Raphael Pessoa (born March 9, 1989) 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 competes in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division. He also formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA)

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Pessoa fought mostly in Rio de Janeiro for NCE promotion, amassing an undefeated 9–0 record while also winning the NCE Heavyweight Title.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Pessoa made his promotional debut on 10 August 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2 against

Ciryl Gane Ciryl Romain Jacky Gane (born April 12, 1990) is a French professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interi ...

. Pessoa lost the fight by an arm triangle choke at the end of the first round. Pessoa faced Jeff Hughes on October 26, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN+ 20 ''UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 20'' and ''UFC Fight Island 8'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 20, 2021, at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Pessoa was expected to face

Justin Tafa Justin Tafa (born 13 December 1993) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Tafa was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to a family of ...

in a heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till on July 26, 2020. However, Tafa pulled out on July 15 for unknown reasons and was replaced by Tanner Boser. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Pessoa tested positive for banned substance

hydrochlorothiazide Hydrochlorothiazide, sold under the brand name Hydrodiuril among others, is a diuretic medication used to treat hypertension and swelling due to fluid build-up. Other uses include treating diabetes insipidus and renal tubular acidosis and t ...

(HCTZ) and its metabolites

chlorothiazide Chlorothiazide, sold under the brand name Diuril among others, is an organic compound used as a diuretic and as an antihypertensive. It is used both within the hospital setting or for personal use to manage excess fluid associated with congestiv ...

and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB) in a sample collected in an out-of-competition test on March 4. Pessoa was given a

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti-doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

suspension of one year retroactive from the date the positive sample was collected, making him eligible to return on March 4, 2021. Due to laboratory closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Pessoa was able to fight 5 months after the positive test was collected, losing to Tanner Boser via second-round TKO. Pessoa is suspended by USADA for the second time for 2 years for positive for banned substance

7-Keto-DHEA 7-Ketodehydroepiandrosterone (7-keto-DHEA, 7-oxo-DHEA), also known as 7-oxoprasterone, is a steroid prohormone produced by metabolism of the prohormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Pharmacodynamics 7-Keto-DHEA is not directly converted to t ...

and AOD-9064

Hydrochlorothiazide Hydrochlorothiazide, sold under the brand name Hydrodiuril among others, is a diuretic medication used to treat hypertension and swelling due to fluid build-up. Other uses include treating diabetes insipidus and renal tubular acidosis and t ...

(HCTZ) and its metabolites

Chlorothiazide Chlorothiazide, sold under the brand name Diuril among others, is an organic compound used as a diuretic and as an antihypertensive. It is used both within the hospital setting or for personal use to manage excess fluid associated with congestiv ...

and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB). The samples were collected from out-of-competition on February 9, 2021, February 15, 2021, February 16, 2021, and March 4, 2021. Ressoa also evaded sample collection on January 25, 2021, and January 28, 2021. The suspension retroactive from February 9, 2021, and he is eligible to fight again in February 2023.

Post UFC

After his second suspension, Pessoa was released from the UFC. His first bout outside of the UFC was on August 28, 2021, against Mukhumat Vakhaev at ACA 127: Kerefov vs. Albaskhanov. Pessoa lost the bout via KO at the end of the first round. Pessoa faced Daniel James at November 18, 2021, at ACA 132: Johnson vs. Vakhaev. He lost the bout via ground and pound TKO in the second round. Pessoa faced Adam Bogatyrev on July 22, 2022, at ACA 141. He lost the bout via TKO stoppage early in the first round.

Mixed martial arts record

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Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–6 , Boris Mbarga Atangana , TKO (punches) , The King of Fighters 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ,

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, France , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–5 , Adam Bogatyrev , TKO (punches) , ACA 141 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Daniel James , TKO (punches) , ACA 132 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:14 ,

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, Belarus , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 , Mukhomad Vakhaev , KO (punches) , ACA 127 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:28 ,

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , Tanner Boser , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:36 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Jeff Hughes , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 ,

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Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Brian Heden , TKO (punches) , LFA 50 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:39 ,

Prior Lake, Minnesota Prior Lake is an exurban city southwest of Minneapolis, next to Savage and Shakopee in Scott County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Surrounding the shores of Lower and Upper Prior Lake, the city is south of the Minnesota River in an area k ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Wagner Maia , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto Brazil 78 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, 7–0 , Diego Sagat , TKO (punches) , DC Fighters 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:23 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Carlos Alexandre , TKO (punches) , New Corpore Extreme 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:56 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Luan Mendes Oliveira , TKO (punches) , Full Fight 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Leonardo Alves , Decision (unanimous) , New Corpore Extreme 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Fábio Marongiu , TKO (retirement) , New Corpore Extreme 11 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Romulo Ismael , Submission (kimura) , New Corpore Extreme 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:34 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Bruno Luiz Nicolau , KO , New Corpore Extreme 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:26 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pessoa, Raphael 1989 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Doping cases in mixed martial arts Brazilian sportspeople in doping cases 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen