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Thales Leites

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Thales Leites
BornThales Leites Lourenço
(1981-09-06) 6 September 1981 (age 43)
Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
DivisionMiddleweight
Reach78 in (198 cm)[1]
StyleBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai
TeamNova União
Rank3rd degree[2] black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Welton Ribeiro[3]
Years active2003–2018 (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total37
Wins28
By knockout4
By submission15
By decision9
Losses9
By knockout1
By submission1
By decision7
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Thales Leites Lourenço[4] (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈtaliʒ ˈlejtʃiʃ]; born 6 September 1981) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist best known for competing in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.[5]

Mixed martial arts career

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Early career

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Leites made his mixed martial arts debut at Shooto Brazil in 2003, defeating Felipe Arinelli by arm-triangle choke submission. Leites would win his next two fights in Vitória before making his debut in the United States in Hawaii's Rumble on the Rock promotion in 2005, where he defeated Adam Roland in his fourth consecutive mixed martial arts victory.

After a successful outing in the U.S., Leites returned to Brazil to fight Gustavo Machado, who was coming off two wins in the Japanese Pancrase organization. Leites defeated the more experienced Machado by submission in the third round, and was invited back to Rumble on the Rock to fight Hawaiian Ronald Jhun in September. Despite fighting a hometown favorite, Leites notched his sixth victory, defeating Jhun by technical knockout in the later half of the fight.

Although Leites held an unblemished record, he did not gain much mainstream exposure until his bouts with Osami Shibuya in Japan's MARS promotion, and Jose Landi-Jons in Brazil's Jungle Fight promotion. In both fights, Leites was much less experienced than his opponents; about Landi-Jons, Leites admitted, "He was already famous when I was not even interested" in mixed martial arts.[6] Despite the experience disparity, Leites defeated both opponents, scoring a unanimous decision over Shibuya, and submitting Landi-Jons with an arm-triangle choke, increasing Leites' professional record to 9–0.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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In September 2006, it was announced that Leites would make his UFC debut against veteran middleweight Nate Marquardt at Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter. However, due to issues with his travel documentation, Leites was not able to compete at the event as planned.

Leites made his debut at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale, where he lost a unanimous decision to Danish kickboxer Martin Kampmann.

In his next fight, at UFC 69, he defeated The Ultimate Fighter 4 contestant Pete Sell. Leites next earned a submission victory over Floyd Sword at The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale by arm-triangle choke. He was then scheduled to fight Ryan Jensen at UFC 74.[7] Leites accepted the fight after Travis Lutter, Jensen's original opponent, was forced to withdraw from the event.[8] Leites defeated Jensen by armbar submission in the first round, raising his UFC record to 3 wins, 1 loss.

Leites was scheduled to fight Nate Marquardt at UFC 81, but withdrew from the bout after breaking his hand in training. Leites finally fought Marquardt at UFC 85, winning by a controversial split decision due to point deductions in the 2nd and 3rd rounds to Marquardt.

On the undercard of UFC 90 Leites was able to earn a submission victory over heavy-handed Drew McFedries. This win would prove to be valuable as Leites was able to earn number one contendership to the UFC middleweight title against current champion Anderson Silva on UFC 97 in Montreal. Leites was defeated by Silva via unanimous decision in what many consider to be the worst fight in UFC history.[9] On his return to the octagon, Leites was defeated again via a controversial split decision against Italian Alessio Sakara. The fight caused a lot of booing which started during the first round and continued throughout the fight. The lack of action during the fight at one point caused referee Marc Goddard to state to the fighters that Mixed Martial Arts was a "contact sport".[10]

Following the loss, Leites, along with George Roop and Tamdan McCrory, were cut from the UFC. Just days later, Dana White revealed to Yahoo Sports his unawareness of McCrory and Leites' release from the UFC and expressed his intentions to reverse those actions.[11] Shortly after, White decided not to reverse the decisions.

Post-UFC

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Leites earned a decision victory over Dean Lister at MFC 23 on 4 December 2009, a submission victory over Rico Washington at Bitetti Combat MMA 6 on 25 February 2010, and a submission victory over Jesse Taylor at MFC 25 on 7 May 2010.

He was scheduled to face Falaniko Vitale on 14 August 2010, in California, but instead faced Matt Horwich at the event[12] and suffered the first submission loss of his career.

In the Superior Challenge promotion, Leites submitted top European Middleweight Tor Troéng at Superior Challenge 6 on 29 October 2010, and fought Jeremy Horn to a split decision victory at Superior Challenge 7 on 30 April 2011.[13]

Return to the UFC

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After winning three in a row, Leites was signed by the UFC and made his return against Tom Watson on 3 August 2013 at UFC 163.[14] He won the fight via dominant unanimous decision.

Leites next faced Ed Herman on 16 November 2013 at UFC 167.[15] He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Leites faced Trevor Smith on 11 April 2014 at UFC Fight Night 39.[16] He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Leites faced Francis Carmont on 23 August 2014 at UFC Fight Night 49.[17] He won the fight via second-round knockout. The win also earned Leites his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[18]

Leites then faced Tim Boetsch on 31 January 2015 at UFC 183.[19] He won the fight via technical submission due to an arm-triangle choke in the second round. The win also earned Leites Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonus awards.[20]

Leites faced Michael Bisping on 18 July 2015 at UFC Fight Night 72.[21] He lost the fight via split decision.[22]

Leites faced Gegard Mousasi on 27 February 2016 at UFC Fight Night 84.[23] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[24]

Leites next faced Chris Camozzi on 6 August 2016 at UFC Fight Night 92.[25] He won the fight by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the third round.[26]

Leites faced Krzysztof Jotko on 19 November 2016 at UFC Fight Night 100.[27] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[28]

Leites faced Sam Alvey on 22 April 2017 at UFC Fight Night 108.[29] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[30]

Leites faced Brad Tavares on 7 October 2017 at UFC 216.[31] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[32]

Leites faced Jack Hermansson on 12 May 2018 at UFC 224.[33] He lost the fight via TKO in the third round, marking the first time he's been finished by TKO in his professional MMA career.[34]

Leites faced Héctor Lombard on 22 September 2018 at UFC Fight Night 137.[35] He won the fight via unanimous decision and Leites announced his retirement after the fight.[36]

Personal life

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Leites and his girlfriend had a daughter named Valentina in July 2009.[37]

Championships and accomplishments

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Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
37 matches 28 wins 9 losses
By knockout 4 1
By submission 15 1
By decision 9 7
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 28–9 Héctor Lombard Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders 22 September 2018 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil
Loss 27–9 Jack Hermansson TKO (punches) UFC 224 12 May 2018 3 2:10 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Loss 27–8 Brad Tavares Decision (unanimous) UFC 216 7 October 2017 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 27–7 Sam Alvey Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov 22 April 2017 3 5:00 Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Loss 26–7 Krzysztof Jotko Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Nogueira 2 19 November 2016 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil
Win 26–6 Chris Camozzi Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Caceres 6 August 2016 3 2:58 Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Loss 25–6 Gegard Mousasi Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping 27 February 2016 3 5:00 London, England
Loss 25–5 Michael Bisping Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Leites 18 July 2015 5 5:00 Glasgow, Scotland
Win 25–4 Tim Boetsch Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC 183 31 January 2015 2 3:45 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Performance of the Night. Fight of the Night.
Win 24–4 Francis Carmont KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. dos Anjos 23 August 2014 2 0:20 Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 23–4 Trevor Smith TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson 11 April 2014 1 0:45 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 22–4 Ed Herman Decision (unanimous) UFC 167 16 November 2013 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 21–4 Tom Watson Decision (unanimous) UFC 163 3 August 2013 3 5:00 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Win 20–4 Matt Horwich Submission (arm-triangle choke) Amazon Forest Combat 2 31 March 2012 2 4:39 Manaus, Brazil Catchweight (194 lbs) bout.
Win 19–4 Jeremy Horn Decision (split) Superior Challenge 7 30 April 2011 3 5:00 Stockholm, Sweden Won the Superior Challenge Middleweight Championship.
Win 18–4 Tor Troéng Submission (rear-naked choke) Superior Challenge 6 29 October 2010 2 3:33 Stockholm, Sweden
Loss 17–4 Matt Horwich Submission (rear-naked choke) Powerhouse World Promotions: War on the Mainland 14 August 2010 4 0:44 Irvine, California, United States For the PWP Middleweight Championship.
Win 17–3 Jesse Taylor Submission (triangle choke) MFC 25 7 May 2010 1 2:27 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Win 16–3 Rico Washington Submission (arm-triangle choke) Bitetti Combat MMA 6 25 February 2010 1 2:40 Brasília, Brazil
Win 15–3 Dean Lister Decision (unanimous) MFC 23 4 December 2009 3 5:00 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Loss 14–3 Alessio Sakara Decision (split) UFC 101 8 August 2009 3 5:00 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Loss 14–2 Anderson Silva Decision (unanimous) UFC 97 18 April 2009 5 5:00 Montreal, Quebec, Canada For the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Win 14–1 Drew McFedries Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 90 25 October 2008 1 1:18 Rosemont, Illinois, United States
Win 13–1 Nate Marquardt Decision (split) UFC 85 7 June 2008 3 5:00 London, England Marquardt was deducted two points during the fight due to illegal strikes.
Win 12–1 Ryan Jensen Submission (armbar) UFC 74 25 August 2007 1 3:47 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Submission of the Night.
Win 11–1 Floyd Sword Submission (arm-triangle choke) The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale 23 June 2007 1 3:50 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 10–1 Pete Sell Decision (unanimous) UFC 69 7 April 2007 3 5:00 Houston, Texas, United States
Loss 9–1 Martin Kampmann Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale 11 November 2006 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 9–0 José Landi-Jons Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) Jungle Fight 6 29 April 2006 1 2:40 Manaus, Brazil
Win 8–0 Osami Shibuya Decision (unanimous) MARS 4 February 2006 3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 7–0 Jason Guida Submission (armbar) Ultimate Warriors Combat 1 10 December 2005 1 1:38 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Win 6–0 Ronald Jhun TKO (doctor stoppage) ROTR: Qualifiers 17 September 2005 3 0:32 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Win 5–0 Gustavo Machado Submission (arm-triangle choke) Storm Samurai 8 2 July 2005 3 N/A Brasília, Brazil
Win 4–0 Adam Roland Submission (armbar) Rumble on the Rock 7 7 May 2005 1 0:49 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Win 3–0 Flavio Luiz Moura Submission (arm-triangle choke) Vitoria Extreme Fighting 1 29 May 2004 N/A N/A Vitória, Brazil
Win 2–0 Lucio Linhares TKO (corner stoppage) Vitoria Extreme Fighting 1 29 May 2004 1 N/A Vitória, Brazil
Win 1–0 Felipe Arinelli Submission (arm-triangle choke) Shooto Brazil: Welcome to Hell 23 November 2003 2 N/A Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Bisping vs. Leites". UFC.com. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  2. ^ ""Today I had the honor to receive from the master Welton Ribeiro's hand the Black belt certificate 3 degree from IBJJF"". Facebook. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Thales Leites - Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  4. ^ "STATE OF NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRYATHLETIC COMMISSION" (PDF). boxing.nv.gov. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Fighter Rankings - UFC ®". UFC. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Snakes and lizards". GracieMag.com. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  7. ^ "UFC 74 RESPECT". UFC.com. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  8. ^ "Report: Thales Leites to Replace Travis Lutter at UFC 74". UFCJunkie.com. August 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  9. ^ Hiergesel, Dan. "Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites and the 13 Worst Mismatches in UFC History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  10. ^ "- SILVA VS LEITES SET FOR UFC 97 IN MONTREAL - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more". Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 24 December 2008.
  11. ^ "Thales Leites and Tamdan McCrory Back in UFC After Dana White Reverses Cuts". Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  12. ^ Matt Horwich vs. Thales Leites title fight set for Aug. 14 "War on the Mainland" Archived 6 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine – MMAjunkie.com
  13. ^ O'Leary, Ryan (30 April 2011). "Leites Outpoints Horn at Superior Challenge 7". sherdog.com. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  14. ^ "Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson added to UFC 163". themmareport.com. 30 May 2013.
  15. ^ "Thales Leites Defeats Ed Herman via unanimous decision at UFC 167". MMAjunkie.com. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  16. ^ Alex Schlinsky (25 February 2014). "UFC Fight Night 39: Abu Dhabi adds ten fights". fansided.com. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  17. ^ "UFC Fight Night 49 adds Thales Leites vs. Francis Carmont". mmajunkie.com. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  18. ^ MMAJunkie.com Staff (24 July 2014). "UFC Fight Night 49 bonuses: Four fighters get $50,000 'Performance' awards". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  19. ^ "Thales Leites vs. Tim Boetsch booked for UFC 183 in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.com. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  20. ^ "UFC 183 bonuses: Which fighter on the card doubled up for $100,000?". mmajunkie.com. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  21. ^ Lee Williams (25 May 2015). "Michael Bisping vs. Leites booked for UFC Fight Night Glasgow". mmacrazytv.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  22. ^ Steven Marrocco (18 July 2015). "UFC Fight Night 72 results: Michael Bisping survives Thales Leites with split call". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  23. ^ "Gegard Mousasi now meets Thales Leites at UFC Fight Night 83 in London". mmajunkie.com. 27 December 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  24. ^ Dave Doyle (27 February 2016). "UFC Fight Night 84 results: Gegard Mousasi decisions Thales Leites". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  25. ^ Staff (15 June 2016). "UFC Fight Night 92 gets five new fights". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  26. ^ Brnet Brookhouse (7 August 2016). "UFC Fight Night 92 results: Thales Leites dominates Chris Camozzi on ground en route to third-round submission". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  27. ^ "Six additional bouts announced for UFC Fight Night 100 on Nov. 19 in Sao Paulo". mmajunkie.com. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  28. ^ Brent Brookhouse (19 November 2016). "UFC Fight Night 100 results: Krzysztof Jotko outgrapples Thales Leites for decision win". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  29. ^ Dale Jordan (12 February 2017). "UFC announces Nashville event for April 22nd. Four fights officially added to the card". mmamad.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  30. ^ Steven Marrocco (23 April 2017). "UFC Fight Night 108 results: Thales Leites' kicks prove too much in unanimous win over Sam Alvey". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  31. ^ Mike Sloan (2 August 2017). "UFC 216 bolstered with several bouts". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  32. ^ "UFC 216 results: Brad Tavares jabs, kicks way to unanimous decision over Thales Leites". MMAjunkie. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  33. ^ "Jack Hermansson heads back to Brazil to meet Thales Leites at UFC 224". mmajunkie.com. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  34. ^ "UFC 224 results: Injured Jack Hermansson scores emotional comeback over Thales Leites". MMAjunkie. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  35. ^ Evelyn Rodrigues, Marcelo Barone e Raphael Marinho (25 July 2018). "Ultimate sets Thales Leites and Hector Lombard for UFC Sao Paulo" (in Portuguese). sportv.globo.com. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  36. ^ "UFC Sao Paulo results: Thales Leites hobbled, but guts way to final win over Hector Lombard". MMAjunkie. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  37. ^ "Congrats to our good friend Thales Leites on the birth of his Baby Girl". kimurawear.blogspot.com. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  38. ^ a b c d e "UFC Records - Middleweight". statleaders.ufc.com. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  39. ^ "MMAjunkie's 'Submission of the Month' for January - MMAjunkie". MMAjunkie. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
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