Diego Torresean Nunes (born November 30, 1982) 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 ...

. A professional since 2004, he has fought for 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 ...

, WEC,

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

, RXF, Fight Nights Global, and the

Rizin Fighting Federation Rizin Fighting Federation (stylised in all caps and also known as Rizin FF) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. ...

Mixed martial arts career

Diego trains with Team Nogueira Brazil. Nunes' professional career in mixed martial arts began in May 2004, when he defeated Jorge Santos Velho by TKO. He has fought in GP, TFC, Shooto, WEC and the

World Extreme Cagefighting

Diego won his WEC debut against Cole Province by unanimous decision at WEC 37. Nunes was scheduled to fight

Cub Swanson Kevin Luke "Cub" Swanson (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2004, S ...

on the

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

WEC 40 ''WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on April 5, 2009 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The event aired live on the Versus (TV channel), Versus Network. Background This was the ...

, but a hand injury just days before the bout, forced Nunes to cancel the fight. He next fought Rafael Dias at WEC 42 on August 9, 2009. Nunes defeated Dias via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27). Nunes suffered his first professional loss to LC Davis via unanimous decision at

WEC 44 WEC may stand for: Organizations * Westinghouse Electric Company, a multinational company supplying nuclear services, fuel, and power plants * Wisconsin Elections Commission, an agency that enforces election laws in Wisconsin * Wisconsin Energy ...

. Nunes was expected to face Leonard Garcia on March 6, 2010 at

WEC 47 ''WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on March 6, 2010. It was held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio Background The only WEC event held in Ohio, WEC 47 coincided with the Arnold ...

, but Nunes was forced from the card with an injury. Nunes was replaced by former

fighter

George Roop George H. Roop (born November 10, 1981) is a retired mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir'', winning his preliminary and first round fights. He fought as a Bantamweight (MMA), ...

. Nunes then faced Raphael Assunção on June 20, 2010 at

WEC 49 ''WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 20, 2010 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background WEC 49 was the only event the organization had held outsi ...

. He won the fight via split decision. Nunes faced Tyler Toner on September 30, 2010 at WEC 51. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On October 28, 2010,

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

merged with the

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

. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Nunes faced Mike Brown on January 1, 2011 at UFC 125. He won the fight via split decision. Nunes faced Kenny Florian on June 11, 2011 at UFC 131. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Nunes was expected to face Manvel Gamburyan on September 24, 2011 at UFC 135, but Gamburyan pulled out of the fight due to a shoulder injury. Then, on August 29, Nunes confirmed his own exit from the card, citing an injury. Nunes/Gamburyan eventually took place on December 30, 2011 at UFC 141. Nunes won the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Nunes next faced Dennis Siver on April 14, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Nunes faced Bart Palaszewski on October 5, 2012 at

UFC on FX 5 ''UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot'' (also known as ''UFC on FX 5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 5, 2012, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the fifth UFC event broadcast l ...

. After three full rounds, Nunes won the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27). The performance also earned both participants ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Nunes then faced Nik Lentz on January 19, 2013 at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping. He lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Bellator MMA

In June 2013, it was revealed that Nunes signed with

. In his debut, Nunes faced prior title challenger

Patricio Freire Patricio in Spanish, or Patrício in Portuguese, is a male given name equivalent to Patrick in English. The Spanish name is pronounced with the stress on the same first i as Portuguese, but an accent is not needed because this follows normal ru ...

at Bellator 99 in the Quarterfinals of the season nine featherweight tournament. He lost the fight via knockout at just 1:19 in the first round. This is the first time that Nunes had ever been knocked out, or even finished, in his career. In February 2014, Nunes entered into the Bellator season ten featherweight tournament. He faced Matt Bessette in the quarterfinals at

Bellator 110 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight ...

and lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision.

Post Bellator

After an unsuccessful run in Bellator, Nunes faced longtime MMA veteran Joachim Hansen at Superior Challenge 11 for the featherweight title. Nunes won the fight by KO in the second round with a hard left hand after breaking his knee in the first round

Fight Nights Global (FNG)

After recovering from a knee injury for almost two years, Nunes signed with Fight Nights Global and his debut was at the Fight Nights Global 51: Dagestan battle 2, on 25 September 2016 against Rasul Mirzaev. He lost the fight by knockout in the first round.

Post FNG

After Fight Nights Global Nunes fought Radu Mihaita in Italy-based promotion Magnum FC in July 2017. Nunes won the fight via knockout. In the beginning of December 2017, Nunes fought Michel Ersoy in Swedish promotion Superior Challenge. Nunes won the fight via guillotine choke. Just two weeks after the fight with Ersoy, Nunes fought Corneliu Lascăr in Romania at RXF 29: All Stars and won via guillotine choke.

Rizin FF

After amassing a win streak of three in the European circuits, Nunes signed a contract with

. He was slated against Yusuke Yachi at Rizin 10 and lost a close fight via split decision.

Personal life

Diego is of Italian heritage. Diego is married with Karen Nunes. He is a Christian and regularly posts Bible verses on his Facebook page.

Championships and achievements

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Bart Palaszewski *Superior Challenge **SC Featherweight Championship (One time, current)

Mixed martial arts record

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Patrício Freire Patricio in Spanish, or Patrício in Portuguese, is a male given name equivalent to Patrick in English. The Spanish name is pronounced with the stress on the same first i as Portuguese, but an accent is not needed because this follows normal ru ...

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References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunes, Diego 1982 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian Christians Sportspeople from Caxias do Sul Martial artists from Rio Grande do Sul 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen

Mixed martial arts career

World Extreme Cagefighting

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bellator MMA

Post Bellator

Fight Nights Global (FNG)

Post FNG

Rizin FF

Personal life

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links