Mãozinha (left) has a vast background in jiu-jitsu. Photo: Reproduction
With its premiere scheduled for April 20th, the The Ultimate Fighter 23 had its list of participants released by the UFC organization. Among the 32 fighters confirmed for the attraction, only one represents Brazil: jiu-jitsu specialist Marcel “Mãozinha” Fortuna.
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Born in Santa Catarina, but currently based in the United States, where he is a teacher at Ralph Gracie's academy, Marcelo has a professional record of eight wins and just one loss in professional MMA. In jiu-jitsu, Mãozinha has a world championship as a brown belt, as well as titles in the European and Pan-American championships.
In addition to Mãozinha, another 15 fighters from the light heavyweight category (up to 93 kg) and 16 fighters from the women's strawweight category (up to 52 kg) will make up the season's squad. Of the total number of athletes, however, only 16 (eight from each division) will actually enter the TUF house, as the first episode will mark an elimination round that will cut half of the participants.
TUF 23 will have strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and the Brazilian Claudinha gadelha. The finals of the reality show will be held on July 8th, at TUF 23 Finale, which will feature a rematch between Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha as the main fight, this time for the title in the under-52 kg category.
Check out the full list of TUF 23 participants below:
WOMEN'S STRAW WEIGHT
JJ Aldrich (2-1), USA
Chelsea Bailey (2-0), USA
Amanda Cooper (1-1), USA
Ashley Cummins (3-3), USA
Jodie Esquibel (5-1), USA
Mellony Geugjes (0-1), Netherlands
Lanchana Green (2-1), England
Helen Harper (4-1), England
Kate Jackson (7-2-1), England
Alyssa Krahn (3-1), Canada
Kristi Lopez (2-0), USA
Amy Montenegro (7-2)USA
Jamie Moyle (3-1), USA
Irene Rivera (6-2), Spain
Tatiana Suarez placeholder image (3-0), USA
Ashley yoder (4-1), USA
MEN’S LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT:
Kenneth Bergh (3-0), USA
Trevor Carlson (10-2), USA
Muhammed DeReese (5-0), USA
Myron Dennis (12-4), USA
John Paul Elias (3-0), USA
Marcel “Mãozinha” Fortuna (8-1), Brazil
phil hawes (3-0), USA
Cory Hendricks (3-0), USA
Jamelle Jones (6-2), USA
Abdel Medjedoub (3-0), Algeria
Norman Parais (15-4-2, 1 NC), France
Khalil rountree (4-0), USA
Andrew Sanchez (7-2), USA
Eric Spicely (8-0), USA
Joshua Stansbury (7-2), USA
Elias Urbina (3-0), USA
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