Marcos Galvão (born 23 June 1981) is a Brazilian professional

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, incorpo ...

currently competing in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

division of the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promo ...

. A professional competitor since 2003, Galvão peaked at a global ranking of No. 2 among Bantamweights in August 2007 and has also formerly competed for the WEC,

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

, Jungle Fight, and Bellator, where he is the former Bantamweight World Champion. Galvao's nickname "Louro" means "blonde" in Portuguese, because he often dyes his hair this color.

Background

Marcos Galvão was born and raised in the city of Manaus located in the state of Amazonas,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Marcos began practicing

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

when he was 11 years old before transitioning into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu shortly after, training under Master Nonato Machado until moving to Rio de Janeiro at the age of 13. It was in Rio de Janeiro where Lôro started training heavily in

Mixed Martial Arts 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, inc ...

and where he received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the hands of Nova União founder

André Pederneiras Carlos André Pederneiras de Castro (born March 22, 1967) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and Mixed martial arts (MMA) coach and promoter. A former BJJ competitor, holding today a Red and Black 7th Degree Coral belt, Pederneiras is a 6 x Brazili ...

who would be his coach for the most part of his career. It was under Dedé's guidance that Lôro started making a mark in the sports lower ranks, earning a few very important titles in the blue, purple and brown belt divisions, including an impressive world title at brown belt at the age of 16, being one of the youngest competitors to ever win the competition at the brown belt level. In 2003 Marcos was awarded his black belt, and shortly after he started pursuing a career in mixed martial arts. After a good start fighting in organizations like

and traveling to Japan where he amounted wins that carried him to the WEC (considered at the time, the prime organization for MMA lighter weight competitors), Galvão hit a rough slope, and lost two fights in a row at the WEC. That was when his good friend

Vítor Ribeiro Vítor de Souza Ribeiro (born February 24, 1979 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, he has formerly compet ...

invited Galvão to come to New York and start training with him, Lôro gladly accepted the offer and moved to the United States, where he trained full-time at Long Island MMA and also Church Street Boxing Gym with striking coach Jason Strout. Lôro thrived in this new environment that coupled with his determination, and dedication to the sport, earned him a Bellator Bantamweight Tournament win, after a few Grappler's Quest and NAGA competitions and wins, plus wins in Washington Combat and the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

based organization Ring of Combat, where he won the Featherweight championship title. After a few hurdles in his career, injuries, including facing-off against one of his teammates, and deciding to change teams due to training difficulties, Lôro defeated Joe Warren and earned the Bellator Bantamweight title.

Mixed martial arts career

Shooto

Galvao made his professional debut in 2003 for the Japanese

organization, where he competed primarily, compiling a record of 6-1 before being signed by the WEC.

WEC

Galvão made his WEC and U.S. debut at

WEC 31 ''WEC 31: Faber vs. Curran'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). The event took place on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and was aired live on the ...

against Brian Bowles. Galvão lost the fight via KO in the second round, and then took a fight outside of the WEC before returning to the promotion. He returned to suffer another KO loss, this time to

Damacio Page Damacio James Page (born September 30, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing for Legacy Fighting Championship in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Page has also formerly compete ...

at WEC 39.

Shooto Title Fight

Following a loss in his WEC debut to Bowles, Galvão returned to Japan to challenge the undefeated Shooto Bantamweight Champion

Masakatsu Ueda Masakatsu Ueda (born December 21, 1977) is a professional Japanese mixed martial artist who currently competes in the bantamweight division of Pancrase. Ueda was also a college level wrestler in Japan, where holds a win over fellow mixed marti ...

. The fight ended in a draw, resulting in Ueda retaining the title.

