Born in Rio Negrinho, Santa Catarina, Brazil, Luiz Paes now lives in São Paulo, training at Team Lucas Mineiro. He trains out of a very legit gym in Brazil, which has been a great foundation for the start of his career. Paes is one of the rare Brazilian’s that fought on the amateur scene. It’s not something you see as much as you would in other places of the world. Paes spent almost three years as an amateur and went 6-1. He ended that ammy run in a big way, winning two fights in one night, earning the SFT featherweight title.
Paes has run through his competition as a pro. He has an accumulation of 8:36 of cage time in his last four fights. As little cage time could be a problem in the future, Paes has shown to be well-rounded in a short amount of time. Paes has got it done by both knockout and submission.
On the feet, “Buakaw” does a lot of things right. He keeps his hands high, keeping a high guard and constantly moving his head off the centerline. He likes to bob and weave and throw punches off angles. A notable right hand, a good jab, nice straight punches, and good power. Paes can stick on the outside with his athleticism and can explode in the pocket with kness, hooks, and combinations.
His striking plays as a good tool in his wrestling. He times his takedowns very well after opponents seem to focus only on his striking. Paes did struggle to get in down in his last fight, but as soon as he did, it was a wrap. With that timing, he does well at driving on the hips and cutting the corner to get it down. On top, Paes has good ground and pound. That opens up lanes to grab the rear-naked-choke that he’s finished with twice. Another note is that Paes has showcased solid takedown defense. Maybe due to his amateur Muay Thai background, he knows how to use his positioning in the clinch.
Obviously, it’s too early to tell how legit Paes is being so early in his career. The early signs are there and he has the right team behind him to turn out very good.
