Marcos Galvão (born 23 June 1982) is a Brazilian professional

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 ...

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, ...

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) promot ...

. 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 is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a ...

, 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 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 ...

located in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Marcos began practicing

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, 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 Encyc ...

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) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

and where he received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the hands of Nova União founder André Pederneiras 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 Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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) is a retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, he has formerly competed for Strikeforce, Sho ...

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 U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

–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 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 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. 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 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 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 respectively before reaching the finals. It was there that he scored a second round TKO against Luis Nogueira to win the tournament. His next fight was against his good friend and teammate Eduardo Dantas 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. 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. 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 Eduardo Dantas in a rematch for the Bellator Bantamweight Championship title at Bellator 150, but the match was scrapped following a last-minute illness suffered by Galvao. Prior, the rematch was expected to take place at Bellator 144, 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 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. 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 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 MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

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

Mixed martial arts record

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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 ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–9–1 , Sam Sicilia , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 189 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–8–1 , Emmanuel Sanchez , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 175 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–7–1 , Eduardo Dantas , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 156 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6–1 , Joe Warren , Verbal Submission (kneebar) , Bellator 135 , , 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 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–6–1 , Tom McKenna , TKO (punches) , Bellator 108 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:29 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–6–1 , Shely Santana , TKO (punches) , Shooto Brazil: Manaus , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–6–1 , Eduardo Dantas , KO (punches) , Bellator 89 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:01 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5–1 , Luis Nogueira , TKO (elbows) , Bellator 73 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:20 , Tunica, Mississippi, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–5–1 , Travis Marx , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 68 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–5–1 , Ed West , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 65 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–5–1 , Alexis Vila , Decision (split) , Bellator 55 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4–1 , Chase Beebe , Decision (split) , Bellator 51 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4–1 , Joe Warren , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 41 , , 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 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3–1 , Jacob Kirwan , Decision (unanimous) , Ring of Combat 31 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:00 ,

, 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 Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3–1 , Damacio Page , KO (punches) , WEC 39 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:18 ,

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, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 6–2–1 , Masakatsu Ueda , Draw , Shooto: Shooto Tradition 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Brian Bowles , KO (punch) , WEC 31 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:09 ,

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

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Fredson Paixão Fredson Paixão Melo (; born May 13, 1979) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. He has competed as a featherweight the UFC, WEC, Deep, and Jungle Fight. He is also a world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. ...

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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 one ...

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

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

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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 PFL may refer to: Sport * Professional Fighters League, an American mixed martial arts league * Peel Football League, an Australian rules football league * Pioneer Football League, an NCAA Division I FCS football conference * Professional Futsa ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Galvao, Marcos 1982 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 Martial artists from Manaus 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen