Mariana Morais
Mariana Morais is a Brazilian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. From April 2020 to October 2020, Fight Matrix had Morais ranked within the top 10 of the rankings for Women's Featherweight+, rising to as high as #9.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Starting her career in 2012, Morais compiled a 9–2 record on the regional Brazilian scene before she was signed to Invicta Fighting Championships as a 19 year old.In her one fight at the time in the promotion, Morais faced Roxanne Modafferi at List of [Invicta FC events#Invicta FC 14: Evinger vs. Kianzad|Invicta FC 14: Evinger vs. Kianzad] on September 12, 2015, and lost via TKO stoppage in the third round.
Returning to the regional Brazilian scene, Morais won 3 out the next 4 bouts, losing only to future UFC fighter Karol Rosa via unanimous decision.
Morais faced Ariane Lipski on October 22, 2017, at KSW 40 for the KSW Women's Flyweight Championship. She lost via rear-naked choke less than a minute into the first round.
Morais faced Vanessa Porto on January 13, 2018, at Invicta FC 27: Kaufman vs. Kianzad. She lost the fight via a rear-naked choke on round one.
Morais would then lose the next 4 out of 6 bouts on the regional Brazilian scene, including for the Shooto Brazil Women's Bantamweight Championship at Shooto Brasil 81 against Lara Fritzen via unanimous decision. One of the bouts she did win was for the NCE Flyweight Championship.
Morais competed in the one night Shooto Brasil Women's Lightweight Grand Prix on March 1, 2020, with the winner gaining a contract for the 2021 [Professional Fighters League season]. Morais started the event by facing Dayana Silva, from Nova União. In a tough fight, she won by split decision. She qualified for the final, where she faced Bianca Daimoni, from Chute Boxe, who had beaten Yana Gadelha in the semifinal. The São Paulo fighter needed less than two minutes to knock out Daimoni, in a straightforward exchange of blows.
Professional Fighters League
Morais was announced to be participating in the PFL for the 2021 season, and faced Kayla Harrison on May 6, 2021, at PFL 3. She lost the bout via TKO in the first round.Morais faced Kaitlin Young on June 25, 2021, at PFL 6. She won the close bout via split decision.
Although she was eliminated from championship contention, she was scheduled to face Zamzagul Fayzallanova on August 19, 2021, at PFL 8. However, Zamzagul has to pull out of the bout and she was replaced by Claudia Zamora. After Larissa Pacheco was removed the tournament due to weight cut issues, Morais, who finished fifth in final standings, was reinstated as a replacement to face Taylor Guardado in the Semifinals off the Women's Lightweight tournament on August 19, 2021, at PFL 8. She lost the back-and-forth bout via split decision.
Post PFL
In her first bout after leaving PFL, Morais faced Abril Anguiano on January 7, 2023, at Peak Fighting 25, winning the bout via rear-naked choke in the first round.Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
New Corpore Extreme- * NCE Flyweight Championship