Julio Cesar (mixed martial artist)

Julio Cesar Neves Jr.^[1] (born 25 April 1994) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). He has previously fought in Bellator MMA.

Julio Cesar Neves
Born	Julio Cesar Neves Jr. (1994-04-25) 25 April 1994 (age 30) Balneário Camboriú, Lages, Brazil[1]
Other names	Morceguinho ("Little Bat")
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	145 lb (66 kg)
Division	Lightweight Featherweight
Reach	74.0 in (188 cm)[2]
Style	Muay Thai, Luta Livre
Fighting out of	Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Team	Astra Fight Team[3]
Trainer	Marcelo Brigadeiro[4]
Years active	2011–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	38
Wins	36
By knockout	20
By submission	10
By decision	6
Losses	2
By submission	1
By decision	1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Julio Cesar was born in Brazil.^[1] He achieved a coveted 30-0 record after defeating Poppies Martinez at Bellator 125, an unheard of accomplishment in mixed martial arts competition, given his age and the time span in which he competed.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Neves had been competing in the Brazilian circuit since late-2011, amassing 28 bouts and early finishes in a very condensed period of time before signing with Bellator MMA. He was doing so at a very young age, being only 19-years-old when he was signed to Bellator. He was expected to face Yuri Maia at Golden Fighters 7 on 9 November 2013, but it was cancelled because of the subsequent signing to Bellator.^[5]

Bellator MMA

Neves made his Bellator debut on 18 April 2014 (just days before his 20th birthday) at Bellator 117 against Josh Arocho. The 19-year-old was successful in his debut, defeating Arocho in the second round via TKO.

In his second bout with the promotion, Neves faced Poppies Martinez on 19 September 2014 at Bellator 125.^[6] He won via TKO in the first round.

In his third bout with the promotion, Neves faced fellow up-and-comer Jordan Parsons at Bellator 137 on 15 May 2015.^[7] He lost the back and forth fight via submission in the third round. This marked the first professional defeat of his career.

In June 2015, it was revealed that Neves, along with his brother Rafael Silva, were among 8 fighters released from the promotion.^[8]

Criticism

Neves' record has been subject of controversy in his home country of Brazil. According to many local MMA resources and forums, Neves built his undefeated record facing mostly "cans" and opponents with irregular MMA records while avoiding tougher challengers. Some of his opponents' records, in order, are: 0-3, 0-2, 3-2, 0-2, 9-8, 4-3, 0-1, 2-3, 1-3, 1-1, 0-3, 1-7, 1-1, 0-2, 12-10 and 0-2.^[9]

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki

Winning the next 6 bouts mostly on the Brazilian regional scene, Neves signed with Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, making his debut against Daniel Rutkowski on March 16, 2024 at KSW 92.^[10] After a three-round fight, he lost to his rival unanimously on the scorecards, thus suffering the second defeat in his career.^[11]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

