There is a path, and Sean Mora wants to follow it.<\/p>\n
Born in Cuba, Mora (7-1) found his way to Miami in 2019, after living in Brazil, in an effort to bolster his competitive amateur wrestling career with greater resources. Before long, he found Freedom Fighters, a love for striking, fellow Hispanic athletes, and a new dream.<\/p>\n
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“In the beginning, I was really sure I was going to be a good wrestler,” Mora recently told MMA Junkie through a Spanish-language interpreter. “When I was in Brazil, I was trying to do some wrestling there and make some money. They told me I can make more money doing MMA than wrestling. So I started training and thinking about it. I was thinking about coming to the U.S. to train like two years after I made my debut.”<\/p>\n
To this day, Freedom Fighters is still the gym Mora calls home \u2013 and for good reason. Under coach Manolo Lopez, the same trainer responsible for the likes of Mora’s countryman Yoel Romero and others, Mora has refined his skills to build a 7-1 professional record.<\/p>\n
“I’m a loyal person, so I’m going to be with my team always,” Mora said. “My head coach was Yoel Romero’s head coach before. I took that example. So I’m trying to be the most close to what Yoel Romero is. I went to the same gym in Cuba, and I went to the same gym here. This is the reason I’m staying with them, also. My coach has had a lot of Cuban fighters like Jorge Masvidal, Gustavo Balart, Yoel Romero, and Gustavo Trujillo.”<\/p>\n
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Mora, 29, has won four fights in a row, with his most recent three all finishes. In July, he picked up the biggest win of his career: a CFFC title-clinching knockout over Mark Grey in 66 seconds.<\/p>\n
The victory proved, by his estimation, that it’s finally time for a call-up.<\/p>\n
“I feel grateful and happy,” Mora said. “I’m not arrogant. I’m just confident in my work. I’m ready for the next level. … I’ve always known I’m going to be a UFC fighter. I’m a champion now, which has made me more confident to get the title one day for the UFC. … 100 percent, it’s time. … I want the matchmakers from the UFC to know I’m ready for a fight at 135 or 125. I’m ready.”<\/p>\n