Rodrigo Damm (; born 3 February 1980) is a Brazilian retired 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 last 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

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 ...

. A professional since 2004, he also competed for

World Victory Road World Victory Road (WVR) was a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in conjunct ...

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

Jungle Fight Jungle Fight is a Brazilian mixed martial arts and kickboxing promotion. It was created in 2003. The name is derived from its origin, the Amazonas state in Brazil. History Jungle Fight was founded by pioneering MMA fighter and long-time Brazi ...

Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a ...

, and was a competitor on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil''.

Background

Damm began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu when he was 16 years old, and also competed in

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

. He is a seven-time national champion in both sports as well as a world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Damm made his professional mixed martial arts debut in October 2004, losing via split decision to Luciano Azevedo. In the years following that loss, he went on an 8 fight win streak while fighting all over the world including Japan, Russia and South Korea.

Strikeforce

Damm made his United States MMA debut at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz against

Gilbert Melendez Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightwei ...

for the Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship. Damm returned to the promotion in 2011, where he faced Justin Wilcox in the main event at Strikeforce Challengers: Wilcox vs. Damm. He lost the fight via doctor stoppage between the first and second round due to a cut.

The Ultimate Fighter

In March 2012, Damm appeared as a fighter on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil''. In the opening elimination fight, he defeated

Fabrício Guerreiro Fabrício de Assis Costa da Silva (born July 24, 1990), better known as Fabrício Guerreiro, is a Brazilian Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who is known to have competed in Bellator Fighting Championships, Bellator's Featherweight (MMA), ...

by submission (rear naked choke) in round 2 to get into the TUF house. Damm was selected fourth (eighth overall) by

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian professional boxer and retired mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, and Middleweight d ...

to be a part of Team Vitor. During the show, Damm often came to blows with Anistavio "Gasparzinho" Medeiros, as Gasparzinho's prankster attitude constantly annoyed the more serious Damm. In the quarterfinals, Damm was matched up against undefeated

John Teixeira John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

. After three closely contested rounds, Damm won via split decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Damm made his UFC debut at

UFC 147 ''UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 23, 2012 at Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Background The finals in the featherweight and middlewe ...

on 23 June 2012 where he faced his rival from the TUF, Gasparzinho. He won the fight via submission in the first round, earning a ''Submission of the Night'' bonus in the process. Damm fought

Antonio Carvalho Antonio Carvalho (born May 30, 1979) is a retired Canadian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2002 until 2013, he fought in the UFC and Shooto. Mixed martial arts career Early career Carvalho made his professional MMA debut in September 2 ...

on 17 November 2012 at

UFC 154 ''UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 17, 2012, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background Parent company Zuffa, LLC produced a UFC P ...

. Damm lost a back and forth fight via split decision. Damm next fought

Mizuto Hirota is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional competitor since 2005, he appeared in the Japanese MMA event Dynamite!! 2009 event and has also competed for Ul ...

at UFC on Fuel TV 10 on 8 June 2013. He won the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Damm was expected to face Hacran Dias at UFC Fight Night 29. However, the bout was scrapped just days prior to the event after Damm was sidelined due to a

kidney stone Kidney stone disease (known as nephrolithiasis, renal calculus disease, or urolithiasis) is a crystallopathy and occurs when there are too many minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny pieces of cr ...

attack. Damm moved back to

and faced Ivan Jorge on 15 February 2014 at UFC Fight Night 36. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Damm faced

Rashid Magomedov Rashid Magomedgadzhievich Magomedov (; born May 14, 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist. He is a former amateur Light heavyweight and Middleweight boxer, and competed at the lightweight mixed martial artist in the Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

on 31 May 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Damm faced

Al Iaquinta Al Iaquinta (born April 30, 1987) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, having once challenged for the Lightweight championship belt. A professional ...

at UFC Fight Night 50 on 5 September 2014. Iaquinta defeated Damm via third-round TKO. Damm faced Evan Dunham on 3 January 2015 at

UFC 182 ''UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 3, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was headlined by a Light Heavyweight Championship bout between the champion at that ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion. Following his release, Damm posted this statement to social media. "I stopped, retired from MMA. I'm not training hard enough for quite some time. I go to my BJJ gym two or three times a week, when I can. I keep training but for my own pleasure. I'm enjoying my family. I spent a lot of time away from home and traveling, now I can watch my kids grow up. I think I'm gonna start doing business with my dad at his woodshop. This should be my future"

Personal life

Rodrigo's sister Carina Damm is also a mixed martial artist.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

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 ( ...

** Submission of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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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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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 ...

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Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

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Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 10–5 , Anistavio Medeiros , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

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Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–5 , Justin Wilcox , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Strikeforce Challengers: Wilcox vs. Damm , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

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, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Ivan Iberico , Decision (unanimous) , Jungle Fight 17: Vila Velha , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Eiji Mitsuoka is a retired Japanese professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2012, Mitsuoka fought for the UFC, DREAM, World Victory Road, PRIDE, Shooto, Cage Force, DEEP and King of the Cage promotions. Mitsuoka's ni ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:13 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 ,

Jorge Masvidal Jorge Luis Masvidal (born November 12, 1984) is an American professional boxer and former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions. Masvidal competed professionally for 20 years from 2003 unti ...

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Johil de Oliveira Johil de Oliveira (born August 7, 1969) is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial arts veteran fighter, Luta Livre practitioner who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and Brazilian-based organizations such as World Vale ...

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Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

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, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Santino DeFranco , Submission (rear-naked choke) , BodogFIGHT Series II: Clash of the Nations , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:58 ,

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, - , Win , align=center, 2–0 ,

John Macapá John Teixeira da Conceição (; born November 18, 1986), commonly known as John Macapá, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight (MMA), featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Teixeira h ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Damm, Rodrigo 1980 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Brazilian male sport wrestlers Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Lightweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Brazilian people of German descent Sportspeople from Vila Velha Martial artists from Espírito Santo People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen