| Photo by Gleidson Venga, Sherdog | |
| Name: | Jose Maria Tome |
| Nickname: | No Chance |
| Age: | 30 |
| Height: | 5'5" |
| Location: | Brazil |
This is a guest post by Rory MacLeod (smoogy)
In recent years, the formal adoption of fighting in the featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight divisions by the Ultimate Fighting Championships has transformed the landscape of mixed martial arts. The industry titan's acceptance of these weight classes in turn has been ratified by fight promotions everywhere as an exciting addition to their conventional offerings. Formerly aimless top athletes like UFC bantamweight contender Renan Barao now gravitate toward the Octagon while up-and-coming fighters find increasing opportunities to compete in their optimal weight class. In the flyweight division, the transformation hasn't begun in earnest just yet, but Ceara, Brazil's Jose Maria Tome (28-3) has the credentials to replicate Barao's ascent from diamond-in-the-rough beginnings to elite status.
As a member of top Luta Livre gym Renovacao Fight Team, Jose Maria is unsurprisingly well-rounded and aggressively devoted to finishing fights. Of his 28 career victories, 23 have come via form of knockout or submission. Like Barao, Tome has fought almost exclusively near his home base in Limoeiro do Norte, Ceara, often facing underwhelming (or simply overwhelmed) opposition while keeping a very busy schedule. But unlike Renan, who mainly relied on his wrestling and jiu-jitsu talents until recently, Jose Maria is equally happy to deliver beatings with his precision combination striking to the head and body or by breaking opponents down with suffocating top control on the mat.
If the aptly nicknamed "No Chance" has a weakness, it's his proclivity to freewheel on offense to the verge of showboating, leaving his guard down in the process. But aside from a decision loss in his pro debut (again, like Barao), Tome has only fallen against larger prospect Leandro Higo and top flyweight contender Jussier da Silva. Since those early 2008 losses, Jose Maria is on a sixteen fight unbeaten streak with five wins (four via submission) in 2011.
Just barely qualifying for the report at the upper age limit of 30, the time is now for Jose Maria Tome to retire from terrorizing his provincial rivals in Brazil and hit the world stage. Renan Barao was a lightning rod for criticism of prospects with resumes inflated by easy wins over veritable cannon fodder, but given the right opportunity he put those notions to rest and now finds himself in line to challenge for the UFC Bantamweight Championship. Tome may never reach such lofty heights, but at the very least he has earned the chance to give it a try.
Footage of Jose Maria Tome after the fold...
| Flyweight | Bantamweight | Featherweight | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 - #2 - Jose Maria Tome #3 - Sergio Pettis #4 - Rafael de Freitas #5 - Alexandre Pantoja #6 - Hector Sandoval #7 - Jesse Riggleman #8 - Sean Santella #9 - Claudir Dutkevis #10 - Kevin Belingon | #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 - Wagner Prado #2 - Phelipe Lins #3 - Tom DeBlass #4 - Misha Cirkunov #5 - Kyle Cerminara #6 - Robert Drysdale #7 - Artur Alibulatov #8 - Thiago Perpetuo #9 - Steve Bosse #10 - Juha Saarinen | #1 - Magomed Malikov #2 - Magomed Abdurahimov #3 - Alexei Kudin #4 - Levan Razmadze #5 - Chris Birchler #6 - Ruslan Magomedov #7 - Adam Parkes #8 - Richardson Moreira #9 - Jan Jorgensen 10 - David Oliva |
José Maria ''No Chance'' Highlight
José Maria "No Chance" x Anderson Cruz
José Maria Sem Chance X Wagner Mexicaninho
One of his Octagon MMA tournament bouts