Ronny Markes (born April 21, 1988)Mixed martial arts show results Date: August 9, 2014
/ref> 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 ...

currently competing in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division. A professional competitor since 2007, Markes has formerly competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

PFL PFL may refer to: Sport * Professional Fighters League, an American mixed martial arts league * Peel Football League, an Australian rules football league * Pioneer Football League, an NCAA Division I FCS football conference * Professional Futsa ...

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 ...

, and

M-1 Global M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year. It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with oth ...

. He is the current King of the Cage Super Heavyweight Champion.

MMA career

Early career

Markes made his professional MMA debut in 2007 at an event in Spain. Markes competed mostly in his native

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 ...

, with a few early professional fights taking place in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. He amassed an impressive 11-1 prior to signing with

Zuffa TKO Operating Company, LLC (TKO OpCo), doing business as Zuffa (), is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta I ...

in 2011.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Markes signed with the UFC as an injury replacement for

Stephan Bonnar Stephan Patrick Bonnar (April 4, 1977 – December 22, 2022) was an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. Bonnar competed as a Light Heavyweight in the UFC for most of his career. Bonnar was the runner-up on The Ultimate Fig ...

against Karlos Vemola at

UFC on Versus 5 ''UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle'' (also known as ''UFC on Versus 5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 14, 2011, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event was the first that the UFC h ...

on August 14, 2011. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Markes dropped down to the Middleweight division and faced Aaron Simpson on February 15, 2012 at

UFC on Fuel TV 1 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142, UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155, UFC 155: dos Santos ...

After being dropped by an uppercut late in the first round Markes overcame adversity and defeated Simpson via split decision. In his third fight for the promotion, Markes faced Andrew Craig on January 19, 2013 at UFC on FX 7. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Markes was expected to face

Derek Brunson Derek T. Brunson (born January 4, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is most notable for his 21 fight tenure in the Ultimate Fightin ...

on June 8, 2013 at

UFC on Fuel TV 10 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2'' is an installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. This season consisted of 12 episodes and a live finale in Brazil. The season tournam ...

. However, the bout was scrapped on the day of the weigh in as Markes was involved in a minor traffic accident. While Markes was not seriously injured, the incident prevented him from competing. For his fourth fight with the promotion, Markes faced

Yoel Romero Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate ...

on November 6, 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 31 ''UFC: Fight for the Troops 3'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 31'') was a mixed martial arts event held on November 6, 2013, at Fort Campbell in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Background The event was th ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the third round. Markes faced

Thiago Santos Thiago de Lima Santos (born January 7, 1984) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division. Santos competed in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and in the Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

on March 23, 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 38 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 38'') was a mixed martial arts event held on March 23, 2014, at the Ginásio Nélio Dias in Natal, Brazil. Background The event was headlined by the anticipated rematc ...

. Markes was unable to make weight for this fight. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round, and was subsequently released from the promotion shortly after.

World Series of Fighting

On May 15, 2014 it was announced that Markes had signed a deal with

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

and plans to return to the Light Heavyweight division. Markes was expected to face

Kelvin Tiller Kelvin Tiller (born June 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Tiller has also formerly competed for Bellator, World Series of Fighting and Sha ...

at World Series of Fighting 12: Palomino vs Gonzalez on August 9, 2014, However Tiller was pulled from the fight to replace injured Krasimir Mladenov Markes instead fought promotional newcomer Cully Butterfield at the event. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Markes was expected to face

Thiago Silva Thiago Emiliano da Silva (born 22 September 1984) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fluminense. Regarded as one of the best defenders of all time, he is known ...

at WSOF 19 on March 28, 2015. However Silva was pulled from the fight to face Matt Hamill at WSOF 19. Matt Hamill was later replaced by Teddy Holder. Markes was then scheduled to face David Branch at WSOF 20 on April 10, 2015 However, on the day of the weigh-in, Markes was forced out of the bout due to dehydration and was replaced by promotional newcomer Jesse McElligott.

Bellator MMA

Markes was expected to make his Bellator MMA promotional debut against

Josh Barnett Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, submission wrestler, professional wrestler, and color commentator. Barnett previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the y ...

on December 20, 2019 at Bellator's Salute the Troops event in Honolulu, Hawaii. However, Barnett was deemed unable to compete due to severe illness on the night of the event and the bout was cancelled. The fight was rescheduled for Bellator 241 on March 13, 2020. However, Barnett failed his medical tests and was replaced by

Matt Mitrione Matt Mitrione (born July 15, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former American football player, who competed for both the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and most recently for Bellator MMA. Prior to embarking on an MMA c ...

