Julio Cesar Neves Jr. (born 25 April 1994) is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division of

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (English: ''Martial Arts Confrontation''), better known by its initials KSW, is widely considered to be the premier mixed martial arts organization in Poland and one of the leading in Europe. Awards *Violent Money TV ** ...

(KSW). He has previously fought in

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

Background

Julio Cesar was born in Brazil. He achieved a coveted 30-0 record after defeating

Poppies Martinez Poppies Martinez (born August 19, 1983) is a Native American professional mixed martial artist of the Tachi Yokuts tribe currently competing in the Lightweight division of Bellator. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also formerly c ...

Bellator 125 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight ...

, an unheard of accomplishment in

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

competition, given his age and the time span in which he competed.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Neves had been competing in the Brazilian circuit since late-2011, amassing 28 bouts and early finishes in a very condensed period of time before signing with Bellator MMA. He was doing so at a very young age, being only 19-years-old when he was signed to Bellator. He was expected to face Yuri Maia at Golden Fighters 7 on 9 November 2013, but it was cancelled because of the subsequent signing to Bellator.

Bellator MMA

Neves made his Bellator debut on 18 April 2014 (just days before his 20th birthday) at

Bellator 117 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight ...

against Josh Arocho. The 19-year-old was successful in his debut, defeating Arocho in the second round via TKO. In his second bout with the promotion, Neves faced

on 19 September 2014 at

. He won via TKO in the first round. In his third bout with the promotion, Neves faced fellow up-and-comer

Jordan Parsons Jordan Parsons (August 26, 1990 – May 4, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator's featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, Parsons had also previously competed for the Championship Figh ...

Bellator 137 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

on 15 May 2015. He lost the back and forth fight via submission in the third round. This marked the first professional defeat of his career. In June 2015, it was revealed that Neves, along with his brother Rafael Silva, were among 8 fighters released from the promotion.

Criticism

Neves' record has been subject of controversy in his home country of Brazil. According to many local MMA resources and forums, Neves built his undefeated record facing mostly " cans" and opponents with irregular MMA records while avoiding tougher challengers. Some of his opponents' records, in order, are: 0-3, 0-2, 3-2, 0-2, 9-8, 4-3, 0-1, 2-3, 1-3, 1-1, 0-3, 1-7, 1-1, 0-2, 12-10 and 0-2.

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki

Winning the next 6 bouts mostly on the Brazilian regional scene, Neves signed with

, making his debut against Daniel Rutkowski on March 16, 2024 at KSW 92. After a three-round fight, he lost to his rival unanimously on the scorecards, thus suffering the second defeat in his career.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 36–3 , Piotr Kacprzak , Submission (triangle choke) , KSW 102 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:19 ,

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship. Radom is the fifteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province w ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 36–2 , Daniel Rutkowski , Decision (unanimous) , KSW 92 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (), often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów (formerly ), is a city in Geography of Poland, western Poland, located on the Warta, Warta River. It is one of the two principal cities and seats of the Lubusz Voivodes ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 36–1 , Rafael Luiz de Almeida , TKO , Brusque Championship MMA 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 , Brusque, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 35–1 , Kevin Park , Decision (unanimous) , Battlefield FC 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, , - , Win , align=center, 34–1 , Roger Sampaio , Submission (guillotine choke) , Aspera FC 57 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:14 ,

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 33–1 , Fernando Colman , Decision (unanimous) , Brave CF 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Parana,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, Catchweight 150 pounds , - , Win , align=center, 32–1 , Carlisson Diego Santos , Submission (anaconda choke) , Smash Fight 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:08 , Curitiba, Parana,

, , - , Win , align=center, 31–1 , Ranieri Zenidim , Decision (unanimous) , Aspera FC 40 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Santa Catarina,

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, Submission (arm-triangle choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:09 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 30–0 ,

, TKO (spinning back kick and punches) ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 29–0 , Josh Arocho , TKO (elbows and punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:37 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 28–0 , Nelson Junior , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Sparta MMA 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:57 ,

