There is a path, and Sean Mora wants to follow it.
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.
“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.”
To this day, Freedom Fighters is still the gym Mora calls home – 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.
“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.”
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.
The victory proved, by his estimation, that it’s finally time for a call-up.
“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.”
