Marcus Aurélio

Marcus Aurélio Martins (born 18 August 1973) is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist. He formerly fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships and for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He currently does stunt and mo-cap work, after an MMA career with fights as a lightweight, and primarily employs Capoeira.

Early career
Aurélio began his career in promotions such as ZST and HOOKnSHOOT, earning notable submission victories against Remigijus Morkevicius and Rich Clementi. Aurelio then came to PRIDE Bushido, where he defeated PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi with an arm triangle in a non title fight. A rematch for the title was scheduled six months later, which Gomi won by a controversial split decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
On 24 June 2007, Aurelio announced his signing with the UFC. He made his debut at UFC 74, losing to Clay Guida by split decision.

Aurelio won his next fight over Luke Caudillo via first round TKO at UFC 78.

He was defeated by Evan Dunham on 29 August 2009 at UFC 102. He replaced Matt Veach who sustained a back injury while training.

After his defeat at the hands of Dunham, Aurelio was released from the organization, along with fellow UFC veterans, Chris Wilson, and Justin McCully.

After racking up two consecutive wins in his post UFC career, Aurelio faced Japanese grappler Shinya Aoki at Dream 16. Aoki utilized superior ground control to take a unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

 * ZST
 * ZST Grand Prix Winner (One time)
 * HOOKnSHOOT
 * HnS Southeast Lightweight Championship (One time)
 * United States Mixed Martial Arts
 * USMMA Lightweight Championship (One time; first)