Weight class: Bantamweight
Age: 29
Height: 5’7”
Born in: Cuba
Training out of: Freedom Fighters MMA
Combined opponents’ record (at the time they fought): 41-23
Key wins: Gabriel Wanderley, Mo Miller, Mark Grey
Newly crowned CFFC bantamweight champion Sean Mora pushed his way to the top of bantamweight prospect rankings following a dominant and decisive Round one knockout over Mark Grey at CFFC 144. The Florida native trains out of Freedom Fighters MMA, but represents Cuba and has a Pan-American Wrestling Championship to his name. Grey had previously only lost to Vilson Ndregjoni and has a win over highly regarded Chilean prospect Diego Manzur.
Standing at just 5’7, Mora’s height and frame are average for the weight class. However, his athleticism and explosiveness makes up for anything he misses in size. He fights a bit flat footed, but almost catches opponents off guard because of it, and remains dangerous because of his elite athleticism. His knees up the middle are precise and led to his CFFC title win. His takedown defense and grappling are both impressive, as Grey’s wrestling was no match for Mora, who quickly exploded to his feet. Mora’s explosiveness led to a 65-second knockout against Grey, who managed to eat four clean knees to the chin before being finished a minute in.
Before this fight, Mora had displayed his grappling with back-to-back submission wins in Fury FC. Mora’s last fight came against DWCS alumni Mo Miller. Mora had his wrestling neutralized early, but stayed calm and turned the tide, finding a takedown and subsequent RNC halfway through the second round.
Typically, Mora’s fights look more like his fight with Mo Miller: where he engages in early grappling and shoots frequently looking to establish control. From there, he looks to secure the back and grab a quick choke. His most impressive win could be viewed as his UD win over Gabriel Wanderley nearly two years ago. In that fight, Mora took Wanderley down and racked up significant top control while avoiding and escaping submissions throughout. The performance showed that Mora could grapple at a high pace for 15 minutes, control a dangerous grappling specialist, and stay smart enough to not get caught in a submission.
Mora’s only loss is barely worth talking about, as he lost to 5-10 Usama Rahman via DQ by gouging. It’s such a weird circumstance and I could not find footage of it, but i’ll go out on a limb and say it was a one-time occurrence. Apart from that DQ, his record is spotless. After winning his first four fights by decision, his last three wins have all come by way of impressive finish in the first two rounds. We could be seeing the 29 year old really start to come into his own and break out into an elite prospect.
Mora definitely profiles out as more of a wrestler, despite his dominant striking performance to win the CFFC title. The Pan-American champion has used his wrestling as the game plan in five of his last six, barring Grey, who he KO’d in a minute. His experience across promotions like Titan FC, Combate Global, Fury FC, and now CFFC in just eight pro fights show the various styles and types of opponents that Mora has faced. Mora’s striking still has room for improvement, but his CFFC title win showed just how far it’s come — it now complements his wrestling and submissions perfectly.
Mora’s wrestling and athleticism will take him far, but I’m intrigued to see how Mora deals with a high-level striker with strong TDD. However, Mora is likely in or hitting his prime and should be signed to the UFC soon to get the most potential out of his career. Keep an eye on Mora as a potential name for the second half of DWCS.