Bruno Fontes bears a far more profound nickname than most. “Guerra” means “war” in Portuguese.
Fontes turned to martial arts at a young age as a means to protect himself, his single mother and his siblings. It was a motivation to which virtually all men can relate.
“I started training muay thai. I started from zero,” Fontes said. “I met an MMA fighter. My dream had been to be a muay thai grandmaster, but I saw the versatility in MMA. From my point of view, the more you learn about fighting, the safer you are. I became a fan of that fighter and chose to follow in his footsteps. That’s when I started jiu-jitsu. I didn’t like it then. I did it out of necessity. We saw it as men grabbing each other. I kept the martial arts separate at first, but as I started to understand jiu-jitsu, I was able to unify ground and standup fighting. It made me develop the confidence that I could deal with any martial art. MMA brings the assurance that you can be just as good on the feet, on the ground and in between. That’s why it’s the dominant art.
“To be in it and evolve in it, it’s necessary to have a strong mindset, to be studious and a hard worker,” he added. “It’s literally a war to get to the top of the sport. I fell in love with the idea of facing off against the best in the world. The passion I have for the sport made me leave my job, my college and my family behind so I could live my dream of fighting the best warriors in the world. Today, I remain equally determined. I’m already living my dream. It’s a great feeling.”
A Diadema, Brazil, native, Fontes made his professional debut at an Action Fight show on April 29, 2018 and proceeded to rattle off five consecutive finishes, marking himself as one of the country’s most promising young talents. He laid claim to the vacant Jungle Fight featherweight championship with a five-round unanimous decision over Caique Costa in September 2022, then retained it with a fifth-round rear-naked choke submission of Willian Souza Guadalupe some three months later. Soon after, representatives from Bellator MMA contacted his manager.
“I ran around the house,” Fontes said. “I couldn’t believe it. My happiness was out of this world. My dream was to be among the best, and it’s happening now. I’ll be in one of the world’s top organizations. All my work is paying off. I’ll be able to show my warrior spirit. It’s very rewarding. If I made it, anyone can. It’s just a matter of putting in the hard work. Your time will come.”
Fontes, now 7-0, draws his first assignment in the organization at Bellator Champions Series Paris, where he has been booked opposite Asael Adjoudj on the undercard this Friday at Accor Arena in Paris. The once-beaten Adjoudj enters the cage on a seven-fight winning streak. The SBG Ireland rep last fought on Sept. 23, when he was awarded a unanimous verdict over Ibrahim Al-Faqih Hassan at Bellator 299.
“I’ve watched several of his videos in Bellator,” Fontes said. “He’s a high-quality fighter, but I train to demolish high-quality fighters. It will be a challenge. I’m happy and ready. He doesn’t scare me. It will be an interesting fight. He’s from Conor McGregor’s academy, and he’ll be seeing someone very much like Conor in front of him. People like to say I’m the Brazilian Conor McGregor. It’s going to be a fun fight. “This fight will mark a major change in my life,” he added. “It’s all or nothing. It’s kill or die, but I’m not going there to die. I’m going there to kill. I hope he’s well-trained. I’m going to give my best performance. I respect him. I know ours is a hard job, but this moment is mine.”
Ahead of his most significant opportunity to date, Fontes brims with confidence.
“This is my time,” he said. “I’m looking forward to enjoying the fruits of my work. If you want peace in your life, you must go to war to earn it. I hope to be able to help my friends and family back now that I’ll be securing my financial future. I’m very motivated to come to Bellator and make history by hurting anyone who gets in my way.”