that with a 100% finish rate. Although six of his eight finishes are by KO/TKO his jiu-jitsu is his strongest skill. As soon as the fight hits the mat Alberth immediately slices through the guard right into mount. He has fight-ending ground and pound knocking one of his foes out with punches in mount. Alberth has a good right overhand, right hook, and right cross. The Brazilian is a wild striker but still a dangerous one. He’s very capable of knocking guys out with his right or his left hand. Alberth is a danger when he plants his feet and throws looping hooks. He’s shown to have killer instinct once he gets his foe in trouble, as that’s when he will throw better combos, and from different angles.
Featherweight: Maike Linhares (17-3)
Linhares has a lot of top-level experience under his belt. He’s fought for top Brazilian orgs, RIZIN, and ACB. He’s won titles in Brazil for Jungle Fight and Brazilian Fighting Series. In his last fight in the U.S. for XMMA he beat Andre Harrison which is a great win. Linhares is an excellent striker/kickboxer. He has issues with takedown defense but has jiu-jitsu to bail him out. Linhares uses a lot of different looks and striking patterns. His footwork is good and it highlights his creative striking. Linhares is one of the most underappreciated Brazilian prospects there are.
Welterweight: Kaik Brito (15-4)
Brito is a highly underrated talent who is still young with good experience. He needs to just tighten up a few things. He’s 3-3 in his last six going win-loss three times, but he gets a chance of winning a title in the Czech Republic for Oktagon. Brito is primarily a striker bringing a strong toolbox. Brito has excellent muay thai and covers distance well. From the range he uses good leg kicks, a jab, and is a dangerous counter striker. Brito has a lot of upside at just the age of 25.
Light heavyweight: Rodolfo Bellato (8-2)
Bellato fought this past season on the Contender Series and came up short. He’s still UFC level in my opinion and I’m confident he’s going to get back to where he was. Bellato has been a training partner of the Nogueira brothers for a number of years and has cornered them in the UFC before. His only two losses have come to one man, Vitor Petrino, who is now in the UFC. Along with competing in various jiu-jitsu competitions, with many medals won, he’s also competed in kickboxing — most notably for WGP. Being well-versed in all areas Bellato is primarily a jiu-jitsu guy that will smash your face in with brutal ground and pound. A huge submission threat as well, as all three of his subs are by a different type of lock.
Featherweight: Jose “Ze” Delano (12-2)
Delano has had a rough year even though he’s been winning. Earlier this year he had two chances at winning the LFA title and even though he won he missed weight so didn’t get the strap. He’s now in a 4-man tournament to crown a new LFA featherweight champion. He’s already won his fight and will now compete again for the title. What does it for Delano is he isn’t great anywhere but is good everywhere and very good defensively. Also, his cardio is good enough that he can fight at a solid pace for five rounds.
Lightweight: Mauricio Ruffy (6-1)
Ruffy was someone I was high on back in 2019. He suffered a loss to Manoel Sousa and took nearly a three-year layoff until he fought again last June. Ruffy trains out of Fighting Nerds and is a main sparring partner of UFC fighter Caio Borralho. The Brazilian hasn’t had much in-ring time because he has blitzed past his opponents. Ruffy holds a lot of punishing power in his hands, making his opponents just give up due to the big amount of damage they take. Ruffy is a muay thai and a kickboxing black belt. His name isn’t brought up enough as it should be.
Flyweight: Victor “Paçoca” Dias (10-2)
Dias is the reigning Titan FC champion. It took a while before Dias hit his stride, winning by thin margins and losing close decision losses. It’s easy to tell that since training with American Top Team, he’s a more fearsome fighter. Dias is a black belt in BJJ and a national champion as well. A prospect with a high-level ground game is how you can sum up Dias. He hasn’t fought this year but when he gets back in there he’ll remind everyone why he’s the champ.
Strawweight: Valesca “Tina Black” Machado (10-3,1 NC)
Machado has competed in a few other combat sports. The Brazilian is 2-0 in boxing and 5-3 in kickboxing. Machado is a striker-first type of fighter. She’s more of a brawler, as she plants her feet and throws wide looping right and left hooks. Not just a brawler though — she is technical and shows that more as she gets loose in the fight. Even off her back foot, Machado is a solid striker. She will take damage to give some as she is usually likely to have a better chin and hits harder. On the feet, Machado is always throwing volume and staying active, especially with her hands. With her Muay Thai, striking, output, and power I think she has a lot of potential. If she developed a ground game or just worked on it a little bit she would be that much better.
