Carlos Eduardo Rocha (born July 12, 1984), also known as Carlos Eduardo Rocha, is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

Early life

Born an orphan in

Cabedelo Cabedelo is a municipality of the Metropolitan Region of João Pessoa, in the state of Paraíba in the Northeast Region of Brazil. It has an area of 29,873 square kilometers, with singular measures: 18 kilometers long and only three kilometers ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

he worked as a dish washer, often sleeping outside, on the street, and on beaches. He started training in martial arts at the age of six and eventually he saved enough money to move to

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, Brazil. In Fortaleza, he was taken in by Dárcio Lira, from whom he learned Brazilian jiu-jitsu and earned his black belt. He claims to have won around 50 regional tournaments in Brazil and Germany between 1996 and 2008 before turning to professional mixed martial arts. Before turning pro, he worked as a Jiu-Jitsu instructor and bouncer. He got his nickname "Tá Danado" (or "The Spaz") because of the herky-jerky way he moved around on the mat when working his jiu-jitsu. His coach would tell him 'Hey kid, stop being so agitated (danado), stay calm.' when he grappled. The term is meant to liken him to the cartoon character

Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

Mixed martial arts career

In 2008 he traveled to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

as a cornerman of German MMA pioneer Andre Balschmieter for an 8-man tournament. When Balschmieter had to pull out due to injury Rocha elected to take his place. Because of numerous injuries, the tournament was dropped to four fighters, and after a quick submission victory over Johannes Kunz, Rocha found himself competing for the Free Fight Alliance (FFA) middleweight title in only his second professional fight. Rocha won the fight by submission, over the far more experienced Steve Mensing, to become FFA Middleweight Champion and was quickly pegged as a rising star in the German MMA circuit. He went on to gain La Onda's Manto Cup in an 8-man, one-night tournament in 2009 and was signed by the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

soon afterward.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rocha made his official UFC debut November 13, 2010, at UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami. To motivate him, Rocha's manager told him he only had a one-fight contract, and he would need to win to stay in the UFC. He fought TUF 11 runner-up

Kris McCray Kris Eric Johannes McCray (born September 24, 1981) is an American Former mixed martial artist. He was the runner-up of '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz''. Background McCray was born in Germany to Calvin and Barbara McCray as ...

defeating him by kneebar at 2:21 of round 1. Rocha's next fight came only two months later, on February 5, 2011, at UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort against

Jake Ellenberger Jake Ellenberger (born March 28, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former United States Marine Corps, United States Marine who was known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professi ...

. Rocha was a replacement for

Jon Fitch Jon Fitch (born February 24, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He has competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Professional Fighters League ...

after Fitch was moved to the

UFC 127 ''UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Sunday, February 27, 2011 at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. Due to the time zone difference it aired live on Saturday, February 26 in Nor ...

main event to fight B.J. Penn. Rocha lost the fight via controversial split decision. The dissenting judge scoring the bout for Rocha drew the ire of commentator

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', which is o ...

and other members of the press, who cited the 30-27 scoring as "questionable". After his fight with Ellenberger, Rocha hoped to compete at

UFC 134 ''UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami'' (also known as ''UFC Rio'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 27, 2011 at the HSBC Arena (Rio de Janeiro), HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ...

in Rio pending the results of shoulder and elbow surgery. However, further X-rays showed severe damage in both his right and left elbows, leaving him unable to compete for the rest of 2011. He had hoped to return some time in early 2012, but was unable to schedule a fight. After recovering from surgery he moved to the US and started training with team Black House in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Rocha next faced

Mike Pierce Michael Pierce (born September 1, 1980) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. He formerly competed as a Welterweight in the UFC and WEC. Background Pierce was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, on September 1, 1980. Pierc ...

on June 8, 2012, at

UFC on FX 3 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

. As well as moving to Black House to train for the fight, Rocha claimed that this was the first time in his career that he had a full training camp leading up to a fight. Originally 2 judges scored the fight 30-27 for Pierce, while the 3rd judge inexplicably scored it 30-27 for Rocha. However, it was later announced that the judge, Ric Bays, had scored the fight for the wrong corner and that Pierce had actually won unanimously. Rocha was released from his UFC contract following his loss to Pierce. After his release Rocha was publicly critical of Pierce for his lack of aggression in the fight, and perceived unwillingness to engage with Rocha. He was also critical of the UFC for releasing him, saying "I had good performances and even so I was cut off. I didn’t expect this.”

Championships and achievements

Grappling

*CBJJO Copa Del Mundo ** −77 kg Blue Belt: 1st Place ** −77 kg Purple Belt: 1st Place & Purple Belt Absolute: 1st Place *Submissao **2009 Submission Wrestling Finalist

Mixed Martial Arts

*Free Fight Alliance **FFA European Middleweight Champion (1 time) *La Onda **Manto Cup Champion Winner

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 , James Terry , TKO (punches) , Bellator 142: Dynamite 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:00 ,

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United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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UFC 126 ''UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 5, 2011, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background Former Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor ...

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Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

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, Submission (kneebar) ,

UFC 122 ''UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 13, 2010 at König Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. This event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in ...

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Oberhausen, Germany Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Fatih Balci , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , GMC 1: The Beginning , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:58 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Artur Kadlubek , TKO (corner stoppage) , La Onda: Manto Cup , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Won Manto Cup , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Mihajlo Mihnjak , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , La Onda: Manto Cup , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 , Magdeburg, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , David Goldberg , Submission (armbar) , La Onda: Manto Cup , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 , Magdeburg, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Yasin Mengulluoglu , Submission (heel hook) , 8ME: Night of Bang 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:35 , Halle, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jimmy Sidoni , Submission (armbar) , La Onda: It's Showtime , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 , Magdeburg, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Steve Mensing , Submission (leglock) , FFA: East German Championships 2008 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:20 ,

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, Won FFA European middleweight title , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Johannes Kunze , Submission (rear-naked choke) , FFA: European Championships , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 ,

Dresden, Germany Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

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Submission grappling record

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:80%; text-align:left;" , - , colspan=8 style="text-align:center;" , 0 Wins (0 Submissions), 1 Losses (1 Submissions), 0 Draws , - ! Result ! style="text-align:center;", Rec. ! Opponent ! Method ! Event ! Division ! Date ! Location , - , Loss , style="text-align:center;", 0–1 , Benji Silva , Submission (kneebar) , Fight 2 Win 98 , Superfight , January 19, 2019 ,

References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocha, Carlos Eduardo Brazilian emigrants to Germany Brazilian male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people 1981 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Submission grapplers Martial artists from Paraíba 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen