Vagner Rocha Record: 14-4-0

UFC career

Rocha's UFC debut came at UFC 131 in June 2011 against future star Donald Cerrone, a competitive decision loss against elite opposition. He rebounded in his next outing at UFC Fight Night 25 in September 2011, submitting Cody McKenzie by second-round rear-naked choke to pick up his first promotional win. His final UFC bout of that stint came in February 2012, a first-round TKO loss to Jonathan Brookins at UFC on FUEL TV 1. He later returned to the Octagon in November 2014, dropping a second-round rear-naked choke to a young, unbeaten Jake Matthews at UFC Fight Night 55.

Regional resurgence and grappling stardom

Away from the UFC, Rocha rebuilt and dominated the Florida regional scene. He knocked out Gabriel Miranda in the first round at Fight Time 30 in 2016, stopped Rafael Alves with leg kicks later that year, and outpointed Yoislandy Izquierdo in 2017. Simultaneously, he became one of the most active and respected names in professional submission grappling, an ADCC competitor with marquee wins over the likes of former UFC champion Benson Henderson at Polaris 8 in 2018 and Jesse Taylor at Submission Underground. He shared the mat with the sport's biggest stars – including Craig Jones – and continued competing at the highest level of grappling through the early 2020s.

Fighting style

Rocha is a submission-first fighter whose MMA finishing breakdown – eight of his wins by submission against three knockouts and three decisions, a 79% finish rate – mirrors his identity as a black-belt grappler. His ground game is the throughline of his entire combat-sports life: chokes, triangles and heel hooks are his bread and butter, and his control on the mat has carried him against far larger names. His striking, while capable of producing knockouts on the regional scene, has been the area exposed at the sport's highest levels, where the TKO loss to Brookins and the decision against Cerrone showed the gap on the feet. But as a grappler, Rocha remains a problem for anyone, a craftsman whose jiu-jitsu has only deepened with age.

Career highlights

• UFC veteran — submitted Cody McKenzie by rear-naked choke and shared the cage with future stars including Donald Cerrone and Jake Matthews.
• Elite grappler — an ADCC competitor and Team VRMA founder with submission-grappling wins over former UFC champion Benson Henderson.
• Submission specialist — eight of his MMA wins came by submission, the hallmark of a Pablo Popovitch black belt.