Yan Cabral is a Nova Uniao black belt and welterweight prospect in the sport of mixed martial arts. A high level BJJ practitioner, Cabral was a two-time runner up at the European BJJ Championships and has been a regular competitor at the Mundials and Brazilian Nationals in the past. Before joining Nova Uniao, Cabral trained under the legendary Carlson Gracie and enters the sport with legitimate black belt level jiu jitsu skills and the backing of one of the top grappling teams in all of Brazil.

Cabral is a high level jiu jitsu stylist who's definitely most dangerous when he's able to take the fight to the mat. He isn't an overpowering wrestler who explodes through opponents with double legs, but Cabral works hard for his takedowns and has proven particularly effective from the clinch and in close (with bodylocks, trips etc, see bouts with Jacquier, Petroutsos, Ersen, and Kono below). Cabral has also displayed a good sprawl and his overall wrestling game is encouraging, although it should be noted that he's yet to face a great wrestler through his first eight fights. Once he has his opponents on the ground, Cabral is able to utilize the most dangerous part of his game which is his BJJ. Cabral possesses a very sound, technical grappling game as he displays excellent ground control, high level transitions and beautiful guard passing abilities. Cabral's ground skills aren't strictly limited to what he can do from the top and he is very comfortable fighting off his back showing good sweeps, good submissions and dangerous guard game overall. Cabral is quick and shifty on the ground, great at taking his opponents' backs, and is effortlessly able to transition between positions (see bout with Catalin Ersen). Cabral's BJJ game has translated over very successfully to the sport of mixed martial arts, where he has gone on to win the first eight fights of his career all via submission. To compliment his jiu jitsu abilities Carbral has also proven he's not shy about using his fists on the ground, although he does use his ground and pound more so in an effort to open up submission or guard passing opportunities then in an attempt to try and finish the fight. Overall, Cabral's MMA ground game has come together very nicely and his technical skills seem to be making a smooth transition to the sport.

Cabral is still green on his feet, but will come forward and stand and trade when he needs to. He shows good instincts and has proven he will let his hands go, uses his kicks well and looks to take the thai plum when he gets the opportunity to. Cabral is particularly impressive with his kicks, displaying strong leg kicks and quick high kicks and does well to mix up his strikes on his feet. He has not shown much power in his standup and does tend to come forward with his head straight up, and will need to work on his head movement, footwork and technical striking skills going forward.