Rodolfo Marques is a talented bantamweight prospect, and a product of the Nova Uniao fight team. A Shooto Americas veteran, Marques captured a WOCS 60 KG Grand Prix title in April 2010 and has shown promise in both his grappling and striking games early in his career.

Marques is a talented standup fighter whose primary weapons are his leg kicks, right hook, and straight left. Standing southpaw, Marques targets the opposition’s legs with powerful low kicks, and utilizes an array of push kicks and high kicks to keep is opponent from getting in close to him. A fluid striker, Marques displays good footwork, head movement and feints. He shows good hand speed and throws an excellent straight left (quick and right down the middle) with a high degree of efficiency. Marques is an adaptable striker who has shown he can both press the action and play the role of counter puncher. He’s also capable of coming in from the right side with a quick counter right hook and lead right overhand punch. An intelligent fighter, Marques has shown excellent fight instincts early in his career and will use the threat of takedowns to open up his striking and vice versa.

Marques is a knowledgeable wrestler who shows good takedowns and strong takedown defense. He works very hard at keeping from being put down while also showing a nice double leg and the disposition to shoot as necessary. As a Nova Uniao member it shouldn’t comes as a shock to learn that Marques is an intelligent grappler who can handle himself well on the mat. He controls his opponent beautifully from the top where he possesses smooth, technically proficient guard passing abilities. He has a very strong positional presence on the ground, showing good awareness of his surroundings including consciously using the cage to his advantage to gain leverage on the mat. Marques shows good patience and does well not to force anything or over commit. He has quick transitions, and while he isn’t known for his submission game the awareness is certainly there. He’s equipped with very capable defensive submission skills and can take advantage of offensive grappling opportunities when they present themselves. Marques also utilizes his fists effectively from the top, especially with his right hand. Although he doesn’t prefer to work off his back, Marques shows very active hips and immediately looks to make things happen from his guard. He’ll work for submissions, switch to sweeps, and use both his subs and sweeps to improve his position or get the fight back up. In the end, Marques is a highly intelligent technician on the mat and strong grappler overall.