Lima made a name for himself fighting on his home country of Brazil. With an undefeated professional record, Lima surprised when defeated the heavy favorite and former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho.

After his win against Filho, Lima was signed by Strikeforce. He made his debut on September 10, 2011 against Mike Kyle at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, losing the fight via unanimous decision.

Following his debut defeat, Lima was released from Strikeforce. He fought for the Shooto Brazil light heavyweight championship at Shooto Brazil 29 on April 26, 2012 against Carlos Eduardo, losing the fight via knockout in the second round.

On February 26, 2014 it was revealed that Marcos de Lima was selected to be a participant on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3. Lima defeated Thiago dos Santos via submission to move into the Ultimate Fighterhouse, and become an official cast member.

Episode 2 Rogério de Lima def. Thiago Santos by Submission (guillotine) in Round 1

Episode 10 Rogério de Lima  def. Jollyson Francino by Unanimous Decision

Episode 11 Antônio Carlos Júnior  def. Rogério de Lima by Submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 1.

Lima was selected as the first pick (first overall) of coach Chael Sonnen to be a part of Team Sonnen. In his second Heavyweight fight of the season, Lima was selected to fight Jollyson Francisco and won via unanimous decision. He was then scheduled to face Antônio Carlos Júnior for a spot in the final against Vitor Miranda. He was defeated by submission (rear-naked choke).

Lima made his UFC debut on May 31, 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale against Richardson Moreira. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

In his second bout for the promotion, Lima faced Igor Pokrajac in the light heavyweight division on December 20, 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

He was briefly linked to a bout with Nikita Krylov on June 20, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 69. However, the pairing was booked to take place a week later at UFC Fight Night 70.  Subsequently, Lima was removed from the card on June 19, after visa issues restricted his entry to the United States. The bout with Krylov eventually took place on August 23, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 74, with Lima losing by way of submission due to a rear naked choke in the first round.

De Lima next faced Clint Hester on April 23, 2016 at UFC 197. He won the one sided fight via submission in the first round.

De Lima was briefly linked to a bout with Gian Villante on November 12, 2016 at UFC 205. However, Villante pulled out of the fight on September 21 citing injury and the bout was scrapped. Subsequently, De Lima was quickly rescheduled and faced promotional newcomer Gadzhimurad Antigulov the following week at UFC Fight Night 100. He was quickly submitted in the first round.

De Lima next faced Jeremy Kimball at UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Peña on January 28, 2017. At the weigh-ins, de Lima came in at 209.5 lbs, over the light heavyweight limit of 206 lbs. As a result, de Lima was fined 20% of his purse, which went to Kimball and the bout proceeded as scheduled at catchweight. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

De Lima next faced Ovince Saint Preux on April 22, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 108. At the weigh ins, de Lima weighed in at 210 pounds, 4 pounds over the light heavyweight limit of 206. This was the second time consecutively de Lima missed weight. As a result, he was fined 30% of his fight purse which will go to Saint Preux. The bout proceeded as a catchweight. He lost the fight via submission in the second round.

De Lima was expected to face Saparbek Safarov on September 2, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 115. Before the weigh ins, the UFC announced that De Lima had failed an out-of-competition drug screening, testing positive for the banned Anabolic steroids. As a result, the bout was cancelled. On April 24, 2018 de Lima was cleared of intentional use of Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) by USADA, where de Lima was believed to had taken tainted supplement which contained hydrochlorothiazide and anastrozole from the compounding pharmacies in Brazil. He is eligible to compete immediately as of April 24, 2018.

De Lima faced Ruslan Magomedov on November 3, 2018 at UFC 230. However, it was reported on October 24, 2018 that he pulled out from the event due to visa issues and he was replaced by Adam Wieczorek. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

De Lima faced Stefan Struve on February 23, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 3. He lost the fight via submission in the second round.