Iuri and Ildemar Alcântara
Iuri Alcântara
Age: 40 | Bantamweight | Record: 36-10 (1 NC), 10-7 (1 NC) UFC
Iuri Alcântara became a prominent figure in the talent heavy UFC bantamweight division between 2011 and 2020. Born in Marajó, Pará in northern Brazil, Alcântara got his start in the MMA space through jiujitsu. Like most Brazilian fighters in the UFC today, jiujitsu is a huge element of their overall game. For Alcântara, this is no different as he earned 14 submission victories over his mixed martial arts career.
Alcântara’s MMA career kicked off in the northern region of Brazil in 2003 shortly after his 23rd birthday. Over the course of his first ten fights, he would go 9-1 finishing all nine of his opponents. His lone loss came by way of a leg injury. In 2009, Alcântara fought a remarkable nine times in the calendar losing just one fight. In November of that year, he would compete in the Leal Combat Lightweight Grand Prix winning two fights in the same evening. With a record of 19-3, Alcântara made his debut for one of the most well-known MMA promotions in Brazil, Jungle Fight. He stepped up in weight class to face Viscari Andrade at 170lbs winning via split decision. After willing five more fights in Brazil, Alcântara would get the opportunity to compete outside of South America for the first time at WEC 53 in Glendale, Arizona. He was matched up with Ricardo Lamas who had won his last three bouts. He knocked out Lamas in the very first round introducing himself to the American audience.
Following the performance, the UFC and WEC merged meaning Alcântara would reach his goal of meaning it to the UFC. In his first three UFC fights, Alcântara would compete at 145lbs despite spending most of his career at lightweight. After his first loss in the organization at UFC 147, the Brazilian decided to cut down to 135lbs where he would stay for the rest of his career. During his seven year long UFC career, Alcântara would only suffer consecutive defeats once in 2017. He earned wins over title challengers Joe Soto and Wilson Reis in that time frame. After losing a bout to Cory Sandhagen in 2018, Alcântara was released from the promotion. He has since been a head coach at the Marajó Brother Team along with his brother Ildemar.
Ildemar Alcântara
Age: 38 | Bantamweight | Record: 26-16, 4-3 UFC
Unlike most of the siblings on this list, there is a huge size difference between the two siblings. Like his older brother, Ildemar Alcântara has competed across four different weight classes between welterweight and heavyweight. Following in the footsteps of his brother, Alcântara began getting involved in jiujitsu at a young age. From there he began his journey into the world of mixed martial arts at just 22 years old.
The first few fights of a mixed martial artist’s career are usually fights designed to gain some experience. The debuting fighter will often get matched up with a fighter that is fairly new to the sport as well in order to earn a few victories. In Iuri’s first three MMA bouts his opponents had a combined one fight of experience. Younger brother Ildemar’s first three opponents had a combine record of 49-5. In his first two fights he faced current ONE FC Middleweight fighter Luis Santos who at that point had already competed over 20 times. His third fight would be against future UFC signee Fabio Maldonado. Despite the level of opposition in front of him, Alcantara won his debut and went on to earn a 17-5 record over the course of the next seven years. He captured the Jungle Fight Middleweight Championship in his last fight before signing with the UFC in 2013.
In his UFC debut, he stepped in for an injured Roger Hollett to face Wagner Prado at 205lbs. Alcântara would finish Prado with a kneebar in the second round earning a Submission of the Night bonus for his troubles. The Brazilian would alternate wins and losses over his next six fights all by decision which would see him getting released from the promotion. A 4-3 record is respectable by most standards and the release was a little surprising at the time. Since being released in 2015, Alcântara has competed 11 more times going 5-6 in that time. He has competed all over the map since 2015 including a bout in Senegal and one most recently in Czech Republic in December.
Summary
Two brothers from Marajó, Pará Brazil reached the highest stage in mixed martial arts when both competed inside the UFC. Alcântara established himself as a UFc mainstay since signing with the promotion after the WEC merger. Ildemar Alcântara didn’t reach the same level of success in the promotion but has been able to make a name for himself across several promotions. Both men have now decided to continue pursuing their UFC endeavors as coaches of the Marajó Brothers Team where they coach UFC fighters such as Amanda Lemos and Antonio Arroyo.
