Weight Class: Flyweight
Record: 10-1
Age: 22
Height: 5’2″
Born in: Brazil
Training out of: Jacaré Fight Team/Nova União
Combined Opponent’s Record (at the time they fought): 33-14
Key Wins: Francisco Flavio, Alisson Silva
Flyweight prospect Paulo Victor extended his win streak to six fights when he claimed the Shooto Brasil super flyweight belt last Friday in Rio de Janeiro.
Still just 22 years old as of last month, Victor debuted in 2021 with Nauás Combat and finished his first two opponents via rear naked choke in the first round. He closed out the year by earning his first victory via KO/TKO at Win Fight MMA 1, and he extended his streak of first-round finishes to four fights when he returned to Nauás Combat the following year and defeated Uendel Vasconcelos via leg lock.
A one-off outing with Jungle Fight saw Victor suffer his first loss when he dropped a decision to Francisco Neves, but he returned to the win column with yet another first-round finish to close out 2022. After winning his first decision over 9-1 Alisson Silva in 2023, Victor claimed the MAC flyweight belt via first-round submission in 2024 and made the jump to Shooto Brasil in May of this year.
Stopping Alex Pinheiro and Gabriel Gomes with strikes in the opening round earned “Menor CZS” another title opportunity at Shooto Brasil 134, where he defeated Francisco Flavio via split decision to win the promotion’s vacant super flyweight (130 lbs.) belt.
After starting his career with three submissions out of four fights, Victor’s striking has really started to become his defining characteristic in more recent outings. He puts a lot of power behind his low kicks, and that was the attack he used to drop Gomes in August before he pounced on him to finish the fight with punches.
Victor likes to mix in front kicks to the body and will also go up high, both with a standard high kick and also a dynamic spinning kick that likes to pull out at least once a fight. Preferring to throw quick and powerful counter combinations when his opposition comes forward, the Brazilian will also swarm an opponent when he thinks they’re hurt and loves to mix up vicious hooks to the body before going back up to the head.
“Menzo CZS” regularly switches stances, often doing it off of his kicks or when he’s on the retreat. He’ll load up on a big counter right hands to halt opponents that are advancing on him, and he’s also quick to snatch a body lock and move around to their back if he wants to bring things to the mat.
Victor excels at quickly jumping on an opponent’s back if an opportunity presents itself during grappling exchanges. Still a submission threat even though he’s started to rely more on his striking as of late, the 22-year-old will look to create a scramble right away if he does end up with his back on the canvas.
A tendency to retreat in a straight line and drop his hands are points of concern for Victor at this stage of his career, but for the moment his cardio is probably the biggest question mark. Fading as the fight went on contributed to his lone career loss to Neves in 2022, and he also slowed down quite a bit in his title fight with Flavio before he found a bit of a second wind in the final round.
Victor has already made some clear improvements over his last few fights and has the kind of exciting striking style that should attract the attention of promotions outside of Brazil sooner rather than later. He’s also already beaten some decent competition and accumulated eleven fights of pro experience at just 22 years old, making him a solid prospect and someone worth keeping an eye on.
