Danilo Marques: No Substitute for Experience

Danilo Marques views experience as his most valuable teacher.

“I’ve always learned much more from my losses,” the Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran told Sherdog.com. “We always learn in training, of course, but I learned most from my five losses in MMA. I’m 37, and I’ve been on this path for almost a decade. I’ve trained with many of the greatest talents in MMA and jiu-jitsu.”

Marques will once again put those lessons into practice in the Professional Fighters League when he takes on Satoshi Ishii as part of the PFL 8 undercard on Friday inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Kings MMA rep finds himself on the rebound, as he saw his three-fight winning streak end and his playoff aspirations crushed in a first-round knockout loss to Marcelo Nunes on June 16.

Ishii, meanwhile, has not competed in the PFL in nearly four years. The 36-year-old Olympic gold medalist returns to the organization on the heels of back-to-back victories. Ishii last appeared in June 2022, when the decorated Japanese judoka needed just 40 seconds to bury Charlie Miler with punches at a Fight Nation Championship event.

“My team and I know Satoshi very well,” Marques said. “He’s even trained at Kings MMA. He’s very experienced. He’s fought a long list of opponents, but I don’t think he’s the same fighter he used to be. I live in the present. We’ve studied his most recent bouts to put together the best strategy. It’s a great opportunity to face a big name.”

Marques, who turns 38 in December, won his first two fights in the Professional Fighters League, as he submitted Ras Hylton with a rear-naked choke on the PFL Challenger Series in February and laid claim to a unanimous decision over Yorgan De Castro on April 7. He hopes to continue his relationship with the company moving forward.

“I don’t think too far ahead, but with a win, I’d like to stick with the PFL,” Marques said. “They’ve been treating me very well. It was the best change in my life, from the way they treat me to the pay.”

The move to the PFL also allowed Marques to shift gears, from 205 pounds to heavyweight.

“It’s something I’d been wanting to do for some time,” he said. “There are better opportunities for me as a heavyweight.”