Athletes
Carlos Mota Anticipates A Great Showing In UFC Debut
Flyweight Carlos Mota Faces Cody Durden On One Week’s Notice At UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen
At only eight years old, Brazil’s Carlos Mota stepped foot in his first Capoeira class.
As he grew more and more interest for the sport of mixed martial arts, he began training in taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, immediately falling in love.
Growing up, Mota continued to train in these disciplines until gaining enough confidence to begin competing. After just three amateur fights, all ending with Mota’s hand being raised, he decided to make MMA a full-time commitment at the professional level.
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“Ever since I met my coach Francisco Bueno, he has prepared, guided and shaped me as a person and has made me who I am today,” Mota said.
Mota amassed an impressive 8-1 professional record, recently becoming the first Brazilian flyweight champion in LFA history with a first round knockout win over Rizvan Abuev in August. Just over a week ago, Mota got the call to step in on late notice to fight Cody Durden at UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen in his promotional debut.
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Despite the urgency behind the preparation for this bout, Mota accepted it with no hesitation, knowing this opportunity is an absolute dream come true for him and his coaches.
“It’s an amazing process,” Mota said. “We work really hard, and we really believe [in ourselves]. We give our soul to the sport and it’s rewarding to have this opportunity the UFC has given me to be here and to show my work.
“They called me on one week’s notice, but that’s how opportunities work. You have to embrace it, no matter when or where.”
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When asked if there was hesitation in accepting a UFC debut bout on a week’s notice, Mota responded with an emphatic “No,” implying that he’d take a fight the night of if it meant competing for the UFC.
“This is my dream, so I had to embrace it,” Mota said. “I’ve worked really hard for this for years, so that’s what I did. I embraced it and here I am.”
His opponent, Durden, is coming off an impressive TKO victory over JP Buys in June at UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Gamrot in June. With five fights inside the Octagon, there is some tape that Mota can try to dissect during fight week but, at the end of the day, it’s too little time to perfect a gameplan for a specific opponent.
Top Knockouts | Flyweight
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Top Knockouts | Flyweight
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But for Mota, specific opponents don’t matter. The time spent with Bueno in the gym gives him enough confidence to perform his absolute best against whoever gets put in front of him.
“He’s an experienced guy,” Mota said. “I’ve watched two of his fights. I knew he was tough and experienced with a wrestling background. But we work so hard that no matter who they put in front of us, we are ready physically and mentally.”
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As we’ve seen with many athletes, including Josh Quinlan earlier this year, your debut is an amazing opportunity to show how good you are in relation to the rest of your division. On Saturday, Mota expects nothing less than to send a definitive message to the rest of the flyweights that he’s here to stay.
“[Fans can expect] a lot of aggressiveness, awareness and a great show.”
UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs Allen, took place live from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 29, 2022. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
