Mario Pinto

Mário Pinto
BornMário João Jauad Pinto
(1998-03-14) March 14, 1998 (age 28)
Lisbon, Portugal
Height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight255 lb (116 kg)
DivisionHeavyweight
TeamFightzone London
Years active2021–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total13
Wins13
By knockout8
By submission1
By decision4
Losses0
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Mário Pinto (born 14 March 1998) is a Portuguese professional mixed martial artist. He competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since October 2021, he previously competed for FightStar Championship and Levels Fight League. As of 12 September 2026, he is #10 in the Meta UFC heavyweight rankings.

Early life and amateur career

Pinto was born in Portugal to parents from Guinea-Bissau before moving to Britain at a young age. He decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts (MMA) as a teenager and later earned a degree in Sport and Exercise Science. Pinto took his first amateur bout in March 2018 and went on to compile an amateur MMA record of 5–1.

Professional career

He made his professional debut in October 2021 at Contenders 31, where he faced Joffie Houlton and won the bout via first-round technical knockout. He then competed twice for FightStar Championship, defeating Berat Berisha by first-round TKO at FightStar Championship 21. Pinto followed this with his first professional submission victory at FightStar Championship 22, submitting Maxwell Djantou Nana via rear-naked choke.

In March 2023, he competed in the Levels Fight League (LFL) Heavyweight Grand Prix. Fighting three times in a single night, Pinto defeated Filip Bradarić by knockout in the first round, advancing to the semi-finals where he earned a unanimous decision victory over Aladin Ben Halima after three rounds. In the final he faced Moreno Kacapor and won by unanimous decision, capturing the LFL Heavyweight Championship. Pinto later defended the title in October 2023 against Benjamin Šehić, winning by third-round TKO. His second and final defence came in February 2024 against Kasim Aras whom he defeated by unanimous decision.

Pinto competed on Dana White's Contender Series in October 2024, facing Lucas Triverio Camacho. He won the bout via first-round knockout, earning a contract with the UFC. He made his promotional debut in March 2025 at UFC Fight Night 253, defeating Austen Lane by second-round knockout. This fight earned him a Performance of the Night award. Pinto returned in October 2025 at UFC Fight Night 261 against Jhonata Diniz. He won the fight by second-round TKO.

Pinto was scheduled to face Mick Parkin at UFC Fight Night 270 on 21 March 2026. However, the bout was cancelled and Pinto was instead matched against Felipe Franco. Pinto won by unanimous decision.

Pinto faced Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 287 on 5 September 2026. He won the fight by technical knockout in the second round. This fight earned him a $100,000 Performance of the Night award.

Pinto is scheduled to face Serghei Spivac on 5 December 2026 at UFC Fight Night 295.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
13 matches 13 wins 0 losses
By knockout 8 0
By submission 1 0
By decision 4 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 13–0 Ryan Spann TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs. Parnasse September 5, 2026 2 0:55 Paris, France Performance of the Night.
Win 12–0 Felipe Franco Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs. Murphy March 21, 2026 3 5:00 London, England
Win 11–0 Jhonata Diniz TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Oliveira vs. Gamrot October 11, 2025 2 4:10 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Win 10–0 Austen Lane KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev March 1, 2025 2 0:39 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 9–0 Lucas Triverio Camacho KO (punches) Dana White's Contender Series 75 October 8, 2024 1 1:43 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 8–0 Kasim Aras Decision (unanimous) Levels Fight League 11 February 18, 2024 5 5:00 Amsterdam, Netherlands Defended the LFL Heavyweight Championship.
Win 7–0 Benjamin Sehic TKO (punches) Levels Fight League 10 October 29, 2023 3 1:18 Amsterdam, Netherlands Defended the LFL Heavyweight Championship.
Win 6–0 Moreno Kacapor Decision (unanimous) Levels Fight League: Heavyweight Grand Prix March 11, 2023 3 3:00 Amsterdam, Netherlands Won the LFL Heavyweight Grand Prix and the inaugural LFL Heavyweight Championship.
Win 5–0 Aladin Ben Halima Decision (unanimous) 3 2:00 LFL Heavyweight Grand Prix Semifinal.
Win 4–0 Filip Bradaric KO (punch) 1 1:28 LFL Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal.
Win 3–0 Maxwell Djantou Nana Submission (rear-naked choke) FightStar Championship 22 July 15, 2022 1 N/A London, England
Win 2–0 Besart Berisha TKO (punches) FightStar Championship 21 March 19, 2022 1 1:07 London, England
Win 1–0 Joffie Houlton TKO (punches) Contenders Norwich 31 October 2, 2021 1 N/A London, England Heavyweight debut.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mario Pinto MMA Stats". Sherdog. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  2. ↑ "Mario Pinto". Tapology. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  3. ↑ "Mario Pinto | UFC". www.ufc.com. Archived from the original on 2025-12-05. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  4. ↑ "UFC Rankings, Division Rankings, P4P rankings, UFC Champions | UFC.com". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2026-09-12.
  5. ↑ "UFC's next heavyweight star Mario Pinto: 'This is a blood sport, but it's fair'". The Independent. 2025-03-14. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sherdog.com. "Mario Pinto MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  7. ↑ "Mario Pinto Dominates Heavyweight Grand Prix". Levels Fight League. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  8. ↑ "Levels Fight league: LFL10". Levels Fight League. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  9. ↑ "Levels Fight League: LFL11". Levels Fight League. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  10. ↑ "Week 9 Results + Scorecards | Dana White's Contender Series Season 8". UFC. Archived from the original on 2025-10-09. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  11. ↑ Shawn Bitter (2025-03-01). "Mario Pinto Crushes Austen Lane With Brutal Right Hand to Close UFC Vegas 103 Prelims". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
  12. 1 2 Chris Taylor (2025-03-01). "UFC Vegas 103 Bonus Report: Mario Pinto one of four fighters to take home $50k". bjpenn.com. Retrieved 2025-03-01.
  13. ↑ Guilherme Cruz (2025-07-15). "Jhonata Diniz vs. Mario Pinto booked for UFC's return to Rio de Janeiro". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  14. ↑ Staff (2025-10-11). "UFC Rio: Mário Pinto Pounds Out Jhonata Diniz". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
  15. ↑ Timothy Wheaton (2026-02-02). "UFC Returns to London: Murphy vs. Evloev and More Announced for March 21". lowkickmma.com. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  16. ↑ Guilherme Cruz (2026-02-21). "Undefeated heavyweight Mario Pinto gets new opponent for UFC London". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2026-02-21.
  17. ↑ Nick Holt (2026-03-21). "UFC London: Mário Pinto maintains unbeaten record against Felipe Franco". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  18. ↑ Marcel Dorff (2026-07-15). "UFC announces seven fights for UFC Paris in September". heavy.com. Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  19. ↑ Jay Anderson (2026-09-05). "UFC Paris: Mario Pinto survives early scare, stops Ryan Spann". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  20. 1 2 Adam Martin (2026-09-05). "UFC Paris bonuses revealed following French card". heavy.com. Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  21. ↑ Marcel Dorff (2026-11-07). "Israel Adesanya heads to Saudi Arabia for main event fight". heavy.com. Retrieved 2026-11-08.