MMA World Cup: Which country is the best in the sport and wins the trophy?

Just like in soccer, MMA also has its World Cup. And if the biggest soccer event, held every four years, is so important and memorable, why not imagine it happening in mixed martial arts as well? Therefore, SUPER LUTAS got into the spirit and decided to hold the same competition with the strongest countries in the sport, starting in the round of 16, that is, in the knockout stage.

The SUPER LUTAS MMA World Cup consists of 16 participants, with eight seeded teams, and aims to determine the best nation in the sport. Each team has representatives in the flyweight (up to 57 kg), bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg), featherweight (up to 65,8 kg), lightweight (up to 70,3 kg), welterweight (up to 77,1 kg), middleweight (up to 83,9 kg), light heavyweight (up to 93 kg), and heavyweight (up to 120,2 kg) weight classes.

Rules

SUPER LUTAS analyzes a hypothetical fight between representatives of each national team in their respective weight class. After the winner is decided, the team scores a point. If the commentators vote differently, the fight will be annulled.

If a match has a clear winner, with no chance of a comeback, it will be ended without the need for further matches. In case of a tie in the total score, an extra match between the captain of each team will be considered, taking into account the career and legacy of the professionals in question.

Poatan, Topuria and Gaethje promote UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube/UFC

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Get to know the teams and lineups.

Note: the seeded fighters (in bold) were chosen based on criteria of tradition in MMA and the UFC's pound-for-pound ranking.

Brazil : Alexandre Pantoja , Deiveson Figueiredo , Diego Lopes , Charles do Bronx , Carlos Prates , Caio Borralho , Paulo Borrachinha and Alex Poatan (captain).

Russia : Muhammad Mokaev , Petr Yan , Movsar Evloev , Usman Nurmagomedov , Islam Makhachev (captain), Khamzat Chimaev , Magomed Ankalaev and Vadim Nemkov.

United States : Brandon Royval , Sean O'Malley, Aljamain Sterling , Justin Gaethje , Sean Brady , Sean Strickland , Khalil Rountree and Jon Jones (captain).

Oceania : Kai Kara-France , Cody Haddon, Alexander Volkanovski (captain), Quillan Salkilld , Jack Della Maddalena , Robert Whittaker , Carlos Ulberg , and Brando Pericic.

United Kingdom : Lone'er Kavanagh , Farid Basharat , Lerone Murphy , Paddy Pimblett , Leon Edwards , Michael Page , Luke Trainer and Tom Aspinall (captain).

France : Nicolas Leblond, Taylor Lapilus , Salahdine Parnasse, Benoit Saint Denis , Cédric Doumbé, Nassourdine Imavov , Oumar Sy and Ciryl Gane (captain).

Georgia : Merab Dvalishvili , Aleksandre Topuria , Giga Chikadze , Ilia Topuria (captain), Levan Chokheli , Roman Dolidze , Giga Kukhalashvili, Georgi Lobzhanidze

Africa : Manel Kape , Cameron Saaiman , Youssef Zalal , Marwan Rahiki , Kamaru Usman , Dricus du Plessis , Yousri Belgaroui and Francis Ngannou (captain).

Canada: Tony Laramie, Aiemann Zahabi , Charles Jourdain , Lance Gibson Jr., Mike Malott (captain), Marc-André Barriault , Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz and Tanner Boser.

Mexico: Brandon Moreno (captain), David Martinez , Yair Rodriguez , Manuel Torres , Kelvin Gastelum , Anthony Hernandez , Erick Medrano and Gerardo Arredondo.

South America: Kevin Borjas , Marlon Vera , Rodrigo Vera, Ignacio Bahamondes , Michael Morales (captain), Christian Alquinga, Matias Uribe and Christopher Ewert.

Poland: Dawid Romanski, Jakub Wiklacz , Robert Ruchala, Mateusz Gamrot , Mateusz Rebecki , Michal Oleksiejczuk , Iwo Baraniewski and Jan Blachowicz (captain).

Ireland: Gary Rooney, Ciaran Clarke , Paul Hughes , Conor McGregor (captain), Ian Garry , Eoin Sheridan, Paddy McCorry and Will Fleury.

Japan: Tatsuro Taira , Kyoji Horiguchi (captain), Kai Asakura , Shunta Nomura, Masayuki Kikuiri, Hiroyuki Tetsuka, Mashin Machine and Mikio Ueda.

China: Su Mudaerji , Song Yadong (captain), Yi Zha , Rong Zhu , Taiyilake Nueraji, Li Jingliang , Zhang Mingyang and Hang Li.

Argentina: Mauro Gomez, Javi Quintero, Kevin Vallejos (captain), Esteban Ribovics , Santiago Ponzinibbio , Carlos Petruzzella, Emiliano Sordi and Lucas Chiumiento.

Bracket and matchups

Brazil vs Argentina
France vs. Poland
United Kingdom vs. China
Oceania vs. Canada

United States vs. Japan
Georgia vs. Mexico
Russia vs Ireland
Africa vs. South America

Start of the tournament

Brazil 5 x 0 Argentina – The Brazilian squad simply made it look easy. In the eternal rivalry, Alexandre Pantoja , Deiveson Figueiredo , Diego Lopes , Charles do Bronx , and Carlos Prates showed no mercy to the Argentinians. Lionel Messi was disappointed.

Charles at a UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

France 4 x 1 Poland – Here, the Poles tried to pull off a surprise early on, as Dawid Romanski got past Nicolas Leblond and the Taylor Lapilus vs. Jakub Wiklacz match ended in a draw. The French equalized only in the third match, with Salahdine Parnasse entering the game. From then on, Benoit Saint Denis , Cédric Doumbé, and Nassourdine Imavov took off and sealed the victory.

Imavov promotes UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

United Kingdom 5 x 1 China – Another resounding defeat. Lone'er Kavanagh put the British ahead, but Song Yadong equalized for the Asians. However, that was China's consolation goal, as their representatives were soundly beaten by Lerone Murphy , Paddy Pimblett , Leon Edwards , and Michael Page.

Paddy Pimblett promotes UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

Oceania 4 x 1 Canada – This was a curious match. Oceania opened the scoring with Kai Kara-France , but Canada equalized with Aiemann Zahabi . Then, Australians Alexander Volkanovski and Quillan Salkilld put the team back in the lead.

Following that, the Jack Della Maddalena vs. Mike Malott fight had no winner. Oceania's qualification was secured with another victory, this time by Robert Whittaker.

Volkanovski smiles, proudly displaying his UFC belt. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/volkanovski

United States 5 x 0 Japan – I don't even know what to say. Simply one of the biggest massacres in the history of the MMA World Cup. The Yankees showed their strength with Brandon Royval , Sean O'Malley, Aljamain Sterling , Justin Gaethje , and Sean Brady.

Gaethje promotes UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

Georgia 4 x 3 Mexico – Battalion! Georgians Merab Dvalishvili and Aleksandre Topuria started well and put their country ahead, but Yair Rodriguez , the Mexican panther, pulled one back. Then, Ilia Topuria appeared and made it 3-1.

Anthony Hernandez appeared and gave Mexico a lifeline. Then, Roman Dolidze scored again for Georgia, but Mexican Erick Medrano ignited the game, making it 4-3. Since the match between Georgi Lobzhanidze and Gerardo Arredondo had no winner, the Georgians advanced to the next round.

The Topuria brothers promote a UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

Russia 5 x 0 Ireland – Don't get me wrong. Ireland does have top-level fighters like Conor McGregor , Ian Garry , and Paul Hughes , but the Russians are on a different level. Muhammad Mokaev , Petr Yan , Movsar Evloev , Usman Nurmagomedov , and Islam Makhachev cleaned up the octagon.

Makhachev celebrates his UFC victory. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

Africa 5 x 2 South America – African solidity made the difference! Manel Kape confirmed his status as favorite, but saw Marlon Vera equalize the match. Subsequently, Youssef Zalal and Marwan Rahiki put Africa in a comfortable position, however Michael Morales reduced the deficit by beating Kamaru Usman.

Without despairing, Dricus du Plessis extended the African advantage. Then, all it took was Yousri Belgaroui, a friend and training partner of Alex Poatan , to appear and give the continent another point, securing their qualification.

Du Plessis focused before fighting in the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC

And so ended the first knockout round of the MMA World Cup. The second part of the competition promises strong emotions and will have an epic ending. Will Brazil, unlike what happened in football, manage to become champion? Stay tuned for the next chapter, coming soon.

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