Mateus Mendonça Record: 11-3-0

UFC run

The Octagon proved unforgiving early. In his January 2023 debut, Mendonça lost a competitive three-round unanimous decision to undefeated prospect Javid Basharat in a matchup of unbeaten fighters. He bounced back into trouble that October against Nate Maness, who finished him by ground-and-pound in the first round. The skid continued in February 2024 with a razor-thin split-decision loss to Jesus Aguilar, another close fight that could have gone his way. Three losses in three Octagon outings put his roster spot in jeopardy.

Return to form

Mendonça answered with the kind of performance that reminds people why he was signed. In October 2024 he returned to Brazilian soil and submitted veteran Luan Matheus by kneebar in the first round at CFC 23 in Rio de Janeiro, snapping his losing streak in emphatic fashion and reasserting the grappling that defines his best work.

Fighting style

Mendonça is a finisher with a 73 percent finish rate among his wins: five submissions, three knockouts and three decisions across his 11 victories. His calling card is a deep, opportunistic jiu-jitsu game – he owns finishes by kimura, triangle, armbar and kneebar – complemented by genuine power in his hands, as the Contender Series stoppage showed. Many of his wins come in the first round, reflecting a fighter who hunts the finish rather than managing rounds. The questions raised by his UFC losses centered on whether he could impose that game against elite competition, where his striking defense and decision-round output were tested by the division's best.

Career highlights

• Contender Series contract — flattened Ashiek Ajim in the first round in September 2022 to earn his way into the UFC.
• Win over a UFC veteran — decisioned former UFC fighter Pedro Nobre in 2020, a defining regional result.
• Bounce-back submission — ended a three-fight skid with a first-round kneebar of Luan Matheus at CFC 23 in October 2024.