Antônio Braga Neto (born October 29, 1987) is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and grappler. He competed in the

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

. He is a

gold medalist A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in both the

World Jiu-Jitsu Championship The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament held annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered the most important and prestigious jiu-jitsu tournament of the year. The ...

and Pan American Championship.

Mixed martial arts career

A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt World Champion under Roberto "Gordo" Correa, Neto currently trains out of

Evolve MMA Evolve Mixed Martial Arts is a chain of martial arts academies. Founded by Chatri Sityodtong, it opened in January 2009. The gym includes several former and reigning UFC and ONE Championship champions, including Demetrious Johnson, Rafael Dos Anj ...

in Brazil and Singapore.

Early career

Neto made his professional MMA debut in October 2006 in his native Brazil. He was undefeated for the first five fights of his career, with only one fight going to a decision. In 2008, Neto made his debut in Japan when he signed with the Sengoku promotion. He faced

Ryo Kawamura is a Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and the former executive president of Pancrase, Pancrase Inc. A professional MMA competitor from 2005 until 2014, Kawamura most notably competed for Pancrase, where h ...

and lost by decision, the first loss of his professional career. In 2009, Neto signed with the Chinese organization Art of War Fighting Championship. He made his debut against

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

fighter

Rodney Glunder Rodney Glunder (born as ''Rodney Faverus'', March 1, 1975) is a retired Dutch professional kickboxer, mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and boxer, current actor, entrepreneur, bodybuilder and convicted rapist. He has fought for M-1 G ...

; the fight was cut short when a takedown from Neto sent Glunder through the ring ropes onto the floor and some tools and electrical equipment. Glunder suffered injuries to his back and was taken away from the ring on a stretcher by ringside physicians and doctors. Neto competed in the 2011 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, losing to veteran grappler and current

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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

fighter

Sérgio Moraes Sérgio Moraes (born July 23, 1982) is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight and middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as well as being a competitor on '' The Ultimate Fig ...

in his ADCC debut.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In April 2013, Neto signed a three fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He made his UFC debut at UFC on Fuel TV: Nogueira vs. Werdum against former

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

fighter Anthony Smith. He won the fight in quick fashion, finishing via a kneebar submission at 1:52 of the first round. Neto was expected to face Derek Brunson on November 6, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 31. However, he pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Brian Houston. Neto faced Clint Hester on June 28, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 44. He lost the back and forth fight via split decision. Neto was expected to face

Zak Cummings Zacharry "Zak" Michael Cummings (born August 2, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also for ...

on July 25, 2015 at UFC on Fox 16. However, he pulled out of the fight in early July and was replaced by promotional newcomer Dominique Steele. After an extended hiatus, Neto faced Trevin Giles on December 9, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 123. He lost the fight via knockout in the third round. Neto was scheduled to face

Andrew Sanchez Andrew William Sanchez (born April 8, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2012, he has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...

on August 25, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 135. However, he was removed from the bout on August 2 for undisclosed personal issues and replaced by

Markus Perez Markus Perez Echeimberg (born June 22, 1990) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional since 2013, he has also fought for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Jungle Fight and the Lega ...

. Neto was scheduled to face Deron Winn on December 19, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 185 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 185'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 43'' and ''UFC Vegas 19'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 20, 2021 at the UFC ...

. However, he was again removed from the contest due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by Antônio Arroyo. Neto was scheduled to face Abdul Razak Alhassan on August 21, 2021 at UFC on ESPN 29. However, Neto was pulled from the event after testing positive for COVID-19. A few days later, it was announced that Neto was released by the UFC.

Grappling career

Neto faced Marcus Oliveira at ADXC 7 on November 17, 2024. He lost the match by submission.

Championships and accomplishments

**UFC.com Awards ***2013: Ranked #5 Submission of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, , Trevin Giles , KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:27 ,

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 (1) , Clint Hester , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 (1) , Anthony Smith , Submission (kneebar) , UFC on Fuel TV: Nogueira vs. Werdum , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:52 ,

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 (1) ,

Brock Larson Brock Orville Larson (born August 23, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. A professional competitor from 2002 until 2016, Larson has formerly competed for the U ...

, Submission (kneebar) , MMA Against Dengue 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 (1) , Maiquel Falcão , Submission (kimura) , Amazon Forest Combat 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:26 ,

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 (1) , Douglas Cristian , Submission (verbal) , Top Fighter MMA , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, Brazil , , - , NC , align=center, 5–1 (1) ,

, No Contest (fighters fell from the ring) , Art of War 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, China , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku First Battle , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Fabiano Astorino , Submission (kimura) , Fury FC 5: Final Conflict , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:25 ,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Renato Matos , TKO (punches) , Detonaco Fight Championship , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:55 , Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 ,

Cezar Ferreira Cezar Jesus Ferreira (born February 15, 1985), better known in his home country Brazil as Cezar Mutante, is a mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light heavyweight (MMA), light heavyweight division. A professional ...

, Decision (unanimous) , XFC: Brazil , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Eduardo Camilo , Submission (armbar) , XFC: Brazil , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:46 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Lolito Lolito , Submission (armbar) , Top Fighter MMA 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neto, Antonio Braga Living people 1987 births Brazilian male mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Espírito Santo Brazilian expatriates in Singapore Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists Martial artists from Manaus 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen