July 18, 2026 · Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Rodrigues Jr.
5-0-0 (1 NC)
UnrankedBraganca Paulista, Brazil | 29 years old
Franco
10-2-0
UnrankedSalvador, Brazil | 25 years old
Power Against Jiu-Jitsu
Levi arrives undefeated with a 100% finish rate, but his best win was overturned for a doping positive. Across from him: a BJJ black belt who went 15 minutes with an undefeated heavyweight and has never been knocked out.
O PONTO QUE DECIDE
The Black Belt Against the One-Dimensional Unbeaten
Levi Rodrigues Jr. shows up with a prospect's dream resume: 5-0, all by knockout, the Baby Monster nickname, and a reputation for never letting anyone see the second round. The problem lives in the fine print. His best career win, the finish of undefeated Freddy Vidal on the Contender Series, was overturned to a No Contest after a positive test for nandrolone, with a nine-month suspension and a fine attached. Strip that result out and what's left is a record built on purely regional opposition, every win by early impact, zero submissions, not a single fight that reached the scorecards. Levi is real power, but it's one-dimensional power, and it comes with an asterisk. Across from him stands the specific nightmare for that profile. Felipe Franco is a BJJ black belt and a judo brown belt, with four submission wins to go with six knockouts: a two-way finisher, not a one-trick hunter. He's already shared the cage with better men than Levi has ever seen. He stepped up on short notice, moving up to heavyweight, to face undefeated Mario Pinto in the UFC and went the full 15 minutes, proving his chin and his gas tank against a bigger man. The two share an opponent, Vidal, and the parallel deceives: on paper Levi finished the man who submitted Franco, but that win was erased for steroids, and Franco at least competed deep before going down in round three. The question here is simple. If it stays standing early, it's a coin-flip firefight Levi can end with one shot. The moment it touches the clinch, the mat, or the third round, everything tilts toward the black belt.
Levi Rodrigues Jr. shows up with a prospect's dream resume: 5-0, all by knockout, the Baby Monster nickname, and a reputation for never letting anyone see the second round. The problem lives in the fine print. His best career win, the finish of undefeated Freddy Vidal on the Contender Series, was overturned to a No Contest after a positive test for nandrolone, with a nine-month suspension and a fine attached. Strip that result out and what's left is a record built on purely regional opposition, every win by early impact, zero submissions, not a single fight that reached the scorecards. Levi is real power, but it's one-dimensional power, and it comes with an asterisk. Across from him stands the specific nightmare for that profile. Felipe Franco is a BJJ black belt and a judo brown belt, with four submission wins to go with six knockouts: a two-way finisher, not a one-trick hunter. He's already shared the cage with better men than Levi has ever seen. He stepped up on short notice, moving up to heavyweight, to face undefeated Mario Pinto in the UFC and went the full 15 minutes, proving his chin and his gas tank against a bigger man. The two share an opponent, Vidal, and the parallel deceives: on paper Levi finished the man who submitted Franco, but that win was erased for steroids, and Franco at least competed deep before going down in round three. The question here is simple. If it stays standing early, it's a coin-flip firefight Levi can end with one shot. The moment it touches the clinch, the mat, or the third round, everything tilts toward the black belt.
Tale of the Tape
Franco is four years younger
Franco is slightly taller
Franco's reach was not disclosed. Levi has long range for the division
The biggest technical gap in the fight. Levi has never submitted anyone and has no ground game on record
Current Form
Levi Rodrigues Jr.
Contender Series. Hurt Vidal early, took top position and finished with ground-and-pound in round 1. Earned the contract, but the result was overturned to a No Contest after a positive test for nandrolone, with a nine-month suspension and a fine.
No Contest (orig. TKO R1)LFA 216. Clean first-round knockout, another chapter in the finisher's record. Brazilian regional level.
KO/TKO R1MMA University 1. Held on into round 3 and closed the show with a stoppage early in the third. Rare proof he can go a little deeper before it ends.
TKO R3LFA 159. Knockout in the second round. Same power, regional opposition.
KO/TKO R2LFA 146. Flattened his opponent in the first round. The Baby Monster pattern: early impact, short fight.
KO/TKO R1On paper, perfect momentum: undefeated, 100% finish rate, all early. In practice, the momentum is frozen. The win that earned him the contract, over Vidal on the Contender Series, was overturned for doping (nandrolone) and he served a suspension. His record hasn't advanced cleanly since, and he debuts in the UFC needing to prove the power and the physicality translate without chemical help. The wins look great on the finishing reel, but the opposition was all regional. It's genuine hype, with an open question underneath.
Felipe Franco
UFC debut, on short notice and moving up to heavyweight against undefeated Mario Pinto (11-0). Went the full 15 minutes and lost a unanimous decision (29-28 across the board). Showed chin and cardio against a bigger man.
Unanimous DecisionMamute Fight Champion 10. Back at his natural weight, he finished with a rear-naked choke in round 1. A reminder of the black-belt game.
Submission (RNC) R1Coliseu Extreme Fight 14. Lightning knockout, 32 seconds into round 1. The other side of the arsenal: heavy hands, not just the mat.
KO/TKO R1Contender Series. Submitted by Vidal in round 3, the same Vidal that Levi dominated before that result was voided for doping. He competed deep before going down.
Submission R3Qualify Combat 14. Submission in the first round. A BJJ black belt and judo brown belt, with four career submission wins.
Submission R1Choppy momentum, but resilient. Franco is coming off a UFC-debut loss, but the context changes everything: he took the fight on short notice and moving up to heavyweight, against undefeated Mario Pinto (11-0), and still went the full 15 minutes to a decision. Back at his natural 205, he returns to the ground where he's more complete. He's 3-2 over his last five, and both losses came to undefeated men (Vidal and Pinto). He's never been knocked out in 12 fights. A live underdog with a two-way game and a proven chin.
Level of Competition
The shared opponent is Freddy Vidal, and the parallel deceives. On paper, Levi came out ahead: he dominated Vidal and finished him with ground-and-pound in round one on the Contender Series, while Franco was submitted by the same Vidal in round three. Except Levi's win was overturned to a No Contest after the positive nandrolone test. So Levi's apparent edge over the common foe was built on steroids and officially erased. What's left is an undefeated regional-level Brazilian against a black belt who, even in defeat, competed deep with Vidal and then went the distance with an undefeated heavyweight in the UFC. Franco faced better people, even if he lost to the better ones.
Statistical Comparison
Sig. Strikes por Minuto
Tiny samples for both. Franco's number comes from a grindy heavyweight decision, not from his finishing style
Precisão de Strikes (%)
Levi's 79% comes off very few strikes attempted. A real number, a tiny sample
Strikes Absorvidos/Min
Both absorb little in the data we have, but neither has been tested by an elite striker
Defesa de Strikes (%)
Single-fight data, unreliable for both
Takedowns por 15 Min
Franco (BJJ black belt, judo brown belt) showed takedown intent in his debut. Levi has never pulled the fight to the mat
Precisão de Takedown (%)
Franco attempted takedowns against Pinto but converted none in that fight. No data on Levi
Defesa de Takedown (%)
Both defended well in the small sample that exists, but neither has faced a real wrestler
Submissões por 15 Min
The number reads zero because it comes from a single decision. In his career, Franco has four submission wins and is a BJJ black belt. Levi has zero
Rodrigues Jr. leads in 4 categories · Franco leads in 2
Win & Loss Distribution
Wins
KO/TKO
Submission
Decision
Both men are pure finishers, not a single decision between the two careers. The difference is the variety. Levi is one-lane: 5 wins, 5 by knockout, zero submissions, always by impact. Franco has 10 wins split into 6 knockouts and 4 submissions, and most came early too. The detail that matters: Franco's four submissions are exactly the weapon Levi has never had to defend.
Losses
KO/TKO
Submission
Decision
Small samples on both sides, so caution is due. Levi is undefeated: he has never lost, so there's no data at all on how he goes down. That can be strength (an intact chin) or an unknown (he's never shown how he reacts to adversity). Franco has just 2 losses, but both are telling: one submission (Vidal, in round 3) and one decision (Pinto, at heavyweight, on short notice). He's never been knocked out in 12 fights, and both losses came to undefeated men. Translation: Franco tends to lose by attrition or grappling against better people, not by a single shot. And Levi still hasn't shown what he does when the fight doesn't end early.
