2012 World MMA Middleweight Scouting Report: #1 - Antonio Braga Neto
by Leland Roling on Jan 14, 2012 8:00 AM EST
in World MMA Scouting Report
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| Name: |  Antonio Braga Neto |
| Nickname: | -- |
| Age: | 24 |
| Height: | 6'3" |
| Location: |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Brazil runs away with a clean sweep of the top three as slimmed down light heavyweight Antonio Braga Neto (7-1) chimes in at #1 on this year's report. The Roberto ‘Gordo' Correra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt is currently in the midst of a three-fight unbeaten streak, miraculously submitting UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao late in the second round at Amazon Forest Combat I in September.
The match-up was one of the most dramatic comebacks of 2011 as Neto took an incredible beating at the hands of Falcao in the opening round. Ferocious combinations battered Neto's midsection and chin, but the Gracie Fusion fighter survived.
The tide turned in the second as a tired Falcao couldn't deal with Neto's grappling skills, yielding to a takedown attempt that left him trying to defend against ground and pound from the top. Minutes later, after bombing Falcao with elbows and punches, Neto secured a kimura to win.
The victory was a showcase of what Neto can do when he's up against a wall. He has excellent conditioning, solid takedowns, world-class grappling chops, and an incredibly durable chin. The combination of those skills has forged an unbelievable talent that can't ever be counted out during a fight.
Neto does, however, lack a stand-up game. He'll need to add something of substance to his punching in order to stop opponents from battering him, and that applies to his defensive tactics as well. Hopefully the boys at Gracie Fusion can help.
It's difficult to look at the 2012 World MMA Middleweight Scouting Report and say that Neto is the very best fighter among the group. The reality is that the top three are heavily reliant on world-class grappling to win while other fighters further down the list are more well-rounded, but far less skilled on the ground. What exactly does that mean? It means that the talent pool at 185 lbs. isn't as deep, skill-wise, as one would hope. Among the talent on this year's report, however, Neto is the most appealing, moving down to middleweight while also possessing an extensive BJJ background, huge frame and powerful takedowns. That should solidify his spot on this year's report, and it will undoubtedly earn him a look from the world's top organizations.
Check out video footage of Antonio Braga Neto after the jump...
| Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
#1 - Rony Mariano #2 - Aljamain Sterling #3 - Chris Holdsworth #4 - Josh Hill #5 - Fabiano Fernandes #6 - Claudio Ledesma #7 - Sirwan Kakai #8 - Kyoji Horiguchi #9 - Leandro Hygo #10 - Pedro Munhoz |
#1 - Hacran Dias #2 - Joey Gambino #3 - Brandon Bender #4 - Lance Palmer #5 - Jim Alers #6 - Anthony Gutierrez #7 - Max Holloway #8 - John Teixeira #9 - Cody Bollinger #10 - Bubba Jenkins |
#1 - Fabricio Guerreiro #2 - Alessandro Ferreira #3 - Adriano Martins #4 - Justin Salas #5 - Neilson Gomes #6 - Eduard Folayang #7 - Zorobabel Moreira #8 - Anton Kuivanen #9 - Jordan Rinaldi #10 - J.P. Vainikainen |
| Welterweight | Middleweight | Light Heavyweight | Heavyweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - Andrey Koreshkov #2 - Dhiego Lima #3 - Brandon Thatch #4 - Nordine Taleb #5 - Hernani Perpetuo #6 - Brock Jardine #7 - Alan Jouban #8 - Mohsen Bahari #9 - Andre Santos #10 - Stephen Thompson |
#1 - Antonio Braga Neto #2 - Marcelo Guimaraes #3 - Claudio Silva #4 - Bojan Velickovic #5 - Ildemar Alcantara #6 - Michal Materla #7 - Elvis Mutapcic #8 - Tor Troeng #9 - Jack Hermansson #10 - Tim Ruberg |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
#1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - |
Antonio Braga Neto vs. Maiquel Falcao
Amazon Forest Combat I - September 14, 2011
Antonio Braga Neto vs. Ryo Kawamura (205)
Antonio Braga Neto vs. Fabiano Astorino
Fury FC 5 - December 6, 2007
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One of my favorite jiu jitsu competitors, I took essentially my entire omoplata game from watching his competition footage. Awesome guy.
-AboveThisFire
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
If I live in a castle and you want to kill me, storming the gates is probably not the best idea. You'd do a lot better hitting me in the head with a brick when I come out for the mail. -Ryan Hall
I then rip off my shirt and do like a hulk scream and pose and then say to the kid " don’t you no I would fucking destroy you are you fucking retarded? -Areyouforreal
How come this guy has only had 4 fights in 4 years? does he have unrecorded fights, or does he devote more time to BJJ?
He’s a huge BJJ player. Actually gets paid more in BJJ than he does in MMA because he has quite a following, sponsors, etc.
Staff Writer, BloodyElbow.com
Follow @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Jan 14, 2012 10:54 AM EST up reply actions
It always catches me off-guard when I hear of an athlete that makes more in BJJ than in MMA. I guess I’m really unaware about how much money there is in BJJ, but I always assumed most the money in BJJ was made doing seminars and operating a gym.
With a guy like Roger Gracie, I have significant doubts that he will ever return to MMA. I don’t think there’s any incentive to make less money doing something that you could get an injury from
He’s a GRACIE! They have to fight. He’ll come back.
See and learn the secret death touch!
by Horselover Fat on Jan 14, 2012 6:00 PM EST up reply actions
Don’t take that as gospel. There isn’t TONS of money in BJJ, but Neto happens to be so good that he can garner a paycheck from it. He also grapples A LOT.
Staff Writer, BloodyElbow.com
Follow @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Jan 15, 2012 1:04 PM EST up reply actions
He’s one of the top tier BJJ athletes in the entire world.
-AboveThisFire
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
If I live in a castle and you want to kill me, storming the gates is probably not the best idea. You'd do a lot better hitting me in the head with a brick when I come out for the mail. -Ryan Hall
I then rip off my shirt and do like a hulk scream and pose and then say to the kid " don’t you no I would fucking destroy you are you fucking retarded? -Areyouforreal
by Patrick Tenney on Jan 14, 2012 12:29 PM EST up reply actions
Holy Shit, this guy beat Maiquel Falcao?
That’s gotta be the biggest upset on the report so far.
Thought Neto was gonna be toast after Falcao reversed him into side control at 2:19 and started throwing bombs. That fight could’ve easily been stopped in the last minute — not a bunch of intelligent defense from Neto on the feet.
Hellava chin, though.
Freelance Writer at PC World
Follow @KenTheGreat1
One Time, I Interviewed Dana White at UFC 86 & It Was Totally Cool
by McKinley B. Noble on Jan 14, 2012 4:54 PM EST reply actions
Figured this dude would be #1 with the win over Falcao...
I look forward to the summary of 2011’s Middleweight prospects, though, given three of them made it to the UFC and two have done really well there thus far.
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