For this instalment, we head to South America. Brazil has seen an obscene number MMA champions year after year, and there’s no surprise: after all, Royce Gracie is where it all began, at least where the UFC is concerned. From there, Vitor Belfort, Shogun Rua, Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo, Amanda Nunes, Deiveson Figueiredo, Jessica Andrade, Charles Oliveira — that’s in the UFC alone, and it’s not even a complete list!

Our original Scouting the Globe series singled out the following five Brazilian talents:

• Hugo Cunha who is signed with ONE Championship and is 0-1 for the promotion.
• Leonardo Limberger who is signed with ACA and has lost his last three fights.
• Joanderson Brito who is signed with the UFC and is 1-1 inside the cage.
• Herbeth Souza who recently lost after coming back from a long layoff.
• Luana Pinheiro is signed to the UFC and is 2-0 since making her debut.

Now let’s take a look at this year’s candidates.

Bonfim Brothers

The Bondim brothers actually take two spots on this year’s list, and for good reason.

Both Gabriel (12-0) and Ismael (17-3) are two of the best prospects out in Brazil, if not the best two. Lightweight Ismael is on an eleven-fight win streak. Along with a good amount of MMA experience, he has competed in boxing as well. As an amateur boxer, his record was 24-3 and as a pro, it’s 4-1.

His younger brother Gabriel is a weight class higher fighting at welterweight. He’s undefeated and is LFA’s current welterweight champion.

Both Gabriel and Ismael Bonfim are UFC-level now and are set to prove that soon, as both are going be on Dana White’s Contender Series this season.

The post Scouting the Globe 2022: The Five Best Prospects From Brazil appeared first on Cageside Press.

Junior has been around combat sports ever since he was a young child. Junior’s father was a boxer, and he was always around him, including when he would go to the gym and teach. At the age of eight, Junior started training in boxing. At the time, Junior’s father was a boxing coach to a pro fighter named Leonidas Gondim — who is actually Junior’s own coach in the present day.

For Junior, it wasn’t just boxing that caught his attention. At the age of eleven, Junior dabbled in jiu-jitsu. Junior was playing soccer at the same time he was practicing in BJJ. “I was actually alright as a soccer player, did tryouts for a few national soccer teams in my region but due to some heavy bureaucracy I wasn’t able to get a spot.” Junior told Cageside Press in a recent interview.

“Malhadinho” went from soccer, boxing, and BJJ to later pursuing MMA. He was supposed to debut as an amateur initially, but instead went straight into professional fights.

“Malhadinho” is the nickname giving to him by his coach. As a boxer, his coach was nicknamed “Malhado” so his coach calls him “Malhadinho” which means little malhado.

Junior made his MMA debut in 2012 and would get two wins before taking time off for four years before fighting again. “During those four years, a lot happened. I went through a lot of hardship. I lost my brother and had to step away from competition since I was in school and working full time.” Junior explained.

Now, Junior is a full-time MMA fighter who also teaches a few classes from time to time. Before being a full-time fighter he held an assortment of jobs: security officer, driver, he even worked at a car wash.

Currently, “Malhadinho” has a 13-2 record with five KO/TKOs and six submissions. He’s the current Thunder Fight and Fight On light heavyweight champion. Despite having so much to be proud of these days, earlier on, Junior had actually decided to quit fighting.

It was August 5, 2018 when Junior, who was 4-0 at the time, fought 17-fight veteran Tyago Moreira. In a result nobody expected, especially Junior, he was knocked out only 16 seconds into the first round.

“It was a huge setback for me and I had decided to stop fighting,” admitted Junior. “My coach called me back and brought me back to the gym and said he knew I could be the number one in Brazil and that I couldn’t stop now because of this setback. I realized that this really is what I want for my life.”

Junior is a natural 205’er, but he has fought at heavyweight, and started his journey crazily enough at middleweight. In fact, it was at middleweight when Jailton Junior put on what he believes to be his best performance.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLuOapaltOD/

“My favorite fight was against Fagner Rakchal. I wasn’t supposed to fight him but his opponent fell ill after a tough weight cut, and my opponent had some logistical problems and didn’t make it to the event,” Junior recalled. “So the promoter suggested we fight each other. He knocked me down and I was able to get a massive comeback TKOing him after being almost out.”

“I was talking to my head coach about this not long ago and I don’t see any chances of making 185lbs again. It was already a very tough cut back when I had a smaller frame and now I think it would be near impossible,” continued Junior. “It just wasn’t a healthy weight class for me. Now I believe I can fight at a world-class level at both light heavyweight and at heavyweight. I don’t see any heavyweights around that can deal with two rounds of the pressure I can put on them without gassing.”

According to Tapology, Junior is the number one light heavyweight out of Brazil (outside of major promotions). With just two defeats and thirteen wins, he is currently on a huge eight-fight win streak.

“Thank God I am coming off an 8-fight win streak. I think a lot changed regarding my mindset towards competition,” Junior told us. “I think I also found my optimal fight style and that is extremely important for a fighter to achieve success in competition.”

Junior is on the verge of a UFC call and there is a lot of hype behind him. There aren’t many light heavyweight prospects that jump out but Junior is easily one that does. Brazil does have an endless amount of high-level fighters so it’s easily to get lost in the shuffle. But Junior stands out.

“You can expect someone always putting pressure on his opponents and someone always looking for a finish. I look up a lot to the style of Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and I hope to be able to become a reference to that style of relentless pressure at light heavyweight and heavyweight.” Junio told Cageside Press.

“I believe I have shown all I could here in Brazil. The same thing I have done here (Brazil) I will do there in the UFC. I just need an opportunity to get in there and the rest I will take care of,” he stated. “I worked very hard to have a 100% finish rate and I don’t plan on dropping that in the UFC.”

The post Brazilian Light Heavyweight Jailton Junior: “The same thing I have done here, I will do there in the UFC” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Norma Dumont does not have a specific opponent, but she has joined the UFC roster at 4-0. She holds a pair of wins by submission and recently defeated Invicta FC veteran Mariana Morais.

Get to Know Norma Dumont:

Norma Dumont currently lives in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Dorma began her MMA career in September of 2016. Dumont has a background in Sanda which is a form of Chinese boxing/kickboxing that mixes punches, kicks, knees, elbows, and all forms of takedowns. The Brazilian has also trained in jiu-jitsu for eight years and in that time, achieved her purple belt. With no amateur MMA career, Dumont jumped right into the biggest platform in Brazil for Shooto Brasil and Jungle Fight. She’s currently 4-0 with two finishes by submission.

How Norma Dumont Fares in the UFC:

Of all the women the UFC could sign, even out of Brazil alone, I though Dumont was still a few years behind. It seems the only area Dumont is dangerous is on the mat due to her strong top position. Her takedowns come from the clinch as she utilizes trips well but her strikes to close the distance needs work. Her biggest issue is her stand-up in general offensively and defensively. Dumont stands too square and hardly has any kind of quality footwork. She throws heavy leather and kicks hard but has little output. Overall the UFC needs all the talent they can get but Dumont just isn’t a high-level fighter.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Norma Dumont appeared first on Cageside Press.