Introduction
Tuesday, September 13th, Brazilian strawweight prospect Bruna Brasil will be in action for Dana White’s Contender Series, where she will be looking continue her winning ways against Marnic Mann. She will be looking for another win, as Brasil looks to secure a UFC contract. She represents MMA 013, a smaller camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Striking: The best aspect of Brasil’s game is her striking, which is quite fun to watch. She has a good all-around striking game. Her leg kicks are snappy and she throws them at a good distance because she is long. She puts together nice combos with her hands and lands with volume. Because of her Muay Thai abilities, she has solid knees in the clinch as well, which reminds me of an earlier stage Marina Rodriguez (though not on her level as of now). She does possess some pro boxing experience as well, so obviously she’s comfortable to bang on the feet with whoever will engage her.
Experience for a Brazilian Regional Circuit Fighter: Many Brazilian regional fighters have a record filled with opponents with no fights or horrid records. While Brasil has faced a couple of those, she actually has fought some decent competition in the Brazilian regional circuit. She owns a win over atomweight prospect Aline Pires. She has defeated journeyman Aline Sattelmayer, who boasts well over 25 professional MMA fights. Her biggest win came over prospect Yasmin Castanho under the LFA banner, which slingshot Brasil into top prospect talks (Castanho was considered the hot prospect in their fight).
Needs Improvement
Wrestling Question Marks: Like many fighters from Brazil, Brasil has question marks when it comes to her wrestling. She has not faced a fighter known for their wrestling prowess, so we don’t know how she’d fare against a major league level fighter with wrestling chops. What helps Brasil, though, is that she does have a very good guillotine choke as a defensive measure. She has long arms and good technique, so if she gets a hold of a neck on the shot, she could choke out her opponent.
Outlook
UFC Prelim Fighter: Brasil is definitely a capable fighter and I think she’s an overlooked prospect on this season of the Contender’s Season. Her only career losses come to UFC veteran Ariane Carnelossi and Invicta Champion Jessica Delboni. Those fights were in her first and fourth pro bouts, respectively. Brasil is like a lot of Brazilian regional fighters in that she excels in one aspect of MMA (striking), is solid in another portion (jiu-jitsu) but has a hole that can be exploited as she steps up in competition (wrestling). She will join the UFC roster at some point and be an exciting prelim fighter. She’ll win a couple, lose a couple and be in contention for some fight night bonuses. Either way, she’ll make the roster.
MMA Intel 