Bellator MMA

Galvão was a part of the main event for

Bellator 41 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feathe ...

against Joe Warren, the Bellator Featherweight Champion. The fight was contested at a Catchweight of 137 lbs. In the fight Galvão negated a majority of Warren's offense for the first two rounds by showing strong takedown defense, taking down Warren multiple times, taking Warren's back, and executing good knees from the clinch. In the third round he was taken down by Warren and controlled throughout the round. At the end of the fight, Bellator color commentator, Jimmy Smith, believed Galvão won the fight 29-28. Along with Smith, many top MMA sites, (MMAJunkie, Sherdog, MMAFighting, MMASpot), all believed that Galvão won the fight by 29-28. It was then announced that Warren had won the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). During an MMAJunkie radio interview with Bellator CEO, Bjorn Rebney, Rebney confirmed that Galvão will take part in the Bellator Season Five Bantamweight Tournament. Galvao fought former WEC Bantamweight Champion

Chase Beebe Chase Beebe (born March 29, 1985) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist from Chicago, Illinois. He most recently fought for the World Extreme Cagefighting organization, where he was the Bantamweight Champion. He lost that belt ...

in a quarterfinal match-up on 24 September 2011 and won via split decision. In the semifinals, Galvão lost a very close fight against Cuban Alexis Vila at Bellator 55, losing by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30). Though Galvao lost the fight, he still received his win bonus. Galvão returned for the Bellator Season Six Bantamweight Tournament. He won his quarterfinal and semifinal fights against Ed West and

Travis Marx Travis Marx (born October 25, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator's bantamweight division. Background Marx was born and raised in Roosevelt, Utah. He was a three-time state wrestling champion at Union Hi ...

respectively before reaching the finals. It was there that he scored a second round TKO against

Luis Nogueira Luis Alberto Nogueira (born April 10, 1985) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Nogueira has mostly fought for Shooto Brazil before making his U.S. ...

to win the tournament. His next fight was against his good friend and teammate

Eduardo Dantas Eduardo Dantas (born 3 February 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Dantas mostly fought for the Bellator MMA where he was the former two-ti ...

for the Bellator Bantamweight Championship. He lost via knockout in the second round. In his next bout for the promotion, Galvão faced Tom McKenna at

Bellator 108 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

. Galvão defeated McKenna in the second round due to strikes. Galvão then faced Thomas Vasquez at Bellator 118 on 2 May 2014. Galvão used takedowns and ground-and-pound to defeat Vasquez via unanimous decision. Galvão challenged Joe Warren for the Bellator Bantamweight Championship in a rematch on 27 March 2015 at

Bellator 135 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

. He won the fight via verbal submission in the second round after Warren screamed out in pain causing the referee to stop the fight. This marked the first submission win of Galvão's career and avenged his previous loss to Warren. Galvão was scheduled to face former teammate

in a rematch for the Bellator Bantamweight Championship title at

Bellator 150 2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016. Background 2016 is notable for the launch of sibling promotion Bellator Kickboxi ...

, but the match was scrapped following a last-minute illness suffered by Galvao. Prior, the rematch was expected to take place at

Bellator 144 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

, however, this was cancelled, after an injury to Dantas. The rematch eventually took place on 17 June 2016 at Bellator 156. Galvão lost the match by unanimous decision. Following the loss of his title, Galvão defeated L.C. Davis via split decision at Bellator 166 on 2 December 2016. Moving up to the featherweight division, Galvão faced

Emmanuel Sanchez Emmanuel Sanchez (born August 11, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Sanchez has also formerly competed for the Resurrection Fighting Allianc ...

at Bellator 175 on 31 March 2017. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Again fighting at featherweight, Galvão returned at Bellator 189 on 1 December 2017 against UFC veteran,

Sam Sicilia Samuel Travis Sicilia (born February 1, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division for Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2007, Sicilia formerly competed for the UFC, a ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Galvao's Bellator contract expired in February 2018 and he became a free agent.

PFL

Following his departure from Bellator, Galvao signed with the

. He faced

Nazareno Malegarie Nazareno Malegarie (born May 16, 1986) is an Argentine mixed martial artist, and a two-time BJJ World Champion currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, he has ...

at PFL 1 on 7 June 2018. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Galvao faced Max Coga at PFL 4 on 19 July 2018. He lost the fight by a third-round technical knockout. Galvao faced Elvis Silva at Shooto Brazil 91 on 5 April 2019. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

* Bellator MMA **

Bellator Bantamweight World Championship Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class. At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded B ...