Skills Profile
Rodrigues Jr.
vs
Franco
Poder de Nocaute
Even
Both men knock people out. Levi has 100% of his wins by KO, all early. Franco has six knockouts, including a 32-second one. Even power, a slight aura edge to the unbeaten man.
Striking em Distância
+2 Rodrigues Jr.
Levi is the longer striker with a Muay Thai base, more reach and more work at range. This is his turf.
Grappling e Clinch
+4 Franco
The gap that decides it. Franco is a BJJ black belt and judo brown belt with four submissions. Levi has never submitted anyone and never defended a black belt. A glaring difference.
Experiência
+2 Franco
Franco has 12 fights, has already gone to the cards in the UFC and competed with undefeated men. Levi has six fights, never past round 3, and is coming off a doping suspension.
Cardio (3 rounds)
+3 Franco
Franco went the full 15 minutes against an undefeated heavyweight. Levi has never seen deep water: all his fights end early, and deep-round cardio is new territory.
Defesa de Striking
+1 Franco
Franco has never been knocked out in 12 fights and weathered a heavyweight's power. Levi's chin is intact, but undefeated and never truly tested.
Levi wins the first few minutes on power and reach, and one shot from him can settle the night. Franco wins everything that comes after: the black-belt ground game, the deep-water experience, and a chin that has never failed in 12 fights. The question isn't who's more dangerous early. It's whether Levi lands clean before the fight touches the clinch, the mat or the third round, where the math flips to the black belt.
Final Prediction
The Thesis
The thesis is: Felipe Franco wins because he's the more complete and more experienced fighter, a BJJ black belt and judo brown belt with a two-way game (six knockouts and four submissions) against a one-dimensional knockout artist who has never defended a submission or been past the third round; because the common opponent, Vidal, exposes the hype gap once you remember Levi's win was voided for steroids while Franco competed deep with the same man; and because Franco has already proven chin and deep-water cardio (15 minutes with undefeated heavyweight Pinto, never knocked out in 12 fights), while Levi's power and gas tank have never been tested clean or beyond round 3.
The thesis is: Felipe Franco wins because he's the more complete and more experienced fighter, a BJJ black belt and judo brown belt with a two-way game (six knockouts and four submissions) against a one-dimensional knockout artist who has never defended a submission or been past the third round; because the common opponent, Vidal, exposes the hype gap once you remember Levi's win was voided for steroids while Franco competed deep with the same man; and because Franco has already proven chin and deep-water cardio (15 minutes with undefeated heavyweight Pinto, never knocked out in 12 fights), while Levi's power and gas tank have never been tested clean or beyond round 3.
The path is Franco weathering Levi's early explosion, dragging the fight into the clinch, the mat or the later rounds, and settling it where his experience and jiu-jitsu rule. It breaks down if Levi lands his one-shot power early, before the fight reaches the black belt's territory.
Conviction
Conviction 5 because the data is honestly thin on both regional-level men, tiny samples with no reliable advanced stats, and this is very close to a coin-flip. But the lean is more than stats-and-odds: it rests on a concrete style clash (a BJJ black belt against a striker with no ground game at all), a documented integrity flag on the favorite (his best win voided for nandrolone), a shared opponent, and a real experience-and-durability edge (Franco went 15 minutes with an undefeated heavyweight; Levi has never seen deep water). It's a contrarian call by design: the books have Levi around, but that price rests on an undefeated-knockout aura that a voided doping win and a one-dimensional profile don't fully earn. The cap at 5 is honest: two obscure fighters, a small sample, and Levi's one-shot power can end it before any of this matters.
What Breaks This Pick
- 01
If Levi lands clean early and finishes Franco (who has never been knocked out), the grappling-and-experience thesis never gets to happen.
- 02
If the fight stays standing all three rounds, Levi's reach and power make it a coin-flip firefight, not Franco's clear edge.
- 03
If the top-position ground-and-pound Levi showed against Vidal neutralizes Franco's guard instead of walking into submissions, the ground stops being the underdog's edge.
