Thales Leites - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Thales Leites Lourenço (ˈtaliʒ ˈlejtʃiʃ; born September 6, 1981) is a Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian mixed martial artist

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

. He is the current Superior Challenge

Superior Challenge

- Events :-Current champions:...

middleweight champion

Middleweight (MMA)

The middleweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Strikeforce's middleweight division, which groups competitors within 171 to 185 lb...

Mixed martial arts

A relative newcomer to the sport, Leites made his mixed martial arts debut at Shooto Brazil

Shooto

Shooto is a mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, as an organization and as a particular fighting system derived from shoot wrestling. Practitioners are referred to as shooters,...

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

Gustavo Machado

Gustavo "Ximu" Machado is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who has competed for the International Fight League, Shooto, DEEP, RINGS, Pancrase, and King of the Cage promotions. Machado has fought top UFC fighters Thales Leites, Brad Blackburn, Demian Maia, and Nate Quarry...

, who was coming off two wins in the Japanese Pancrase

Pancrase

Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...

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

Jose Landi-Jons

José "Pelé" Landi-Jons is a Cuban-Brazilian mixed martial artist and vale tudo fighter known for his eccentric attitude and exciting style of fighting. Pelé's style is primarily Muay Thai, but he also practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in which he holds a black belt. Pelé was born in Cuba and at the...

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. 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

In September 2006, it was announced that Leites would make his UFC debut against veteran middleweight Nathan Marquardt

Nathan Marquardt

Nathan Joel Marquardt is an American mixed martial artist. He is a three-time Middleweight King of Pancrase Champion and former UFC middleweight title contender....

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

Martin Kampmann

Martin Kampmann Frederiksen is a Danish mixed martial artist who is currently fighting out of Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. and trains at the Xtreme Couture gym. He is known for his precise strikes and his quick submissions...

.

In his next fight, at UFC 69
UFC 69
UFC 69: Shootout was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 7, 2007 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas...

, he defeated The Ultimate Fighter 4
The Ultimate Fighter 4
The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback is the fourth season of the mixed martial arts reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. It premiered on August 17, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of UFC Fight Night 6. The finale was aired on November 11, 2006.This series featured a change from...

contestant Pete Sell

Pete Sell

Peter K. Sell, is an American mixed martial artist specializing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He is a black belt under teacher and fellow mixed martial artist Matt Serra in East Meadow, New York, and has trained extensively under striking coach Ray Longo in Garden City, New York...

. 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
UFC 74
UFC 74: Respect was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . The event took place on August 25, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...

. Leites accepted the fight after Travis Lutter

Travis Lutter

Travis S. Lutter is an American mixed martial artist who won the The Ultimate Fighter 4 reality show. His UFC record, not including his exhibition wins on The Ultimate Fighter 4, is 2–4...

, Jensen's original opponent, was forced to withdraw from the event. Leites defeated Jensen by armbar submission in the first round, raising his UFC record to 3 wins, 1 loss.

Leites was scheduled to fight Nathan Marquardt at UFC 81
UFC 81
UFC 81: Breaking Point was a mixed martial arts event held on February 2, 2008 by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip....

, but withdrew from the bout after breaking his hand in training. Leites finally fought Marquardt at UFC 85
UFC 85
UFC 85: Bedlam was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , on June 7, 2008 at The O2 arena in London, England.-Background:...

, winning by a controversial split decision due to point deductions in the 2nd and 3rd rounds to Marquardt.

On the undercard of UFC 90

UFC 90

UFC 90: Silva vs. Côté was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 25, 2008 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The main event featured UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva vs Patrick Côté....

Leites was able to earn a rear naked choke

Rear naked choke

The Rear naked choke is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. Depending on the context, the term may refer to one of two variations of the technique, either arm can be used to apply the choke in both cases...

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

Anderson Silva

Anderson da Silva is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the promotion's longest reigning champion. With 14 consecutive wins, Silva holds the longest winning streak and title defense streak in UFC history...

on UFC 97

UFC 97

UFC 97: Redemption was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 18, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It broke the UFC attendance record that was set 364 days earlier in Montreal at UFC 83, by 61 people.-Preliminary card:*Light Heavyweight bout: Vinicius...

in Montreal. Leites was defeated by Silva via unanimous decision. On his return to the octagon, Leites was defeated again via a controversial split decision against Italian Alessio Sakara

Alessio Sakara

Alessio Sakara is an Italian mixed martial artist and boxer, who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Middleweight Division. Sakara is also a Former World Junior Boxing Contender. He holds notable wins over Elvis Sinosic, Thales Leites, James Irvin.-Background:Sakara was born...

. The fight inspired 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 Lee Goddard to state to the fighters that Mixed Martial Arts was a "contact sport

Contact sport

Many sports involve a degree of player-to-player or player-to-object contact. The term "contact sport" is used in both team sports and combat sports, medical terminology and television game shows, such as the Gladiators and Wipeout, to certain degrees...

".

Following the loss, Leites, along with George Roop

George Roop

George H. Roop is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir, winning his preliminary and first round fights...

and Tamdan McCrory

Tamdan McCrory

Tamdan Wade McCrory is an American mixed martial artist who has fought as a welterweight and has recently moved up to the middleweight division...

, 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. Shortly after, White decided not to reverse the decisions.

Post-UFC

Leites earned a decision victory over Dean Lister

Dean Lister

Dean Richard Lister is an American mixed martial artist and a former King of the Cage champion. He currently fights at the Middleweight division after moving down from the Light Heavyweight class...

at MFC 23

MFC 23

MFC 23: Unstoppable was a mixed martial arts event held by the Maximum Fighting Championship on December 4th, 2009 at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Edmonton, Alberta. The main event featured former UFC contender Thales Leites taking on fellow UFC veteran Dean Lister. The co-main event...

on December 4, 2009, a submission victory over Rico Washington at Bitetti Combat MMA 6 on February 25, 2010, and a submission victory over Jesse Taylor

Jesse Taylor

Jesse Marcus Taylor is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7, winning his entry, preliminary, quarterfinal and semi-final matches, and then became the only fighter to ever be removed from finals due to events that occurred...

at MFC 25

MFC 25

MFC 25: Vindication was a mixed martial arts event held by the Maximum Fighting Championship on May 7, 2010 at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. The event aired live on HDNet...

on May 7, 2010.

He was scheduled to face Falaniko Vitale

Falaniko Vitale

Falaniko "Niko" Vitale is an American mixed martial artist. He competes in the Middleweight division.He holds notable victories over Matt Lindland, Dave Menne, Kalib Starnes and Yushin Okami....

on August 14, 2010, in California, but instead faced Matt Horwich

Matt Horwich

Matthew Peter Horwich is a journeyman American mixed martial artist. Previously fighting for the Portland Wolfpack of the International Fight League where he held the middleweight championship in 2007, BAMMA and in the UFC, he holds notable wins over past and present UFC fighters Jake Rosholt,...

at the event and suffered the first submission loss of his career.

In the Superior Challenge

Superior Challenge

- Events :-Current champions:...

promotion, Leites submitted top European Middleweight Tor Troeng at SC6

Superior Challenge 6

Superior Challenge 6: Lions Den was a mixed martial arts event held in Hovet, Stockholm. The greatest MMA event of Norse and one of Europe's finest.-Background:...

on October 29, 2010, and fought Jeremy Horn

Jeremy Horn

Jeremy Graham Horn is an American mixed martial artist. He is one of the most experienced fighters in the sport with a professional record of 88–21–5...

to a split decision victory at SC7

Superior Challenge 7

Superior Challenge 7: Rise of Champions was a mixed martial arts event held by Superior Challenge. It took place on April 30, 2011 at Hovet in Stockholm Sweden.-Background:...

on April 30, 2011.

Mixed martial arts record

|-
| Win
|align=center| 19-4
|

Jeremy Horn

Jeremy Graham Horn is an American mixed martial artist. He is one of the most experienced fighters in the sport with a professional record of 88–21–5...

| Decision (split)
|Superior Challenge 7

Superior Challenge 7

Superior Challenge 7: Rise of Champions was a mixed martial arts event held by Superior Challenge. It took place on April 30, 2011 at Hovet in Stockholm Sweden.-Background:...

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

|Won Superior Challenge

Superior Challenge

- Events :-Current champions:...

Middleweight Championship
|-
| Win
|align=center| 18-4
|

Tor Troeng
|Submission (rear naked choke)
|Superior Challenge 6

Superior Challenge 6

Superior Challenge 6: Lions Den was a mixed martial arts event held in Hovet, Stockholm. The greatest MMA event of Norse and one of Europe's finest.-Background:...

Stockholm

, Sweden

Sweden

|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 17-4
|

Matt Horwich

Irvine, California

Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

|For PWP Middleweight Championship
|-
| Win
|align=center| 17-3
|

Jesse Taylor

|Submission (triangle armbar)
|MFC 25

MFC 25

MFC 25: Vindication was a mixed martial arts event held by the Maximum Fighting Championship on May 7, 2010 at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. The event aired live on HDNet...

|
|align=center|1
|align=center|2:27
|Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 16-3
|

Brasília

Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...

, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 15-3
|

Dean Lister

Dean Richard Lister is an American mixed martial artist and a former King of the Cage champion. He currently fights at the Middleweight division after moving down from the Light Heavyweight class...

|Decision (unanimous)
|MFC 23

MFC 23

|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
| Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 14-3
|

Alessio Sakara

|Decision (split)
|UFC 101

UFC 101

UFC 101: Declaration was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

Anderson Silva

|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC 97

UFC 97

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec, Canada
|For UFC Middleweight Championship
|-
| Win
|align=center| 14-1
|

Drew McFedries
|Submission (rear naked choke)
|UFC 90

UFC 90

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 13-1
|

Nate Marquardt
|Decision (split)
|UFC 85

UFC 85

UFC 85: Bedlam was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , on June 7, 2008 at The O2 arena in London, England.-Background:...

|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
| London, England
|Marquardt was docked 2 points during the fight
|-
|Win
|align=center| 12-1
|

Ryan Jensen

Ryan Jensen (fighter)

Ryan James Jensen is an American mixed martial artist.-Background:Jensen began training at the age of 15. Following his first fight against Travis Fulton in February 1997, he did not compete again until June 2002...

|Submission (armbar)
|UFC 74

UFC 74

UFC 74: Respect was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . The event took place on August 25, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, United States
| Won Submission of the Night.
|-
|Win
|align=center| 11-1
|

Floyd Sword
|Submission (arm-triangle choke)
|The Ultimate Fighter 5

The Ultimate Fighter 5

The Ultimate Fighter 5 was the fifth season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter...

Nevada

, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 10-1
|

Pete Sell

|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC 69

UFC 69

UFC 69: Shootout was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 7, 2007 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas...

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

Martin Kampmann

|Decision (unanimous)
|The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale

The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale

The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 11, 2006. Featured were the finals from The Ultimate Fighter 4 in both the Middleweight and Welterweight divisions....

Nevada

, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 9-0
|

Jose Landi-Jons

Manaus

Manaus is a city in Brazil, the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers. It is the most populous city of Amazonas, according to the statistics of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and is a popular ecotourist destination....

, Brazil

Brazil

|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 8-0
|

Osami Shibuya
|Decision (unanimous)
|MARS
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
| Tokyo, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 7-0
|

Jason Guida

Jason Guida is an American professional mixed martial artist and grappler who has fought for EliteXC, World Extreme Cagefighting, Bellator, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, Fight Festival, Adrenaline MMA and Ironheart Crown....

|Submission (armbar)
|Ultimate Warriors Combat 1
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|1:38
| Hawaii, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 6-0
|

Ronald Jhun
|TKO (doctor stoppage)
|ROTR: Qualifiers
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|0:32
| Hawaii, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 5-0
|

Gustavo Machado

Brasília

, Brazil

Brazil

|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 4-0
|

Adam Roland
|Submission (armbar)
|Rumble on the Rock 7

Rumble on the Rock 7

Rumble on the Rock 7 was an mixed martial arts event held by Rumble on the Rock on May 7, 2005 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.-Results: Thales Leites vs. Adam RolandLeites defeated Roland via Submission in round 1 at 0:49 Allan Goes vs. Chris West...

|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:49
| Hawaii, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 3-0
|

Brazil

|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 2-0
|

Lucio Linhares

Lucio Linhares is a Brazilian-Finnish professional mixed martial artist and M-1 Global veteran who has fought for Shooto. Linhares most notable win is over former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Sean Salmon. Linhares is a former member of the M-1 Mixfight Team Finland...

Brazil

|
|-
|Win
|align=center| 1-0
|

Felipe Arinelli
|Submission (arm-triangle choke)
|Shooto

Shooto

Brazil

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.