(One time) ** Bellator Season Six Bantamweight Tournament Winner *MMAJunkie.com **2015 March Submission of the Month vs. Joe Warren

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 18–12–1 , Elvis Silva , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto Brazil 91 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–11–1 , Max Coga , TKO (punches) , PFL 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:19 ,

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 United States Census. Uniondale is home to Hofstra University's nort ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–10–1 ,

, Decision (Unanimous) , PFL 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–9–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 189 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma. It is located in South Central Oklahoma. The population was 445 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Thackerville is located at (33. ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–8–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 175 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,202. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that. Whi ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–7–1 ,

LC Davis La Carvas Rashad Davis (born October 28, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Davis has also formerly competed for the Quad Cities ...

, Decision (split) , Bellator 166 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–7–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 156 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6–1 , Joe Warren , Verbal Submission (kneebar) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:45 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–6–1 , Thomas Vasquez , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 118 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–6–1 , Tom McKenna , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:29 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–6–1 , Shely Santana , TKO (punches) , Shooto Brazil: Manaus , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:00 , Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–6–1 ,

, KO (punches) ,

Bellator 89 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:01 ,

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5–1 ,

, TKO (elbows) , Bellator 73 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:20 ,

Tunica, Mississippi Tunica is a town in and the county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s when casino gambling was introduced in the area, Tunica had been one of the most impoverished places in the Un ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–5–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

Bellator 68 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–5–1 , Ed West , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 65 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–5–1 , Alexis Vila , Decision (split) , Bellator 55 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4–1 ,

, Decision (split) ,

Bellator 51 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feathe ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Canton, Ohio, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4–1 , Joe Warren , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3–1 , Ryan Vaccaro , Decision (unanimous) , Ring of Combat 33 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3–1 , Jacob Kirwan , Decision (unanimous) , Ring of Combat 31 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:00 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3–1 , David Derby , TKO (punches) , Washington Combat: Battle of the Legends , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:37 ,

Washington, District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morga ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3–1 ,

, KO (punches) , WEC 39 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:18 , Corpus Christi, Texas, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 6–2–1 ,

, Draw , Shooto: Shooto Tradition 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Brian Bowles , KO (punch) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:09 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 ,

Kenji Osawa Kenji Osawa (born November 4, 1976) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist from Tokyo. He debuted in MMA over a decade ago, and trains and fights out of Wajitsu Keishukai, where he teaches once a week. MMA career Osawa's fight record is 21 ...

, Decision (majority) , Shooto: Back To Our Roots 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Naoya Uematsu , Decision (unanimous) , Fury FC 1: Warlords Unleashed , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sao Paulo SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 ,

Fredson Paixão Fredson Paixão Melo (; born May 13, 1979) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor. He has competed as a featherweight in the United States with the UFC and WEC, in Japan with Deep, and in Brazil with Jungle Fig ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Jungle Fight 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Manaus, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Akitoshi Hokazono , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: 9/23 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 ,

Jin Akimoto Jin Akimoto (born April 7, 1971; ) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Bantamweight and Flyweight divisions. He spent the entirety of his career, barring one fight, in Shooto. Between 2000 and 2004 he was ranked as ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto: 9/26 in Kourakuen Hall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 ,

Shuichiro Katsumura is a Japanese former mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently competes for DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he was a Independent World Junior Heavyweight champion. He competed in the Flyweight, Bantamweight and Featherweight divisio ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Shooto 2004: 1/24 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Masato Shiozawa , Decision (majority) , Shooto: 5/4 in Korakuen Hall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan ,

Personal

Galvão is married to his wife Paula. The couple currently reside in California where Galvão trains and teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts. https://www.flowacademybjj.com Galvão teaches BJJ and MMA at this gym, present on the 2nd slide of the home page. Or call and they'll confirm.

References

External links

Marcos Galvao
at PFL * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galvao, Marcos 1981 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian emigrants to the United States People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Long Island City, Queens Bellator MMA champions People from Manaus Sportspeople from Amazonas (Brazilian state)