The Beaten Path: Prospect Julio Cesar Neves Talks Softly but Carries a Big Kick

It’s not just the steak. It’s the sizzle. 

Well, most of the time. You can ignore the presentation—the sizzle, if you will—but if you’re going to do that, you better have a pretty exceptional steak.

Julio Cesar Neves Jr. is hoping he won't need a silver platter or creamed spinach to distinguish his main course. And he’s off to a pretty good start on that front. Despite being only 21 years old, the Brazilian featherweight prospect is already 30-0 as a pro.

And at Bellator 137, “Morceguinho” (“little bat” in Portuguese) will try to run his record to 3-0 in MMA’s second-most-prominent promotion when he faces another solid up-and-comer in Jordan Parsons.

So why haven’t more people heard of this guy?

“I don’t know why my name doesn’t come up,” Neves said through an interpreter in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. “I’m not bothered about that. I don’t like to look to the sides.”

Maybe his relatively low profile is wrapped up in an apparent recalcitrance toward self-promotion. Maybe the language barrier has something to do with it. Maybe it's his newness to the American stage. Maybe it has to do with the level of competition he’s faced to date (it’s not very high).

But he sure has done plenty against the fighters he’s faced thus far. Number of times he’s gone the distance in those 30 bouts? Three. The number of times he’s gotten a knockout? Nineteen. The number of times a knockout has come by way of flying knee? Six. That’s right: He has twice as many flying-knee knockouts as he does decisions.

“I’m very unorthodox,” Neves said. “The other fighter never knows what to expect.”

It’s true. Neves brings a strange, exceptionally fluid brand of fast-twitch stand-up to the cage. It’s grounded in muay thai, but one detects notes of other arts therein, things like karate and capoeira. He once knocked a guy out with a cartwheel kick.

He uses his rangy 5’8” frame to devastating effect and blends it all together as only a longtime practitioner can. Stand-up is clearly his forte—and for the record, he looks potentially very vulnerable to an American-style wrestler—but his offensive grappling is competent, with nine submissions to his name. 

His creativity and athleticism seem natural, but it’s never that easy. So it’s not a surprise to learn that Neves has been working at it since a young age (and fighting professionally in Brazil since age 16). To hear him tell it, it was all a very no-frills experience, fighting a very easy sort of profession.

“The difference between me and all the other fighters is the different techniques I use. I use them better than anyone else,” he said. “My older brother is also a fighter. So I came to the gym. They thought I was a talented kid… It all came naturally. I went into tournaments with a couple guys from the gym.”

So far, so good in Bellator. Though it seems the promotion is bringing the young man along slowly, he still has two knockouts in two efforts under those lights, including a first-round, spinning-back-kick win over solid journeyman Poppies Martinez.

“The level is definitely higher in Bellator,” he said. “But I only have fought two fights, so it’s hard to evaluate.”

Neves, who said he bought a car for his family with his new money, faces a no-joke fighter (with a wrestling base) in Parsons. It could be one of the toughest tests of his career. Neves, as you might expect, is keeping a pretty even keel.

“I think I can fight anyone in the world,” he said. “I’m training hard in every aspect. I see [Parsons] as a very good opponent, very tough and talented. I want to play the cards. No rush.”

The Beaten Path is Bleacher Report's series on MMA prospects. For the previous interview in the series, click here. All quotes obtained firsthand. Scott Harris covers MMA prospects and other topics for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter if you feel so inclined.