Rafaello Oliveira Ferreira (; born January 26, 1982) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

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 ( ...

Mixed martial arts career

Oliveria took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 16,Dave Link,
Knoxville's Rafaello Oliveira Needs to Win to Maintain UFC Status
" ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', 5 July 2012. Retrieved: 5 July 2012. and started his professional MMA career in 2004, competing in his native Brazil. He moved to the United States in 2007, and settled in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, in 2008, where he was an instructor at the Knoxville Martial Arts Academy. In 2012 he moved to Charleston, SC where he taught at Charleston Krav Maga and now teaches at his own location in Mt. Pleasant, SC called Houzn Jiu Jitsu Academy.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In August 2009, it was announced Oliveira would be debuting for the

at UFC 103. He was originally scheduled to fight Dan Lauzon, but Lauzon pulled out of the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Nik Lentz. Despite pushing the pace in the first round and moving forward aggressively, Oliveira was controlled by Lentz in the 2nd and 3rd rounds which led to a unanimous decision loss. Oliveira was expected to face

Sean Sherk Sean Keith Sherk (born August 5, 1973) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former UFC Lightweight Champion. Sherk competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was one of the first combatants to have been a championship competit ...

on January 2, 2010, at UFC 108. However, after an injury to Tyson Griffin, Sherk stepped up to face Jim Miller, leaving Oliveira to face John Gunderson. Oliveira went on to defeat Gunderson via unanimous decision, earning his first UFC win. Oliveria most recently faced Andre Winner on March 31, 2010, at UFC Fight Night 21, replacing an injured Cole Miller. Oliveira was defeated by Winner via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the UFC. In May 2011, Oliveira was re-signed by the UFC and faced Gleison Tibau on May 28, 2011, at UFC 130, replacing an injured Bart Palaszewski. Oliveira was submitted for the second time in his professional career, tapping out to a rear-naked choke in the second round. Oliveira faced Yves Edwards on October 1, 2011, at UFC on Versus 6. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Oliveira was expected to face Reza Madadi on January 20, 2012, at UFC on FX 1. However, Oliveira was forced out of a bout with an injury and replaced by returning veteran Fabrício Camões. Oliveira faced Yoislandy Izquierdo on July 7, 2012, at UFC 148. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Oliveira was expected to face

Michael Chiesa Michael Keith Chiesa (; born December 7, 1987) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and sports analyst who currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ...

on December 8, 2012, at UFC on Fox 5. However, Oliveira was forced out of the bout with a broken hand and replaced by Marcus LeVesseur. Oliveira faced Edson Barboza at UFC 162, and lost the bout due to leg kicks in the second round. Oliveira faced Erik Koch on February 22, 2014, at UFC 170. He lost the fight by TKO in the first round after he was knocked down by a counter straight right hook, and was subsequently released from UFC shortly after.

Personal life

Oliveira is married to Wanessa Carolina and has three children.

Mixed martial arts record

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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 ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Lyle Beerbohm , TKO (doctor stoppage) , ShoXC 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliveira, Rafaello 1982 births Brazilian male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Living people Sportspeople from Recife Martial artists from Pernambuco Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen