Vinicius_Moreira

Vinicius Moreira

Vinicius Moreira

Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter


Vinicius Moreira Castro (born February 28, 1989)[4] is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light heavyweight division. He is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Quick Facts Born, Other names ...

Background

Inspired by Minotauro Nogueira's fights in Pride FC, Moreira started training jiu-jitsu in 2006 as his first martial art.[2] After growing unmotivated by jiu-jitsu, he started training mixed martial arts in 2015, making his professional debut in the following year.[2][3]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Moreira began his MMA career by compiling an MMA record of 8–1 by competing mainly within the Brazilian regional MMA circuit as well as in India for Super Fight League.[5][6][7]

Dana White's Contender Series Brazil

Moreira faced John Allan on August 11, 2018, at Dana White's Contender Series Brazil 3.[8] He won the fight via submission with a triangle choke and was awarded with a UFC contract.[9]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Moreira made his UFC debut against Alonzo Menifield on January 19, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw.[10] He lost the fight via technical knockout due to punches in the first round.[11]

Moreira then faced Eryk Anders on June 29, 2019, at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos.[12] He lost the fight via knockout due to punches in the first round.[13]

Moreira next faced Paul Craig on September 21, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens.[14] He lost the fight via submission with a rear-naked choke in the first round.[15]

Moreira was scheduled to face Tyson Pedro on February 23, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker.[16] However, Pedro withdrew from the bout in early January due to an undisclosed injury.[17]

Moreira was expected to face Modestas Bukauskas on July 15, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 172.[18] However, on July 3, Moreira tested positive for COVID-19 and was removed from the event.[19]

On January 15, Moreira received a public warning by USADA due to an out-of-competition positive test for anastrozole in September 2020. He had provided a supplement that was proven to be tainted with the substance.[20]

Moreira was scheduled to face Ike Villanueva on January 30, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 186.[21] In late December 2020, the UFC opted against holding an event on a planned January 30 date and decided to reschedule several bouts to January 20, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Magny vs. Chiesa.[22] He lost the fight by knockout in the second round.[23]

On February 4, 2021, it was announced that Moreira was released from his UFC contract.[24]

Post UFC

Moreira made his first appearance after his UFC release against Rodrigo Duarte on August 8, 2021, at Brazilian Fighting Series 1. He won the bout after the bout was stopped by the doctor after the first round.[25]

Moreira faced Aleksandr Maslov at Open Fight Championship 9 on August 27, 2021, for the OFC Heavyweight Championship. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.[26]

Moreira faced Mikhail Mokhnatkin on December 19, 2021, at Open Fighting Championship 15. He lost via unanimous decision.[27]

Moreira returned against Sergey Dyakonov at MMA Series 53 on June 24, 2022. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.[28]

Championships and accomplishments

  • Fam Fight MMA
    • FFMMA Heavyweight Championship (One time) [29][30]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
20 matches 12 wins 8 losses
By knockout 2 4
By submission 10 1
By decision 0 3
More information Res., Record ...

See also


References

  1. "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  2. Christian Stein (January 17, 2019). "Get to know Vinicius Moreira ahead of UFC on ESPN+ 1 in Brooklyn". mmajunkie.com.
  3. "MMA Event brings Military on Fight Card". Bem Parana. 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  4. "Brasília hosts the 77th edition of Shooto Brasil". Super Esportes. 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  5. Renjith Ravindran (2018-03-02). "Super Fight League: Defending champions Sher-E-Punjab knocked out by Haryana Sultans". MMA India. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  6. Guilherme Cruz (2018-08-20). "UFC announces 15 fights for Dana White's Contender Series Brazil". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  7. John Morgan (2018-09-07). "Dana White's Contender Series Brazil 3 results: Four fighters get UFC deals". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  8. Dan Doherty (2019-01-19). "UFC Brooklyn Results: Alonzo Menifield Runs Through Vinicius Moreira in Debut". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  9. Natalie Zamudio (2019-06-24). "Eryk Anders Declares 'I'm Back' After Working with Hypnotist". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  10. Ryan Fortune (2019-06-29). "UFC Minneapolis Results: Eryk Anders Starches Vinicius Moreira in 78 Seconds". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  11. Tristen Critchfield (2019-07-27). "Sergio Pettis vs. Alex Perez, Two Other Contests Confirmed for UFC Mexico City on Sept. 21". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  12. Andrew Southwick (2019-09-22). "UFC: Paul Craig beats Vinicius Moreira by submission in Mexico". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  13. Guilherme Cruz and Mike Heck (2020-06-10). "Former Cage Warriors champ Modestas Bukauskas, Vinicius Moreira agree to fight at July 15 UFC event". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  14. Staff (2021-01-15). "Statement on Vinicius Moreira Castro". ufc.com. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  15. DNA, MMA (2020-10-19). "Villanueva en Moreira vechten voor eerste UFC overwinning op 30 januari 2021". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  16. Guillherme Cruz, Damon Martin (2021-02-04). "TUF Brazil winner Antonio Carlos Junior, 11 others no longer under contract with UFC". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  17. "Brazilian Fighting Series 1 | MMA Event". Tapology. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  18. Amy Kaplan (2019-09-01). "Potential Prospect: The UFC should sign Renan "Problema" Ferreira". Fansided. Retrieved 2020-06-16.

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