Nikolas Motta
Record: 11-3
Age: 27
Weight class: Lightweight
Height: 5’6″
Birthplace: Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Next Fight: March 21 vs. TBA at CFFC 82 in Atlantic City, N.J.
Background: [autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag] first entered the national and international spotlights as a participant on “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4.” He went through the ringer, competing in Shooto Brasil in his native country. All the while, he trained with UFC champs Jose Aldo and Renan Barao. Dedicated to his craft, Motta moved to the United States in order to find fights. He competed for 864 Fighting Championship, then took on a plethora of challenges and won the vacant CFFC title. CFFC 82 will be his first defense, though no challenger has been sought yet.
The Skinny: Motta didn’t take the easy road to the UFC, as evidenced by his lengthy and diverse resume. Despite suffering losses, the experience gained in defeat is proving to be worth the hassle. His fighting style is highly aesthetically pleasing. His knockouts over UFC fighter Joe Solecki and CFFC standout Cesar Balmaceda rounded out an already violent highlight reel. While jiu-jitsu is his base, Motta has largely elected not to use it unless he has to. He cites grappling as being “boring,” and would rather entertain the fans instead. Enthusiastic, energetic, and a personality that translates well to American fans. It certainly helps he’s fluent in English and has a good sense of humor.
In his own words: “When we trained, Aldo gave me a lot of confidence. I’ll always have a lot of confidence (going forward). … I have good jiu-jitsu and wrestling, but I never use submissions in any of my fights. I thin it’s boring. I like to knock these guys out. I like standup. … I’m not a boring fighter. I’m like Justin Gaethje. Watch my fight against Cesar Balmaceda. He was undefeated and this special guy. When I knocked him out, it was pretty scary. We thought he was dead.
“I think I have enough fights to go to the UFC. A lot of guys are going to the UFC who have seven or six fights. I already have so many fights on my record with 11 wins and three losses. … I don’t know why I’m not in a big promotion. … (Other fighters) think it’s great the UFC is signing a lot of guys on short notice. I’m excited and want to do (Dana White’s) Contender Series in the summer.”