Gregory Felipe Santos Rodrigues (born February 17, 1992) is a Brazilian professional

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 ...

who currently competes in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division of 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 ( ...

(UFC). He is an eight-time National BJJ Champion. He was the Smash Global MMA Middleweight Champion and former

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

(LFA) Middleweight Champion.

Background

Born in

Porto Velho Porto Velho (, ''Old Port'') is the capital (political), capital of the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin. The population is 460,434 people (as of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, ...

, Gregory came to

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

when he was still four months old. He was introduced to martial arts since he was five years old, starting out with capoeira, before migrating to jiu-jitsu at 8 years old and eventually becoming a black belt under Senseí Henrique Machado, who was also Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza’s jiu-jitsu coach. He became an eight-time national jiu-jitsu champion, jiu-jitsu world champion, and professional world champion in Abu Dhabi. He also trained in Olympic wrestling with professor Waldeci, joining the Brazilian wrestling cadet team and becoming the runner-up at Pan American wrestling championships in Nicaragua. In 2014, he moved to Rio de Janeiro to start his professional MMA career.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting his professional career in 2014, Rodrigues went 7–2 fighting mostly on the Brazilian regional scene, picking up wins in promotions such as ACB, where he picked up a first-round TKO victory at ACB 73 and winning the Smash Global Middleweight title also picking up a unanimous decision win at LFA 71. He was invited to compete against Jordan Williams at Dana White's Contender Series 33 on September 15, 2020. He lost the fight via first-round knockout. He would make his return to LFA, entering the four-man tournament for the LFA Middleweight Championship. In the first round, Rodrigues faced Al Matavao at LFA 102, where he knocked Matavao out in the second round. In the finals at LFA 108, Rodrigues stopped Josh Fremd within a round to claim the vacant LFA Middleweight Championship. Within days off the victory, Rodrigues was asked to compete in the UFC on short notice.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rodrigues, as a replacement for Maki Pitolo, faced

Duško Todorović Duško Todorović (born May 19, 1994) is a Serbian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Todorović started training taekwond ...

on June 5, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Rodrigues faced Jun Yong Park on October 23, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori. He won the fight via knockout in round two. This fight earned him '' Fight of the Night'' award. Rodrigues faced Armen Petrosyan on February 26, 2022, at UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green. He lost the fight via controversial split decision. 10 out of 14 media outlets scored the fight for Rodrigues. Rodrigues faced Julian Marquez, replacing Wellington Turman, on June 18, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 37. He won the bout in the first round via knockout. This win earned him his first Performance of the Night award. Rodrigues faced

Chidi Njokuani Chidi Godson Njokuani (born December 31, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist, former Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer, who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professio ...

on September 17, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 210. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. Rodrigues was scheduled to face Brad Tavares on January 21, 2023, at UFC 283. However, Tavares withdrawn from the bout due to an injury, and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Brunno Ferreira. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Rodrigues faced Denis Tiuliulin on August 19, 2023, at UFC 292. The bout was originally set for June 24, 2023, at UFC on ABC 5, but was postponed after Tiuliulin withdrew due to undisclosed reasons. He won the bout via knockout in round one. Rodrigues faced Brad Tavares on February 10, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 236. He won the bout by technical knockout in the third round. As a replacement for Robert Bryczek who withdrew for unknown reasons, Rodrigues faced Christian Leroy Duncan on July 27, 2024 at UFC 304. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Rodrigues faced former

UFC Middleweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

challenger Jared Cannonier in the main event on February 15, 2025, at UFC Fight Night 251. He lost the fight by technical knockout in the fourth round. This fight earned him another '' Fight of the Night'' award. Rodrigues is scheduled to face Jack Hermansson on June 28, 2025, at UFC 317.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (Three times) ** Performance of the Night (One time) **UFC Honors Awards *** 2022: Fan's Choice Comeback of the Year Nominee *

** LFA Middleweight Champion (One time) * SMASH Global ** SMASH Global Middleweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 16–6 , Jared Cannonier , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Rodrigues , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 0:21 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada 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 ...

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Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

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Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

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Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

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Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

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, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Umar Gaisumov , TKO (punches) , ACB 73 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:43 ,

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, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Bruno Lopes , TKO (punches) , Jungle Fight 73 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:05 ,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodrigues, Gregory 1992 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Rondônia People from Porto Velho 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen