28-0 Featherweight Phenom Julio Cesar Neves Will Be Cartwheel-Kicking Dudes in Bellator Now


(Finally, we can use the terms “hot prospect” and “Bellator” in the same sentence without being sarcastic. / Photo via Sherdog)

At 19-and-a-half years old, Julio Cesar Neves Junior is off to the fastest start in MMA history. In just two years of professional competition, the Brazilian featherweight prodigy has compiled a 28-0 record, with 25 wins by stoppage. “Morceguinho” has already blown past the career-opening win streaks posted by Megumi Fujii (who won her first 22 fights) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (who’s won 21 and counting), and he’s within arm’s reach of the 32-fight win streak that Igor Vovchanchyn earned from 1996-1999 — to date the longest MMA win streak unbroken by draws or no-contests.

We first introduced you to Neves back in August, when he picked up his 26th win by Capoeira cartwheel-kicking the shit out of Dener Dos Santos. “We have a feeling this one will get him noticed by the big leagues,” we wrote…and indeed it has. MMAFighting informs us that Neves has just signed a contract with Bellator, and will make his promotional debut at an event to be named later.

Alright, so maybe Bellator isn’t the biggest of big leagues, but it’s a hell of an opportunity for a teenager from Santa Catarina. According to MMAFighting, Neves is the younger brother of Rafael “Morcego” Silva, who won Bellator’s 2013 Summer Series Bantamweight Tournament this year, and is riding an impressive 13-fight win streak himself. Can the Morcego/guinho brothers become the next Pitbull brothers? And how much longer will Neves’s win streak last now that he’ll be facing a higher level of competition?


(Finally, we can use the terms “hot prospect” and “Bellator” in the same sentence without being sarcastic. / Photo via Sherdog)

At 19-and-a-half years old, Julio Cesar Neves Junior is off to the fastest start in MMA history. In just two years of professional competition, the Brazilian featherweight prodigy has compiled a 28-0 record, with 25 wins by stoppage. “Morceguinho” has already blown past the career-opening win streaks posted by Megumi Fujii (who won her first 22 fights) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (who’s won 21 and counting), and he’s within arm’s reach of the 32-fight win streak that Igor Vovchanchyn earned from 1996-1999 — to date the longest MMA win streak unbroken by draws or no-contests.

We first introduced you to Neves back in August, when he picked up his 26th win by Capoeira cartwheel-kicking the shit out of Dener Dos Santos. “We have a feeling this one will get him noticed by the big leagues,” we wrote…and indeed it has. MMAFighting informs us that Neves has just signed a contract with Bellator, and will make his promotional debut at an event to be named later.

Alright, so maybe Bellator isn’t the biggest of big leagues, but it’s a hell of an opportunity for a teenager from Santa Catarina. According to MMAFighting, Neves is the younger brother of Rafael “Morcego” Silva, who won Bellator’s 2013 Summer Series Bantamweight Tournament this year, and is riding an impressive 13-fight win streak himself. Can the Morcego/guinho brothers become the next Pitbull brothers? And how much longer will Neves’s win streak last now that he’ll be facing a higher level of competition?