Mario Pinto - News & Rumors - UFC | FOX Sports

Will have new opponent Pinto will face Felipe Franco in a heavyweight matchup at UFC London on March 21, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.

Impact Pinto was scheduled to face Michael Parkin, who withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons, but his opponent will now be Franco. Pinto has won his previous two fights at the UFC level.

3 DAYS AGO • ROTOWIRE

Fighting ranked heavyweight Pinto is scheduled to compete against Mick Parkin in a heavyweight fight at UFC London on March 21, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting.

Impact An unranked Pinto's next opponent is No. 13 in the UFC's heavyweight rankings, so a win over him would boost any non-ranked fighter. However, the English-native Parkin is no slouch, as his recent loss to Marcin Tybura is the lone blemish to what remains a stellar MMA record.

FEBRUARY 2 • ROTOWIRE

Flips script in easy victory Pinto defeated Jhonata Diniz via TKO (punches) at 4:10 of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Impact The entire world thought this was going to be a slugfest between two power punchers. So, of course, Pinto flipped the script entirely and leaned on his wrestling in what ended up being an easy win. He landed 3-of-4 takedowns in the bout. He was credited with 7:28 worth of control time in a fight that lasted a shade over nine minutes. The total strike count was 87-4 in Pinto's favor. There's a real chance this outcome was simply the result of Mario seeing a hole in Diniz's defense, but the display of even minor grappling abilities will serve Pinto well moving forward.

OCTOBER 12, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Scheduled against Diniz Pinto is scheduled to compete against Jhonata Diniz in a heavyweight fight at UFC Rio on Oct. 11, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.

Impact Back in March, Pinto strongly commenced his UFC career by knocking out Austen Lane with a single punch at UFC Vegas 103. For the former's next fight, he takes on Diniz, looking to go 2-0 not long after defeating Alvin Hines following a series of bout changes beforehand.

JULY 22, 2025 • ROTOWIRE