. However, the whole event was eventually cancelled due to the prevailing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Markes made his promotional debut against Linton Vassell at Bellator 254 on December 10, 2020. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Markes faced Said Sowma on July 16, 2021 at

Bellator 262 Bellator 262: Velasquez vs. Kielholtz was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on July 16, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background Undefeated Juliana Velasquez made her first title defen ...

. He lost via knockout in the first round. On July 19, 2021, Bellator MMA officials revealed that Markes was released from the promotion.

Post Bellator

Markes faced Victor Jones on November 19, 2021 at Premier FC 32 He won by TKO 21 seconds in to the first round. Markes faced Rodrigo Duarte on December 18, 2021 at Shooto Brasil 110. He won the bout via kimura in the first round. Markes was scheduled to face Reggie Peña at Eagle FC 46 on March 11, 2022. The day of the event, the bout was delayed and will likely happen at a future event. The bout eventually took place on May 20, 2022 at Eagle FC 47. Markes won the fight via stoppage after Pena injured his knee in the second round. Markes faced Szymon Bajor on August 13, 2022 at PFL 8. Markes lost the bout via unanimous decision. Markes was scheduled to face Da Woon Jung on May 25, 2025 at GFL 2. However, the first two GFL events were postponed indefinitely.

Championships and accomplishments

** KOTC Super Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

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Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

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Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–7 , Sigi Pesaleli , TKO (punches) ,

PFL 3 (2019) The ''PFL 3'' mixed martial arts event for the 2019 season of the Professional Fighters League was held on June 6, 2019, at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. This was the third regular season event of 2019 and included fights in the lig ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–7 , Brandon Halsey , Decision (unanimous) , PFL 9 (2018) , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 18–5 , Dylan Potter , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , KOTC: Fractured , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 2:29 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 17–5 , Smealinho Rama , Decision (unanimous) , PFL Daytona , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 16–5 ,

Viktor Nemkov Viktor Aleksandrovich Nemkov (; born January 26, 1987) is a Russian sambist, judoka competitor and mixed martial artist. Nemkov won the 2011 World Sambo Championships in Combat Sambo. He is the older brother of Vadim Nemkov. Mixed ma ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , M-1 Challenge 77 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 2:06 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center , 16–4 , Tony Lopez , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , KOTC: Heavy Trauma , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 3:03 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 15–4 , Cassio Barbosa de Oliveira , Submission (heel hook) , Shooto Brasil 61 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:47 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 15–3 , Cully Butterfield , Decision (unanimous) , WSOF 12 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

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, TKO (body kick and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 0:53 ,

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center , 14–2 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC: Fight for the Troops 3 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 1:39 ,

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 14–1 , Andrew Craig , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 13–1 , Aaron Simpson , Decision (split) , UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 12–1 , Karlos Vémola , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 11–1 ,

Paulo Filho Paulo Filho (; born May 24, 1978), is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist who last competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor from 2000 until 2014, Filho was the last WEC Middleweight Champion, and also comp ...

, Decision (unanimous) , International Fighter Championship , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 10–1 , Diogo Osama , TKO (punches) , Shooto Brazil 22 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 0:45 ,

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 9–1 , Wendres Carlos da Silva , TKO (submission to punches) , Gouveia Fight Championship 2 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 4:57 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 8–1 , Fernando Silva , TKO (punches) , Brazil Fight 3: Minas Gerais vs. São Paulo , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 3:08 ,

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center , 7–1 , Paulo Rodrigues , Submission (armbar) , Iron Man Championship 7 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 4:43 ,

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 7–0 , Fernando Almeida , TKO (punches) , Amazon Show Combat , , align=center , 1 , align=center , N/A ,

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 6–0 , Wanderlan Vila Cruzeiro , TKO (punches) , Shooto: Brazil 16 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , N/A ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 5–0 , Roque Oliver , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Platinum Fight Brazil 2 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 2:42 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 4–0 , Charles Andrade , Submission (kimura) , Natal Fight Championship 2 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 3:56 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 3–0 , Michael Knaap , Decision (unanimous) , BG: Top Team , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

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, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center , 2–0 , Junior Fofinho , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Platinum Fight Brazil , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 0:28 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center , 1–0 , Enrico Vaccaro , TKO (punches) , KO: Arena 6 , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 1:05 , Spain , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Markes, Ronny Brazilian male mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Living people 1988 births Sportspeople from Natal, Rio Grande do Norte Martial artists from Rio Grande do Norte Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen