Killys Mota stopped previously unbeaten Mandel Nallo with leg kicks in his Bellator debut in Oct. 2019. A year later — and now fighting as a welterweight — the Brazilian talent believes he could already be two wins away from a title shot.
Mota built his 12-1 MMA record as a lightweight, with his only defeat coming in a LFA title bout in 2018. He usually needed a two-month camp to hit 155 pounds, feeling that a routine that included “starving” and “suffering” would have likely ended his career before he turned 35.
Moving up to welterweight proved to be “the best decision of my life,” the 30-year-old said in an interview with MMA Fighting, “because I felt like I was damaging my body.