Paulo Thiago Alencar Antunes (; born January 25, 1981) 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 ...

who most recently competed 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 KSW. A professional competitor since 2005, he has also competed 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 ...

and Jungle Fight. Thiago is also a member of

Polícia Militar Military Police are the police uniform, uniformed Preventive police, preventive state police of the States of Brazil, states and of the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District of Brazil. The Military Police units are the main ostensive police ...

do Distrito Federal and works for BOPE, a

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit in his hometown of Brasília, Brazil.

Background

Thiago is from

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, Distrito Federal, and began training in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

when he was five years old.

Mixed martial arts

Early career

Thiago made his professional debut at Storm Samurai 8 in 2005. He fought Ricardo Petrucio and won the fight via submission in round three. His next three fights came on the same night almost a year after his debut. Thiago competed in the Grand Prix Planaltina, winning all three of his fights and became the tournament winner. Thiago finished all three of the fights by submission. After two more victories, Thiago was signed by Jungle Fights MMA. Thiago won four fights for the promotion before being signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championships. He currently trains with the Constrictor Team, an affiliate of Team Black House; the famed gym of

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and professional boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 ...

and the Nogueira brothers.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Thiago never signed a contract before his fight against Koscheck, he was only able to acquire a tryout. Thiago made his UFC debut on February 21, 2009, scoring an upset victory over top contender

Josh Koscheck Josh Koscheck (born November 30, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial artist who fought at Welterweight for the UFC and Bellator MMA. Koscheck made his debut with the UFC on the first season of the reality television show, ''The Ultimate ...

at ''

UFC 95 ''UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on February 21, 2009, at The O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. Background The event was broadcast live for viewers in Europe and ...

.'' During the fight, 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 ...

commented that Thiago's striking looked inferior to Koscheck's. However, Thiago won the fight by KO, with a flush right uppercut and a left hook. The referee stopped the fight before Thiago could pounce on him. Koscheck immediately rose and argued that he was still alert and able to defend himself. Further review of the replay shows Koscheck's eyes roll back as he falls down, giving merit to the stoppage. At the post-fight conference,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

confirmed that Thiago had earned ''Knockout of the Night'' honors. Thiago had his second fight in the UFC, fighting against former title challenger and Koscheck teammate

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 ...

UFC 100 ''UFC 100'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on July 11, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event was the most bought UFC pay-per-view of all time with a buyrate of 1.6million, until UFC 202 brok ...

. This was Thiago's first fight in the United States and he lost via unanimous decision. Thiago rebounded with a unanimous decision victory over UFC newcomer

Jacob Volkmann Jacob Joseph Volkmann (born September 5, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist that competed in the Welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor from 2007 to 2016, Volkmann has formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator, and the ...

at UFC 106. In Thiago's fourth outing in the UFC octagon, he was set to have a rematch against

UFC 109 ''UFC 109: Relentless'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on February 6, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background A previously rumoured bout between Renzo Gracie and M ...

. However, Koscheck pulled out of the bout after an undisclosed injury and was replaced by AKA teammate

Mike Swick Michael Timothy Swick (born June 19, 1979) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, who spent most of his career competing for the UFC's middleweight division. Swick, who trains at American Kickboxing Academy alongside fellow wel ...

. Thiago won via submission (D'arce Choke) in the second round and earned his second UFC fight bonus with the win. Thiago faced

Martin Kampmann Martin Kampmann (born April 17, 1982) is a retired Danish professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former Cage Warriors World Middleweight Champion. Background Originally from Aarhus, Denmark ...

on June 12, 2010, at

UFC 115 ''UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 12, 2010 at General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Background This was the fourth UFC ev ...

where he lost via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Thiago lost his second straight fight via unanimous decision to

Diego Sanchez Diego Sanchez (born December 31, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes on the Super Lightweight division of Eagle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Sanchez is most known for his ...

on October 23, 2010, at UFC 121. Though Thiago started the fight off strong by winning the first round, he began to tire and eventually succumbed to the cardio and wrestling skills of Sanchez in the second and third rounds. The bout earned ''Fight of the Night'', awarding both fighters an extra paycheck. In November 2010, Thiago signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC. Thiago was expected to face

Johny Hendricks Johny Hendricks (born September 12, 1983) is an American former mixed martial artist and collegiate wrestler. He competed in the welterweight and middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is a former UFC Welterwei ...

on March 3, 2011, at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann. However, Thiago was forced out of the bout with an elbow injury. Thiago defeated David Mitchell via unanimous decision on August 27, 2011, 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 ...

, completely dominating Mitchell throughout all three rounds. Thiago was expected to face Mike Pyle on January 14, 2012, at UFC 142. However, Thiago was forced out of the bout with an elbow injury and replaced by Ricardo Funch. Thiago faced Siyar Bahadurzada on April 14, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva. He was knocked out less than a minute into the first round after Siyar landed a right hook to the jaw that followed a left jab as Thiago was moving forward. This marked the first time Thiago had been finished in his career. Thiago next faced

Dong Hyun Kim Kim Dong-hyun (; born November 17, 1981), anglicized as Dong Hyun Kim, is a South Korean retired mixed martial artist who most notably fought in the UFC's welterweight division. He was signed by the UFC after fighting in the Japanese promotion ...

on November 10, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 6. He lost the bout via unanimous decision Thiago was expected to face Lance Benoist on May 18, 2013, at

UFC on FX 8 ''UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold'' (also known as ''UFC on FX 8'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 18, 2013, at the Arena Jaraguá in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. The event was broadcast live on FUEL TV and FX (TV channel), FX. Backgrou ...

. However, on April 20, it was announced that Benoist had to pull out of the bout due to an injury. He was replaced by UFC newcomer Michel Prazeres. Thiago won the fight via unanimous decision. Thiago was expected to face

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum earned a contract with the UFC after winning '' The ...

on August 28, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 27. However, Thiago pulled out of the bout citing a knee injury. Thiago faced Brandon Thatch at UFC Fight Night 32 on November 9, 2013. He tapped to strikes in the first round after absorbing a knee to the liver. Thiago faced

Gasan Umalatov Gasan Umalatov (Russian language, Russian: Гасан Насрулаевич Умалатов; born November 3, 1982]) is a Russian former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of ...

on May 31, 2014, at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3#The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale: Miocic vs. Maldonado, The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Despite being 2–6 in his last eight fights inside the octagon, Thiago signed a new four-fight contract with the

in June 2014. He was expected to face Mike Rhodes at UFC Fight Night 51 on September 13, 2014. However, Rhodes was forced out of the bout due to injury and was briefly replaced by returning veteran

Joe Riggs Joseph Jonathan Riggs (born September 23, 1982) is an American professional bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist who was most recently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship where he lost via KO to Lorenzo Hunt. He former ...

. Subsequently, Riggs was forced to pull out of the fight after accidentally shooting himself in the leg while cleaning a pistol at his home. Thiago instead faced Sean Spencer. Thiago lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released by the UFC.

Post-UFC career

After the release, Thiago was scheduled to face Joe Ray at Rebel FC 3 on June 26, 2015. However, Thiago withdrew from the bout due to an injury. Then he was scheduled to face Abubakar Vagaev at Akhmat Fight Show 18 on April 9, 2016. Thiago was again forced to withdraw from the bout. Thiago faced

Markus Perez Markus Perez Echeimberg (born June 22, 1990) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional since 2013, he has also fought for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Jungle Fight and the Lega ...

for the vacant Thunder Fight Middleweight Championship at Thunder Fight 7 on June 25, 2016. He lost the fight via split decision. Thiago then faced Paulistenio Rocha for the interim TWC Welterweight Championship at The Warriors Combat 3 on August 13, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision and claimed the championship. Thiago then faced Cheick Kone at Fight2Night 1 on November 4, 2016. He won the fight via third-round submission. In the sophomore event of the promotion, Thiago faced Faycal Hucin at Fight2Night 2 on April 28, 2017. He won the fight via first-round submission. Thiago faced Michał Materla at KSW 40: Dublin on October 22, 2017. He lost the fight via second-round knockout. Thiago faced Ailton Barbosa at Global Legion FC 13 on December 13, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Six days removed from his previous bout, Thiago faced Sam Liera at SMASH Global 9 on December 19, 2019. He lost the fight via first-round knockout.

Personal life

Thiago is married and has twins.

Championships and accomplishments

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 ( ...

** Knockout of the Night (One time) vs.

** Submission of the Night (One time) vs.

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs.

**UFC.com Awards ***2009: Upset of the Year , Ranked #6 Knockout of the Year & Ranked #8 Newcomer of the Year ***2010: Ranked #9 Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 19–11 , Sam Liera , TKO (punches) , SMASH Global 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:58 ,

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–10 , Alton Barbosa , Decision (unanimous) , Global Legion FC 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Miramar, Florida Miramar is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 134,721, making it the fourth-largest city in Broward County, the sixth-largest cit ...

, United States , Catchweight (175 lbs) bout. , - , Loss , align=center, 18–10 , Michał Materla , TKO (punches) , KSW 40: Dublin , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:50 ,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 18–9 , Faycal Hucin , Submission (armbar) , Fight2Night 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:11 ,

Foz do Iguaçu Foz do Iguaçu (; "Iguazu River mouth"), colloquially referred to as Foz, is the Brazilian city on the border of Iguaçu Falls. Foz in Portuguese language, Portuguese means the mouth or end of a river and Iguaçu in Guarani language, Guarani or Tup ...

, Paraná, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 17–9 , Cheick Kone , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fight2Night 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:16 ,

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 ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 16–9 , Paulistenio Rocha , Decision (unanimous) , The Warriors Combat 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Distrito Federal, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–9 , Markus Perez Echeimberg , Decision (split) , Thunder Fight 7 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–8 , Sean Spencer , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Distrito Federal, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–7 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3#The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale: Miocic vs. Maldonado, The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale: Miocic vs. Maldonado , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 , Brandon Thatch , TKO (submission to knee to the body) , UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:10 ,

Goiânia Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 , Michel Prazeres , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Jaraguá do Sul Jaraguá do Sul () is a city in the north of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina. History The city was founded on July 25, 1876, by engineer and Brazilian Army colonel Emílio Carlos Jourdan and his family. The city wa ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, SAR, China , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–4 , Siyar Bahadurzada , KO (punch) , UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:42 ,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , David Mitchell , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 121 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 ,

, Technical Submission (D'arce choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:54 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 106 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 ,

, KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Luiz Dutra Jr. , TKO (knee injury) , Jungle Fight 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 ,

Ferrid Kheder Ferrid Kheder (born 3 March 1975) is a French retired Olympic judoka who placed seventh at the Sydney Olympic Games and a former professional mixed martial artist who fought from 2004 to 2013. He holds the sixth Dan in IJF Judo and a BJJ blac ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Jungle Fight 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Paulo Cavera , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Jungle Fight 9: Warriors , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Leonardo Pecanha , Decision (unanimous) , Jungle Fight 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Fernando Bettega , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Capital Fight 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 ,

, Distrito Federal, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Franklin Careli , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Conquista Fight 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:37 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Igor Maux , Submission (anaconda choke) , rowspan=3, Grand Prix Planaltina , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:06 , rowspan=3, Planaltina, Distrito Federal, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Diogo Almeida , Submission (guillotine choke) , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:21 , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Marcone Bezerra , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:31 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Ricardo Petrucio , Submission (triangle choke) , Storm Samurai 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:36 ,

, Brazil ,

References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thiago, Paulo Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male judoka Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Martial artists from Brasília 1981 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen