Leonardo Mafra Teixeira (born 25 April 1989), better known as Leonardo Mafra, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has fought for the UFC, Final Fight Championship, and Pancrase.

Leonardo Mafra
BornLeonardo Mafra Teixeira
(1989-04-25) 25 April 1989 (age 35)
Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
Other namesMacarrão
ResidenceBalneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina Brazil
NationalityBrazilian
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
DivisionMiddleweight
Welterweight
Light welterweight
Lightweight
Reach70.0 in (178 cm)[1]
Fighting out ofBalneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina, Brazil
TeamChute Boxe
American Kickboxing Academy (2015–present)[2]
RankBlack belt in Muay Thai[3]
Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[3]
Years active2010–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total22
Wins15
By knockout9
By submission1
By decision5
Losses7
By knockout5
By submission2
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background edit

Mafra was born and spent his early childhood in the Brazilian city of Santo André and began training in mixed martial arts as a teenager.

Mixed martial arts career edit

Early career edit

Mafra later moved to Balneário Camboriú and made his professional debut in the Welterweight division in early 2011. He compiled a record of 6–0 competing for regional promotions in his native Brazil, before auditioning for The Ultimate Fighter.[4]

The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil edit

In February 2012, it was announced that Mafra would a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, representing Team Wanderlei at middleweight.[5]

Mafra got into the house with a decision win over Samuel Trindade.[6] In his quarterfinal fight, Mafra was submitted (guillotine choke) in the second round by the eventual winner, Cezar Ferreira, and was subsequently eliminated from the competition.[7]

Ultimate Fighting Championship edit

Mafra made his official debut facing fellow castmate, Thiago Perpétuo on 23 June 2012 at UFC 147.[8] Mafra lost the fight via TKO in the third round.[9] Subsequently, Mafra was released from the promotion.

Mafra made a return to the welterweight division and the regional scene in Brazil, where he was able to string a five fight win streak, finishing all of his opponents by way of KO/TKO, before getting a return call to the UFC.[10]

Mafra was tabbed as a short notice replacement as he faced Rick Story on 16 July 2014 at UFC Fight Night 45, filling in for an injured John Howard.[11] Story defeated Mafra via submission in the second round.[12]

Mafra faced Cain Carrizosa on 21 March 2015 at UFC Fight Night 62.[13] Mafra won the fight by unanimous decision.[14]

Mafra faced Stevie Ray on 18 July 2015 at UFC Fight Night 72. He lost the fight by TKO in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.[15][16]

Post-UFC career edit

After being released by the UFC, Mafra signed with the Croatian promotion Final Fight Championship for an MMA bout against another UFC veteran: Anthony Njokuani. Mafra won the fight via unanimous decision.[17]

Mafra was scheduled to face João Carvalho at Imortal FC 5 on 23 July 2016. However, the bout was cancelled due to an unknown reason.[18]

He then faced Satoru Kitaoka at Pancrase 281 on 2 October 2016. He lost the fight via first-round submission.[19]

Mafra was scheduled to face Mohammad Fakhreddine at Brave 6: Kazakhstan on 28 April 2017 but failed to make weight and the bout was cancelled.[20]

Mafra then returned to his native Brazilian circuit and was scheduled to face Luiz Cado at Imortal FC 7 on 11 November 2017. However, Cado withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Rogério Santos. He won the fight via technical knockout due to leg kicks.[21]

Brave CF edit

Mafra signed a contract with Brave CF in 2018 and made his promotional debut against Gadzhimusa Gaziev at Brave CF 12 on 11 May 2018.[21] He lost the fight via first-round technical knockout due to an injury.[22]

Mafra made his sophomore appearance in the promotion against Djamil Chan at Brave CF 25 on 30 August 2019.[23] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[24]

He was then scheduled to face Carl Booth at Brave CF 35 on 28 March 2020 but the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the bout was scrapped.[25]

Mafra then challenged Eldar Eldarov for the BRAVE Combat Federation Super Lightweight Championship at Brave CF 46 on 16 January 2021.[26] He lost the fight via doctor stoppage after the first round.[27]

Mixed martial arts record edit

Professional record breakdown
22 matches 15 wins 7 losses
By knockout 9 5
By submission 1 2
By decision 5 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 15-7 Cleiton Silva KO (spinning backfist) Brave CF 60 30 July 2022 2 2:42 Isa Town, Bahrain
Loss 15–6 Eldar Eldarov TKO (doctor stoppage) Brave CF 46 16 January 2021 1 5:00 Sochi, Russia For BCF Super Lightweight (165 lbs) Championship.
Win 15–5 Djamil Chan Decision (unanimous) Brave CF 25 30 August 2019 3 5:00 Belo Horizonte, Brazil Super Lightweight (165 lbs) debut.
Loss 14–5 Gadzhimusa Gadzhiev TKO (injury) Brave CF 12: KHK Legacy 11 May 2018 1 4:58 Jakarta, Indonesia Catchweight (163 lbs) bout.
Win 14–4 Rogerio Santos TKO (leg kicks) Imortal FC 7 11 November 2017 3 2:24 Paraná, Brazil Return to Welterweight.
Loss 13–4 Satoru Kitaoka Submission (heel hook) Pancrase: 281 2 October 2016 1 1:05 Tokyo, Japan
Win 13–3 Anthony Njokuani Decision (unanimous) FFC 25: Mitchell vs. Lopez 11 June 2016 3 5:00 Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
Loss 12–3 Stevie Ray TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites 18 July 2015 1 2:30 Glasgow, Scotland
Win 12–2 Cain Carrizosa Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare 21 March 2015 3 5:00 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Lightweight debut.
Loss 11–2 Rick Story Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Miller 16 July 2014 2 2:12 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 10–2 Antonio Marcos KO (knees) Power Fight Extreme 11 17 May 2014 1 1:36 Curitiba, Brazil
Win 9–2 Alexandre Goncalves TKO (punches and elbows) NCF 19 8 February 2014 2 2:30 Balneário Camboriú, Brazil
Win 9–1 Marcos Cacador TKO (punches) Max Sport: 13.2 11 May 2013 2 0:50 São Paulo, Brazil Catchweight (176 lbs) bout.
Win 8–1 Samuel Trindade TKO (doctor stoppage) Iron Fight Combat 3 23 March 2013 2 5:00 Feira de Santana, Brazil Won the Iron FC Welterweight Championship.
Win 7–1 Deivid Santos KO (punch) Sparta MMA 10 August 2012 1 0:23 Itajaí, Brazil Return to Welterweight.
Loss 6–1 Thiago Perpétuo TKO (punches) UFC 147 23 June 2012 3 0:41 Belo Horizonte, Brazil Middleweight debut.
Win 6–0 Douglas Del Rio Submission (armbar) NCF 9 10 December 2011 1 1:55 Itajaí, Brazil
Win 5–0 Dimitry Burgo TKO (punches) K.O. Fight: GZero 20 August 2011 1 3:45 Londrina, Brazil
Win 4–0 Santiago Ponzinibbio TKO (punches) Centurion Mixed Martial Arts 2 9 July 2011 1 3:17 Itajaí, Brazil
Win 3–0 Willian Coelho Decision (unanimous) Black Trunk Fight 2 15 May 2011 3 5:00 Florianópolis, Brazil
Win 2–0 Maiquel Bigolin Decision (unanimous) Floripa Fight 7 12 March 2011 3 5:00 Florianópolis, Brazil
Win 1–0 Geverson Pereira TKO (punches) NCF 6 5 February 2011 1 3:53 Brusque, Brazil

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Bisping vs. Leites". UFC.com. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Lutador de Balneário Camboriú retorna ao UFC Rio em nova categoria". clickcamboriu.com.br. 18 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Leonardo Mafra - Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  4. ^ Holland, Jesse (22 November 2011). "The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Brazil open casting call for Dec. 14 in Sao Paulo". MMAMania.com. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  5. ^ "'The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil' cast unveiled with 32 featherweights and middleweights". MMAJunkie.com. 12 March 2012. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Episode No. 1 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil'". MMAJunkie.com. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Episode No. 5 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil'". MMAJunkie.com. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  8. ^ Staff (18 June 2012). "Full UFC 147 Card Announced; Injury Forces Change in TUF Brasil Finals". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  9. ^ Staff (23 June 2012). "UFC 147 results: 'Bodao' Perpetuo TKOs 'Macarrao' Mafra in third round". MMAJunkie.com. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  10. ^ Christian Stein (15 July 2014). "Catching up with UFC Fight Night 45's Leonardo Mafra". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  11. ^ MMAJunkie.com Staff (18 June 2014). "Leonardo Mafra replaces John Howard at UFC Fight Night 45". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  12. ^ Marc Raimondi (16 July 2014). "Rick Story dominates returning Leonardo Mafra, wins by submission". msn.foxsports.com. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  13. ^ Guilherme Cruz (22 January 2015). "UFC Fight Night 62 filling up fast with addition of three new match-ups". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  14. ^ Steven Marrocco (21 March 2015). "UFC Fight Night 62 results: Leonardo Mafra dominates Cain Carrizosa for scorecard sweep". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  15. ^ Staff (18 May 2015). "Leandro Mafra meets Scotland's Stevie Ray at UFC Fight Night 72 in Glasgow". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  16. ^ Matt Boone (19 October 2015). "17 Additional Fighters Released From UFC". mmanews.com. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  17. ^ "FFC 25 – RESULTS". Final Fight Championship. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Imortal FC 5 tem presença de ex-lutadores do UFC e disputa de contrato com o Pancrase". terra.com.br (in Portuguese). 28 July 2016.
  19. ^ Zach Aittama (1 October 2016). "Pancrase 281 Results: Miura Tops Murayama, Kawamura Captures Vacant Title". combatpress.com.
  20. ^ Staff, Arabs MMA (28 April 2017). "Brave 6 Weigh-Ins: Main event set while Fakhreddine vs. Mafra is off". ArabsMMA. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  21. ^ a b Frankie Anderson (23 April 2018). "Brave CF signs former UFC fighter Leonardo Mafra". mmauk.net.
  22. ^ "Uitslagen : Brave CF 12 : KHK Legacy". mmadna.nl. 11 May 2018.
  23. ^ "Djamil Chan predicts KO of Leonardo Mafra at BRAVE 25: 'He's going to sleep'". Brave Combat Federation. 26 August 2019.
  24. ^ Conan Altatis (30 August 2019). "'BRAVE CF 25' results: Luan Santiago vs Cleiton Silva, Felipe Efrain vs Matheus Nicolau in Brazil". conandaily.com.
  25. ^ Conan Altatis (14 March 2020). "Will BRAVE CF cancel its Brazil, Romania and Sweden events due to coronavirus? Mohammed Shahid releases statement". conandaily.com.
  26. ^ Simon Head (11 January 2021). "Brave CF 46: Leonardo Mafra fighting for Brazilian pride against Eldar Eldarov in Sochi". MMAjunkie.com.
  27. ^ Tudor Leonte (16 January 2021). "Eldar Eldarov Overcomes Leonardo Mafra Texeira, Retains Title In Brave CF 46 Headliner". Sherdog.

External links edit