- 04
If the UFC-debut loss and the 0-2 record against step-up opposition mean Franco simply isn't good enough at this level, the unbeaten man is unbeaten for a reason.
Underdog Path
Here the underdog of the read is the market favorite himself. Levi sits around for a reason: he hits like a truck and finishes everyone early. He doesn't need a long fight, he needs one clean shot in the first two rounds, before Franco can impose the grappling. If he keeps it standing, uses his reach to hold distance and lands the heavy hand, Franco (who has never been knocked out, but here faces the biggest power of his career at 205) can be the one who gets caught. It's the script of every Levi win: early impact, short fight.
Required Conditions
- Keep the fight standing and avoid the clinch and the mat, where Franco's jiu-jitsu lives
- Land the power shot early, in the first two rounds, before deep water
- Use the longer reach to hold distance and make Franco respect the hands
- Don't burn the gas tank or get reckless if the early finish doesn't come
— Precedent: Levi's own record: 5 wins, all by knockout, a 100% finish rate and most in the first round. Power is the great equalizer, and one clean shot can void every other advantage his opponent holds. The caveat is that this precedent is regional-level and part of it came with doping.
Verdict
Winner
Felipe Franco
Method
Submission
Most Likely
- 01
Winner (underdog)
Felipe Franco
The two-way black belt, more experienced and with a proven chin, at plus money, is where the value sits. The market overrates Levi's unbeaten aura and ignores the doping-voided win and the glaring ground-game gap. Moderate stake. Breaks if Levi lands his power early.
- 02
Method (underdog)
Franco by submission
It exploits Levi's exact hole: he's never defended a BJJ black belt and has no ground game. Franco just landed a rear-naked choke in February. Method lines aren't posted for this prelim, so no reliable odds. Breaks if the fight stays standing the whole way.
- 03
How it ends
Fight ends before the scorecards
Both men are pure finishers, not one decision between the two careers and a very high finish rate. Someone ends it. No line posted for this prelim, so no odds. Breaks only if it turns into a tactical, stalled standup, which cuts against both profiles.
Most Likely Outcome
Felipe Franco, moderate stake
The plus-money underdog is where the value lives, given the style clash (black-belt jiu-jitsu against zero ground game) and a favorite whose resume was hollowed out by doping. Moderate stake because it's a coin-flip on thin data, and Levi's one-shot power keeps the early-knockout risk alive the whole way.
Stats That Matter
0
career submissions for Levi, against Franco's four. It's the biggest gap in the fight, and the unbeaten man has never defended a BJJ black belt
Franco is a BJJ black belt and judo brown belt
NC
Levi's best win, the Vidal finish on the Contender Series, was overturned for doping (nandrolone)
The same Vidal submitted Franco in round 3, but Levi's edge was erased
15
minutes Franco spent with an undefeated heavyweight (Pinto), going to the cards. Levi has never been past round 3
Deep water: Franco's experience, new territory for Levi
The Trap
Levi by R1 knockout
The temptation is to back the undefeated Baby Monster to run Franco over early, the way he did on the regional scene. The trap is ignoring two things. First, Franco has never been knocked out in 12 fights and just weathered 15 minutes with an undefeated heavyweight: that's not a chin that cracks easily. Second, Levi's knockout resume was built on regional opposition, and his one meaningful win was voided for doping. Betting Levi by R1 KO pays, but it assumes the early blitz works against someone far more durable than anyone he's flattened. If the shot doesn't land early, the math flips to the black belt.
The temptation is to back the undefeated Baby Monster to run Franco over early, the way he did on the regional scene. The trap is ignoring two things. First, Franco has never been knocked out in 12 fights and just weathered 15 minutes with an undefeated heavyweight: that's not a chin that cracks easily. Second, Levi's knockout resume was built on regional opposition, and his one meaningful win was voided for doping. Betting Levi by R1 KO pays, but it assumes the early blitz works against someone far more durable than anyone he's flattened. If the shot doesn't land early, the math flips to the black belt.
COLISEUM - Statistical and tactical analysis. Data sourced from ufcstats.com and public sources.
Levi "Baby Monster" Rodrigues Jr. vs Felipe "Negao" Franco | UFC Fight Night: du Plessis vs Usman | July 18, 2026 | Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
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