Born in Brazil but training out of Missouri, Francisco France is a light heavyweight prospect and member of American Top Team. He's a BJJ and judo black belt, who does enter the sport as a respected grappler. A two-time Pan-Am Champion, two-time Brazilian State Champion, and former Brazilian National Champion, France is a strong BJJ practitioner and current head Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor at American Top Team's Missouri affiliate.

France is a grappler first and foremost, and not surprisingly he does work hard at trying to get the fight to the ground. A judo blackbelt, France is most effective when he's able to get close to his opponent and work his takedowns and trips. Although he isn't overpowering with his takedowns, France has worked closely with Olympian Ben Askren in the past and will need to continue doing so, if he wishes to fully take advantage of his BJJ skills which are very good. A high level black belt jiu jitsu player, France is very comfortable fighting from any position on the mat. He's an active guard player who's always working for sweeps and submissions off his back, and his technical proficiency is such that his opponent always needs to be on guard. France shows smooth transitions and nice guard passing abilities from the top. He moves around very well on the ground, never forces anything, and is able to effortlessly shift between positions. He also exhibits excellent submission awareness - only needing a slight opening to lock in and finish his attempts. France's pure BJJ abilities are very good and the biggest question in his overall grappling repertoire will be what level he can get his takedowns to.

France likes using his kicks when standing (to the leg and body), but he's still primarily a BJJ stylist and his standup remains green. His striking is predominantly used in setting up takedown attempts, as France tries to avoid the standup and keep away from exchanging on his feet. France's approach to his striking is pretty straight forward, and technically he's very raw. He'll need to put some significant work into his standup while also focusing on his conditioning - as he gassed early, and very badly in his loss to Chris Davis.