Manoel Sousa

Sousa worked through Miranda's early back control, hurt him in the second and kept the better pressure on the feet to win a unanimous decision.

Key moments

• Spent much of the first defending Miranda's ground control from the back.
• Hurt Miranda in the second round and changed the fight's shape.
• Won a unanimous decision after applying the better pressure late.

Sousa dropped Bolaji Oki with an overhand right in round one and worked ground-and-pound before Oki escaped a kimura attempt and rallied to take round two on the feet. In the third, Sousa walked Oki down and finished him with a right hand behind the ear, closing out UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Vallejos with his UFC debut win.

Key moments

• Sousa opened the fight by dropping Oki with an overhand right, but gave up a kimura attempt from the bottom to let Oki work back to his feet.
• Oki took over in round two, out-landing Sousa as his power shots missed the mark.
• Sousa walked Oki down in round three and finished him with a right hand behind the ear at 4:12, going 1-0 in his UFC career.

Sousa was out-grappled by Cristian Perez for the first two rounds of their Contender Series bout, absorbing extended ground control including a body triangle, before rallying in round three with a string of left hands that opened a cut over Perez's eye. He finished Perez with hammerfists and follow-up ground strikes against the fence, earning the stoppage and his UFC contract.

Key moments

• Perez controlled the first two rounds from top position, working from back control and mount.
• Sousa turned the fight in round three, landing repeated left hands that rocked and cut Perez.
• Referee Mike Beltran stopped the fight at 3:00 of round three as a turtled Perez absorbed follow-up ground strikes.
• The win earned Sousa a UFC contract off Dana White's Contender Series.

Sousa won a three-round unanimous decision over Lucas Barros Oliveira at LFA 205 in Brazil. The sourced table records a full 15-minute fight with no listed knockdown or stoppage.

Key moments

• The sourced table lists a unanimous-decision win across three rounds.
• It was Sousa's only appearance in LFA before he moved to Dana White's Contender Series.
• The win kept Sousa unbeaten heading into the two-fight stretch that included his only professional loss.

Sousa dropped a unanimous decision to previously unbeaten Archie Colgan at Bellator Champions Series London. Sousa was competitive on the feet in a close opening round, but Colgan's wrestling and clinch pressure took over the last two rounds, and the judges scored it 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 for Colgan.

Key moments

• Sousa traded on the feet with Colgan in round one, which one judge scored for Sousa.
• Colgan's takedowns and top control decided rounds two and three.
• It remains the only loss on Sousa's professional record.

Sousa needed only one round to finish Tim Wilde in his Bellator debut. Wilde controlled the range behind his jab for most of the round, but Sousa closed the distance and dropped him with a left hook that put him out cold at 4:48.

Key moments

• Wilde used his jab to keep Sousa at range for most of the round.
• Sousa closed the distance and knocked Wilde out with a left hook at 4:48 of round one.
• Wilde needed to be checked by the ringside doctor and his own corner before leaving the cage.

Sousa edged Paulo Henrique Laia by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) over three rounds at PFL Challenger Series 2023 Week 4, repeatedly hurting and nearly finishing Laia on the mat but never closing the show against a durable, scrambling opponent.

Key moments

• In round one, Sousa landed an overhand right and put Laia down, working through kimura and heel-hook attempts before Laia scrambled free late in the round.
• Round two saw Sousa take the fight down with a bull-rush double leg and hunt armbar and kimura submissions, but Laia repeatedly scrambled back to top position, finishing the round on top in side control.
• In round three, Sousa hurt Laia on the feet, mounted him, and attacked a deep arm-triangle choke before switching to a kimura; Laia escaped again, and Sousa closed out the fight with ground-and-pound en route to the split verdict.

Sousa headlined a reshuffled CFFC 109 in Philadelphia, stopping veteran Mauro Chaulet with punches at 1:45 of round two to stay unbeaten in his stateside run.

Key moments

• The Sousa-Chaulet lightweight bout was promoted to the CFFC 109 main event after the scheduled interim flyweight title fight between Santo Curatolo and Hugo Paiva was cancelled.
• It pitted an unbeaten Sousa, fresh off his CFFC and American promotional debut win at CFFC 105, against the 33-year-old Chaulet, who entered on a two-fight skid of first-round losses.
• Sousa closed the show in the second round, finishing Chaulet with punches at 1:45 to move to 2-0 in the promotion.

Sousa made his CFFC and American promotional debut a successful one, submitting Trevor Ollison with a kimura at 2:13 of round one on the CFFC 105 main card in Philadelphia.

Key moments

• Fighting on the CFFC 105 main card at the 2300 Arena, Sousa made his CFFC and American debut against Trevor Ollison.
• He needed less than one full round to finish Ollison, catching him in a kimura and forcing the tap at 2:13 of round one.
• The win moved Sousa to 8-0 as a professional, while Ollison fell to 5-4.

Sousa won the vacant SFT lightweight championship in the SFT 27 main event, rallying from behind to stop veteran Brendo "The Monster" Bispo with just four seconds left in round one.

Key moments

• Fighting for the vacant SFT lightweight title in the main event, Sousa was behind in the action against Bispo, who came in on a lengthy win streak as the more experienced fighter.
• Sousa turned the fight around late, unloading a barrage of punches that forced the stoppage with only four seconds left in the round.
• The finish, at 4:56 of round one, made Sousa the new SFT lightweight champion and kept his undefeated run in the promotion intact.

Sousa handed the future UFC contender Mauricio Ruffy the only loss of his career, rallying from a rough opening round to stop him with punches at 2:41 of round two at SFT 18.

Key moments

• Both fighters were unbeaten heading into this SFT 18 clash, and Ruffy opened strong, dropping and cutting Sousa during a wild opening round.
• Sousa answered with a knockdown of his own before the round ended, and the fight swung his way in round two.
• Sousa hurt Ruffy with a punch that backed him to the fence, followed up with more strikes, and forced the referee to step in at 2:41 of round two.
• The result stood as the only loss of Ruffy's career for years afterward; when Sousa signed with the UFC off Dana White's Contender Series in 2025, MMA outlets highlighted him as the only man to have beaten Ruffy before his UFC rise.