Sherdog Prospect Watch: Reinaldo Ekson

After making his first promotional appearance at PFL Challenger Series, Reinaldo Ekson is ready for his big-stage debut at PFL 5, where his takedown defense will be tested by former NCAA Division I wrestling champion Bubba Jenkins in a featherweight clash. The Pitbull Brothers representative is making his Professional Fighters League 2022 regular season debut with an 18-5 record, after stepping on short notice to replace the injured Saba Bolaghi. Ekson has won seven of his last eight assignments and is currently riding a four-bout winning streak. The combined record of his adversaries is 149-112-2, a .570 winning percentage.

Former EFC Global titleholder Ekson is a complete fighter who can comfortably compete on the feet or the canvas. He boasts a 56% finishing rate that includes three knockouts and seven submission wins. In victory, Ekson’s fights have gone the distance eight times. Only three people have managed to stop Ekson so far as the Brazilian tapped twice in addition to conceding an early knockout defeat.

Ekson’s first professional mixed martial arts fight went down on Aug. 16, 2012, when he quickly submitted Caio Felipe with a guillotine choke at their Caico Fight Night encounter. In his subsequent assignment, Ekson suffered the harshest loss of his career, a head-kick knockout that halted the contest 60 seconds out of the gate. Ekson alternated results in his next fights, but the experience helped him score his first winning streak. Starting with his win against Jackson Gismont at Fatal Fighting MMA 3, Ekson piled up seven consecutive positive results before Willian Cilli snapped his momentum at XFC International 7 in November 2014.



Ekson bounced back by delivering a knockout finish at the expense of Ayoub Lafnouch at Showfight 33 and kept wining on the Brazilian regional scene. The turning point of his career was when he accepted to face the then EFC Global 145-pound champion Tumisnag Madiba at EFC 79. Ekson was looking to bounce back after dropping a decision to Marcelo Marques, and he succeeded, forcing Madiba to tap to a guillotine choke 35 seconds into the second period. The Brazilian notched two title defenses following submission victories over Igeu Kabesa and August Kayambala at EFC 86 and EFC 91, respectively.



Ekson’s good results caught the attention of PFL scouts. In his latest appearance, Ekson headlined the PFL Challenger Series 4 event, where he locked horns with Mike Barnett. The pair put on an uneventful clash shaken only by Ekson’s guillotine choke attempt in the second frame. Barnett didn’t tap, but Ekson did enough to outsmart his foe for the remaining time. Ultimately, all three judges rewarded Ekson with 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 scorecards. Still, his unanimous decision victory wasn’t enough to pick up a contract that enough. Ekson will now have to prove that he belongs in the big leagues as he faces Jenkins.