38 matches	36 wins	2 losses
By knockout	20	0
By submission	10	1
By decision	6	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	36–2	Daniel Rutkowski	Decision (unanimous)	KSW 92: Wikłacz vs. Jojua	16 March 2024	3	5:00	Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland
Win	36–1	Rafael Luiz de Almeida	TKO	Brusque Championship MMA 4	12 December 2021	1	2:00	Brusque, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	35–1	Kevin Park	Decision (unanimous)	Battlefield FC 2	27 July 2019	3	5:00	Macau, China
Win	34–1	Roger Sampaio	Submission (guillotine choke)	Aspera FC 57	9 September 2017	1	1:14	Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	33–1	Fernando Colman	Decision (unanimous)	Brave CF 4	18 March 2017	3	5:00	Parana, Brazil	Catchweight 150 pounds
Win	32–1	Carlisson Diego Santos	Submission (anaconda choke)	Smash Fight 4	28 October 2016	2	4:08	Curitiba, Parana, Brazil
Win	31–1	Ranieri Zenidim	Decision (unanimous)	Aspera FC 40	18 June 2016	3	5:00	Santa Catarina, Brazil
Loss	30–1	Jordan Parsons	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	Bellator 137	15 May 2015	3	4:09	Temecula, California, United States
Win	30–0	Poppies Martinez	TKO (spinning back kick and punches)	Bellator 125	19 September 2014	1	2:16	Fresno, California, United States
Win	29–0	Josh Arocho	TKO (elbows and punches)	Bellator 117	18 April 2014	2	2:37	Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States
Win	28–0	Nelson Junior	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Sparta MMA 9	15 September 2013	1	0:57	Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	27–0	Maikon de Carvalho	Decision (unanimous)	Sparta MMA 8	24 August 2013	3	5:00	Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	26–0	Dener dos Santos	KO (head kick)	Watch Out Combat Show 28	10 August 2013	1	2:42	Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Win	25–0	Hamilton Ferreira	TKO (punches)	Watch Out Combat Show 26	24 May 2013	1	1:50	Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	24–0	Renato Gabardi	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Island Fighting Championships 1	26 April 2013	2	4:47	Palhoça, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	23–0	Alex de Souza	TKO (punches)	Sparta MMA 5 - Encontro de Campeoes	20 April 2013	1	0:36	Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	22–0	Kaique Silva	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	Nocaute Fight Champion	13 April 2013	2	2:18	Curitibanos, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	21–0	Danilo Santos	TKO (head kick)	BingoFight	22 March 2013	2	2:11	Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	20–0	Mauricio Machado	KO (flying knee)	Sparta MMA 4 - Julio Cesar vs Bad Boy	16 March 2013	1	0:37	Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	19–0	Tiago Esquilo	TKO (punches)	CTA Combat - MMA & Muay Thai	9 March 2013	1	1:08	Palmeira das Missões, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Win	18–0	Kelvin Kuster	TKO (punches)	Sparta MMA 3 - Class	23 February 2013	2	2:10	Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	17–0	Ramones Silva	TKO (punches)	Tavares Combat 5	16 February 2013	1	2:47	Jaguaruna, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	16–0	Rafael Bixão	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Tavares Combat 4	3 February 2013	1	3:26	Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	15–0	Vitor Miranda	KO (head kick)	Tavares Combat 2	24 January 2013	1	2:34	Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	14–0	Maicon Silva	KO (flying knee)	Sparta MMA - Sparta Qualify 1	12 January 2013	1	3:14	Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	13–0	Joao Capoeira	KO (punch)	Corupa Fight Champion	22 December 2012	1	3:37	Corupá, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	12–0	Guilherme Nascimento	Submission (armbar)	Tavares Combat	8 December 2012	1	N/A	Palhoça, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	11–0	Guilherme Severo	Decision (unanimous)	Golden Fighters 4	1 December 2012	3	5:00	Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Win	10–0	Antonio Bezerra	KO (flying knee)	Soul Fight Night	11 August 2012	2	3:11	Pirabeiraba, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	9–0	Luiz André	TKO (punches)	Soul Fight Night	11 August 2012	1	1:16	Pirabeiraba, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	8–0	Gustavo Mendonca	KO (flying knee)	Connect Fight Night 2	17 June 2012	2	1:16	Biguaçu, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	7–0	Fernando Giacometti	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Energy Force	19 May 2012	1	1:50	Navegantes, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	6–0	Lucas Moraes	TKO (elbows)	Connect Fight Night	31 March 2012	3	3:04	Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	5–0	Jonathan Giocomossi	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	Blufight MMA - Blufight 2	10 March 2012	1	3:10	Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	4–0	Apostolis Andrade Halianis	Decision (unanimous)	Nitrix Champion Fight 10	11 February 2012	3	5:00	Camboriu, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	3–0	Renato Monaco	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Blufight MMA - Blufight 1	3 December 2011	1	1:57	Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Win	2–0	Fabio Japones	KO (flying knee)	FPMMA - Combat	13 November 2011	1	2:17	São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil
Win	1–0	Maicon Gregor	KO (flying knee)	Octagon MMA	1 October 2011	1	4:12	Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil

References

1. "Julio Cesar Neves Jr". sherdog.com. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
2. "Julio Cesar Neves". tapology.com. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
3. "Astra Fight Team". tapology.com. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
4. "Julio Cesar Neves signed to Bellator". fcfighter.com. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
5. "Yuri Maia vs. Julio Cesar Neves". tapology.com. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
6. "James Irvin Injured, Replacement Bout Announced For Bellator 125". mmanews.com. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
7. Brent Brookhouse (9 April 2015). "Three prelims announced for Bellator 137, including Jesse Juarez vs. Ricky Rainey". mmajunkie.com.
8. Daniels, Steph (4 June 2015). "Bellator releases Sokoudjou and 7 other fighters from their roster". bloodyelbow.com.
9. "Lutadores enfrentam 'frangos' para fazer cartel numeroso (Fighters facing chickens to boost their fight records)". tatame.com. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
10. Cruz, Guilherme (12 February 2024). "KSW signs 36-1 featherweight Julio Cesar Neves, will debut next month". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
11. Paczkowski, Mateusz (16 March 2024). "XTB KSW 92: Daniel Rutkowski pewnie pokonał Nevesa. Walka jednak bez fajerwerków". MMA PL (in Polish). Retrieved 18 March 2024.