Joanderson Brito Record: 19-5-1

Building a featherweight reputation

What followed was the run that defined him. Brito rebounded from the Algeo loss by stopping Andre Fili with first-round punches in April 2022, then submitted Lucas Alexander with a first-round rear-naked choke that October. He kept the finishes coming in 2023, blasting out Westin Wilson in the first round and submitting Jonathan Pearce with a second-round ninja choke. The biggest statement came at UFC 301 in May 2024, when he beat the previously one-loss Jack Shore by second-round doctor stoppage, a result that pushed him toward the fringes of the rankings.

Recent stretch

Brito then hit a bump, dropping a split decision to William Gomis in September 2024 and a unanimous decision to Pat Sabatini in April 2025, two losses that exposed his trouble against high-volume, grappling-savvy opponents who could neutralize his pressure. He steadied himself with a unanimous-decision win over Isaac Thomson in December 2025, and opened the following year in emphatic fashion, submitting Jordan Leavitt with a first-round front choke in June 2026 to reaffirm his finishing threat.

Fighting style

Brito is a true dual threat, with his finish breakdown split evenly between the two ways he ends fights – eight wins by knockout and eight by submission, against just three decisions, for a finish rate around 84 percent. He pressures forward behind powerful hooks and looks to either swarm opponents on the feet or drag them into scrambles where his choke game thrives, as the rear-naked choke of Alexander and the ninja choke of Pearce demonstrated. His weakness is consistency over 15 minutes: the losses to Algeo, Gomis and Sabatini all came by decision against fighters who survived his early bursts and out-grappled or out-pointed him in the later rounds. When he lands clean, though, very few featherweights can absorb what he brings.

Career highlights

• Contender Series breakthrough — beat future title contender Diego Lopes to earn his UFC contract in 2021.
• Statement win over Jack Shore — handed the previously one-loss Welshman a second-round defeat at UFC 301, his signature UFC result.
• Elite finishing balance — eight knockouts and eight submissions across a 19-5-1 career, an 84 percent finish rate that makes him a threat to end a fight anywhere.