Itajaí Itajaí () is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. It is located on the northern central coast of Santa Catarina and is part of the Vale do Itajaí Mesoregion, on the right bank of the Itajaí-Açu river mouth. It lies at th ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 27–0 , Maikon de Carvalho , Decision (unanimous) , Sparta MMA 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Balneário Camboriú Balneário Camboriú () is a coastal city in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. The city is built on steep hills which drop down to the sea. It is a popular tourist destination for South Americans, who are drawn to its main ocean b ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 26–0 , Dener dos Santos , KO (head kick) , Watch Out Combat Show 28 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

Gramado Gramado is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is located in the Serra Gaúcha region. The city was originally settled by Azorean descendants and later received a contingent of German and Italian immigrants. Gramado is ...

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 25–0 , Hamilton Ferreira , TKO (punches) , Watch Out Combat Show 26 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:50 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 24–0 , Renato Gabardi , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Island Fighting Championships 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:47 ,

Palhoça Palhoça is a municipality in Santa Catarina, Brazil. History Palhoça was founded in 1793, when the city was part of the way between Lages and Florianópolis in order to protect the capital state from possible invasions. Its name comes from " ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 23–0 , Alex de Souza , TKO (punches) , Sparta MMA 5 - Encontro de Campeoes , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 22–0 , Kaique Silva , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Nocaute Fight Champion , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:18 ,

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, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 21–0 , Danilo Santos , TKO (head kick) , BingoFight , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:11 ,

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, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 20–0 , Mauricio Machado , KO (flying knee) , Sparta MMA 4 - Julio Cesar vs Bad Boy , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 19–0 , Tiago Esquilo , TKO (punches) , CTA Combat - MMA & Muay Thai , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

Palmeira das Missões Palmeira das Missões is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As of 2020, the estimated population was 33,131. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 18–0 , Kelvin Kuster , TKO (punches) , Sparta MMA 3 - Class , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:10 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 17–0 , Ramones Silva , TKO (punches) , Tavares Combat 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:47 ,

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, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 16–0 , Rafael Bixão , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Tavares Combat 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:26 , Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 15–0 , Vitor Miranda , KO (head kick) , Tavares Combat 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 14–0 , Maicon Silva , KO (flying knee) , Sparta MMA - Sparta Qualify 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:14 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 13–0 , Joao Capoeira , KO (punch) , Corupa Fight Champion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:37 ,

Corupá Corupá is a municipality of the state of Santa Catarina, located in the South Region of Brazil. It has approximately 16,000 inhabitants distributed over 407 km². It is located in the Valley Itapocu near Joinville. Its economy is based on ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 , Guilherme Nascimento , Submission (armbar) , Tavares Combat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Guilherme Severo , Decision (unanimous) , Golden Fighters 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Antonio Bezerra , KO (flying knee) , Soul Fight Night , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:11 , Pirabeiraba, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Luiz André , TKO (punches) , Soul Fight Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 , Pirabeiraba, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Gustavo Mendonca , KO (flying knee) , Connect Fight Night 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:16 ,

Biguaçu Biguaçu is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina in the South region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Santa Catarina This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Santa Catarina (SC), located in the South Regio ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Fernando Giacometti , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Energy Force , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:50 ,

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, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Lucas Moraes , TKO (elbows) , Connect Fight Night , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:04 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Jonathan Giocomossi , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Blufight MMA - Blufight 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:10 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Apostolis Andrade Halianis , Decision (unanimous) , Nitrix Champion Fight 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Camboriu, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Renato Monaco , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Blufight MMA - Blufight 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Fabio Japones , KO (flying knee) , FPMMA - Combat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:17 ,

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, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cesar, Julio 1994 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Luta Livre Brazilian male Muay Thai practitioners People from Balneário Camboriú Martial artists from Santa Catarina (state) 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen