Leonardo Mafra Teixeira (born 25 April 1989), better known as Leonardo Mafra, is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

currently competing in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has fought for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Final Fight Championship Final Fight Championship (FFC) is an international fighting sports promotion company founded in 2003 by the FFC owner and CEO Orsat Zovko. The company has its headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, as well as a European office in Zagreb, Croat ...

, and

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

Background

Mafra was born and spent his early childhood in the Brazilian city of

Santo André Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwadwo ...

and began training in mixed martial arts as a teenager.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

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 ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

''The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil''

In February 2012, it was announced that Mafra would a cast member on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil'', representing ''Team Wanderlei'' at middleweight. Mafra got into the house with a decision win over Samuel Trindade. In his quarterfinal fight, Mafra was submitted (guillotine choke) in the second round by the eventual winner,

Cezar Ferreira Cezar Jesus Ferreira (born February 15, 1985), better known in his home country Brazil as Cezar Mutante, is a mixed martial artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, he has competed fo ...

, and was subsequently eliminated from the competition.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Mafra made his official debut facing fellow castmate, Thiago Perpétuo on 23 June 2012 at

UFC 147 ''UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 23, 2012 at Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Background The finals in the featherweight and middlewei ...

. Mafra lost the fight via TKO in the third round. 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. Mafra was tabbed as a short notice replacement as he faced

Rick Story Rick Thomas Story (born August 28, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2007-2018, he last competed for the Professional Fighters League, but is better known for his 19-fight tenure with the UFC. Background Stor ...

on 16 July 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 45 ''UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Miller'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 45'') was a mixed martial arts event held on July 16, 2014, at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Background The event was headlined by a lightweight bout bet ...

, filling in for an injured

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

. Story defeated Mafra via submission in the second round. Mafra faced Cain Carrizosa on 21 March 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 62 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 62'') was a mixed martial arts event held on March 21, 2015, at the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background After hosting a PPV event at the venue a ...

. Mafra won the fight by unanimous decision. Mafra faced

Stevie Ray Lash Steven Huffman (born August 22, 1958) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Stevie Ray. Stevie Ray is best known for his seven-year tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1993 to 200 ...

on 18 July 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 72 ''UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 72'') was a mixed martial arts event held on 18 July 2015 at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. Background After previously hosting 15 events at various locations around ...

. He lost the fight by TKO in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Post-UFC career

After being released by the UFC, Mafra signed with the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n promotion

for an MMA bout against another UFC veteran:

Anthony Njokuani Anthony Obinna Njokuani (born March 1, 1980) is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor since 2001, Njokuani has also formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, and ONE Championship. Background ...

. Mafra won the fight via unanimous decision. 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. He then faced Satoru Kitaoka at Pancrase 281 on 2 October 2016. He lost the fight via first-round submission. 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. 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.

Brave CF

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. He lost the fight via first-round technical knockout due to an injury. Mafra made his sophomore appearance in the promotion against Djamil Chan at Brave CF 25 on 30 August 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision. 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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic and the bout was scrapped. Mafra then challenged Eldar Eldarov for the BRAVE Combat Federation Super Lightweight Championship at Brave CF 46 on 16 January 2021. He lost the fight via doctor stoppage after the first round.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , , align=center, , Cleiton Silva , , Brave CF 60 , , align=center, , align=center, , Isa Town, Bahrain , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 , Eldar Eldarov , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Brave CF 46 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia , For BCF Super Lightweight (165 lbs) Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 , Djamil Chan , Decision (unanimous) , Brave CF 25 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

, Brazil , Super Lightweight (165 lbs) debut. , - , Loss , align=center, 14–5 , Gadzhimusa Gadzhiev , TKO (injury) , Brave CF 12: KHK Legacy , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:58 ,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, Indonesia , Catchweight (163 lbs) bout. , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Rogerio Santos , TKO (leg kicks) , Imortal FC 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:24 , Paraná, Brazil , Return to

. , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 , Satoru Kitaoka , Submission (heel hook) , Pancrase: 281 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:05 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , FFC 25: Mitchell vs. Lopez , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Cain Carrizosa , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–2 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Miller , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:12 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Antonio Marcos , KO (knees) , Power Fight Extreme 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:36 ,

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Alexandre Goncalves , TKO (punches and elbows) , NCF 19 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:30 , Balneário Camboriú, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Marcos Cacador , TKO (punches) , Max Sport: 13.2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:50 ,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil , Catchweight (176 lbs) bout. , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Samuel Trindade , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Iron Fight Combat 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Feira de Santana Feira de Santana (; Portuguese language, Portuguese for "Saint Anne's Fair") is a city in Bahia, Brazil. It is the second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 619,609 according to Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, ...

, Brazil , Won the Iron FC Welterweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Deivid Santos , KO (punch) , Sparta MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:23 ,

Itajaí Itajaí () is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. It is located on the northern central coast of Santa Catarina and is part of the Vale do Itajaí Mesoregion, on the right bank of the Itajaí-Açu river mouth. It lies at th ...

, Brazil , Return to

. , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Thiago Perpétuo , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:41 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Douglas Del Rio , Submission (armbar) , NCF 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:55 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Dimitry Burgo , TKO (punches) , K.O. Fight: GZero , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:45 ,

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and fourth largest in the southern regi ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,

Santiago Ponzinibbio Santiago Ponzinibbio (born September 26, 1986) is an Argentines, Argentine mixed martial artist competing as a Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background He was born in Argentina to parents of Italian ...

, TKO (punches) , Centurion Mixed Martial Arts 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:17 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Willian Coelho , Decision (unanimous) , Black Trunk Fight 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina, in the South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as well as part of the mainland. It has a populat ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Maiquel Bigolin , Decision (unanimous) , Floripa Fight 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Geverson Pereira , TKO (punches) , NCF 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:53 , Brusque, Brazil , , -

References

External links

Leonardo Mafra
at Brave CF * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mafra, Leonardo Brazilian male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people 1989 births People from Santo André, São Paulo Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Brazilian Muay Thai practitioners Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from São Paulo (state)