Marcos Rogerio de Lima Record: 22-9-1

Light heavyweight years

De Lima announced himself as a finisher at 205 pounds, blasting through Igor Pokrajac with first-round punches in December 2014. The division's grappling depth tested him, though – he was submitted by Nikita Krylov in 2015, then rebounded with a first-round arm-triangle finish of Clint Hester in April 2016. Inconsistency followed, with a submission loss to Gadzhimurad Antigulov, a knockout of Jeremy Kimball in early 2017, and a Von Flue choke loss to Ovince St. Preux.

Move to heavyweight

The jump to heavyweight brought new opportunities and the same boom-or-bust pattern. De Lima decisioned Adam Wieczorek at UFC 230 in 2018, was submitted by veteran Stefan Struve in 2019, then opened 2020 with a first-round TKO of Ben Sosoli before a submission loss to unbeaten Alexandr Romanov.

Veteran heavyweight run

De Lima found his best stretch in 2021, decisioning Maurice Greene and then stopping former title challenger Ben Rothwell with first-round punches. After a decision loss to Blagoy Ivanov in May 2022, he submitted former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski with a first-round rear-naked choke that October, and outpointed unbeaten prospect Waldo Cortes-Acosta in April 2023. He was stopped by Derrick Lewis at UFC 291 in July 2023, then bounced back with a second-round TKO of Junior Tafa at UFC 298 in February 2024.

Fighting style

De Lima is one of the more concussive punchers in the heavyweight division, with an 82% career finish rate – 15 of his 22 wins have come by knockout and three by submission. He is a forward-pressing fighter who looks to overwhelm opponents early, and his jiu-jitsu black belt gives him a legitimate finishing threat on the mat, as the Arlovski choke showed. The trade-off is a high-variance style: of his nine career losses, five have come by submission, reflecting a vulnerability when opponents drag him into deep-water grappling exchanges. At his best, though, he is a dangerous early-round finisher capable of ending any heavyweight fight with a single sequence.

Career highlights

• Submitted a former UFC heavyweight champion — choked out Andrei Arlovski in the first round, a signature win over a former titleholder.
• Knockout artist — 15 of his career wins have come by KO/TKO, including first-round stoppages of Ben Rothwell and Igor Pokrajac.
• Two-division UFC veteran — competed at both light heavyweight and heavyweight across a decade-long Octagon run.