Soa Palelei (born 12 July 1977) is an Australian retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. A professional from 2002 until 2015, he most notably competed for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and

PRIDE Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts eve ...

Background

Born in 1977,

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle ar ...

, of Tongan descent, Palelei started his fighting career at an early age.

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

was his first choice in the earlier years and nearly saw him compete for Australia at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in Sydney. Palelei's interest quickly grew in the arena of martial arts and from there his love of the

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

grew.

Personal life

Palelei says he cannot recall ever getting into street scraps as a kid, and, remarkably, does not like confrontation out of the ring. His sporting prowess started with basketball, then moved to rugby, while he also trained in freestyle and Greco wrestling, followed by Brazilian jiu-jitsu. His father took him to get his first tattoo at 15, a rite of passage that would be repeated through milestones in his life, the patterns portraying significant Tongan symbols. Coming from a school of hard knocks helped to prepare Palelei for the fight arena. His parents had exposed him to the tough plantation life in Tonga as a young child. Then he was sent to live with an uncle in NSW where he was given regular beatings. Having gone through this has made Palelei want to be able to give back and use his platform to do so, Palelei has a mentoring program called Hulk Kids MMA in which he mentors teens on every aspect of life, combined with training and diet tips this program is available for schools and community groups. Palelei was signed to Penguin Books and is in the midst of writing a memoir about his childhood how he came up from nothing to being in the world's largest MMA organisation the UFC, his book was released in June 2016 and can be purchased at https://www.penguin.com.au/books/face-your-fears-9780143799979, this will be the first of other books to come.

Acting career

Palelei is currently signed to Clifford Wallace Plus, Palelei made his acting debut in the 2014 Australian film, ''Son of a Gun'', playing the role of a henchmen Tommy alongside

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

, Matthew Nable and

Brenton Thwaites Brenton Thwaites (born 10 August 1989) is an Australian actor. Beginning his career in his home country in 2011, he had a starring role on the series ''Slide'' and later appeared on the soap opera ''Home and Away''. Since moving to the United S ...

. Since then Palelei has played the lead in ''Zombie Ninjas Vs Black Ops'' which is due to be released in 2015, and ''Football Breakers'' an Australian Comedy. In 2017 Palelei appeared alongside Matthew Nable,

Ryan Corr Ryan Corr (born 15 January 1989) is an Australian actor. Corr is known for his roles in the Australian drama series '' Packed to the Rafters'' and '' Love Child'' along with film roles in '' Wolf Creek 2'' (2013), '' The Water Diviner'' (2014) an ...

, Abbey Leigh, Eddie Baroo and Simone Kessell in '' 1%''.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Palelei made his professional MMA debut in September 2002. He was undefeated for the first two years of his career, going 7–0 with all wins either by

TKO TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

or submission. He suffered his first defeat via submission to Choi Mu-Bae at

PRIDE 28 The year 2004 is the 8th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2004 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 27 - Inferno''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The followi ...

in October 2004.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Palelei had a brief stint in the UFC at UFC 79 against

Eddie Sanchez Eduardo Arturo Sanchez (born November 4, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2004, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, Titan FC, Final Fight Championship ...

, losing by TKO in the third round. He was released from the promotion shortly after.

Post-UFC

He was at one stage linked a fight at ONE FC – Pride of a Nation against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski, however ONE FC officials pulled him from the fight as he refused to sign a five-fight exclusive contract with

ONE Fighting Championship ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...

. He was replaced by former UFC Heavyweight Champion

Tim Sylvia Timothy Deane Sylvia (born March 5, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, professional wrestler, and a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. He has competed as a Super Heavyweight and Heavyweight. While he is best kn ...

. After his release from the UFC in 2007, Palelei went 10–1 including wins over UFC veterans Brad Morris and Sean McCorkle. He defeated McCorkle in the main event at

Australian Fighting Championship Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) is an Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation based in Melbourne. In 2013 AFC was described as Australia's leading MMA organisation by MMA Kanvas and is part of Sherdog's list of top 50 global M ...

(AFC) 4 via technical knock-out in round one and defended his AFC heavyweight title he won at AFC 3.

Return to UFC

In March 2013, Palelei signed a multi fight deal with the UFC. Palelei was expected to face

Stipe Miocic Stipe Miocic (born August 19, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. Miocic i ...

on 15 June 2013 at UFC 161 until Miocic was reassigned to fight Roy Nelson as a replacement on the main card and Palelei was pulled from the event. Palelei faced UFC newcomer

Nikita Krylov Nikita Andreyevich Krylov (born March 7, 1992) is a Ukrainian-Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for M-1 Global. As ...

at UFC 164. He won the fight via third-round TKO in a lackluster fight which saw both fighters exhausted after the first round. It was later revealed that Palelei suffered a fractured rib during the week before the fight. Palelei next faced Pat Barry at UFC Fight Night 33 on 7 December 2013. He won the fight via knockout in the first round, after achieving full mount position and landing a barrage of punches. Palelei faced promotional newcomer Ruan Potts on 10 May 2014 at UFC Fight Night 40. He won the fight via knockout, again from a full mount, in the first round. Palelei faced Jared Rosholt on 28 June 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 43 ''UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 43'') was a mixed martial arts event held on June 28, 2014, at Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Background The event was the first that the organization hosted in N ...

. Palelei lost the fight via unanimous decision. Palelei was expected to face Daniel Omielańczuk on 8 November 2014 at UFC Fight Night 55. However, Omielańczuk was forced to pull out of bout with a broken thumb and was replaced by Walt Harris. He won the fight by TKO in the second round. Palelei faced Antônio Silva on 1 August 2015 at UFC 190. He lost the fight by TKO in the second round. In turn, Palelei announced his retirement from MMA on 19 October 2015.

Accomplishments

(AFC) World Heavy Weight Champion * K-OZ Entertainment World Super Heavy Weight Champion * IKBF Super Heavy Weight World Champion * Australian Heavy Weight Mixed Martial Arts Champion * Australian Heavy Weight Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu * W.A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Heavy Weight Champion * W.A Freestyle Wrestling Champion at 120 kg * W.A MMA Heavy Weight Champion * Australian Freestyle Wrestling Champion at 120 kg * ADCC Australian Heavy Weight Submission Champion * South Pacific MMA Heavy Weight Champion

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 22–5 , Antônio Silva , TKO (punches) , UFC 190 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:41 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 22–4 , Walt Harris , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:49 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–4 , Jared Rosholt , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, New Zealand , , - , Win , align=center, 21–3 , Ruan Potts , KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 ,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–3 , Pat Barry , KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:09 ,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC 164 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:34 ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, Wisconsin, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Sean McCorkle , TKO (punches) , Australian Fighting Championship 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:45 ,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 ,

Bob Sapp Robert Malcolm Sapp (born September 22, 1973) is an American mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler, actor, and former American football player. He is currently under contract with Rizin Fighting Federation. Sapp has a combined ...

, TKO (punches) , Cage Fighting Championship 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:12 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 , Joe Kielur , TKO (punches) , Australian Fighting Championship 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:14 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , Shunske Inoue , TKO (punches) , Cage Fighting Championship 20 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:08 , Gold Coast, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 ,

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

, TKO (punches) , K-Oz Entertainment: Bragging Rights , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 ,

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Matt Walker , KO (punch) , Cage Fighting Championship 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:16 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Son Hai Suk , TKO (punches) , Australian Fighting Championship 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:28 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Yusuke Kawaguchi , TKO (punches) , Australian Fighting Championship 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 , Daniel Cormier , TKO (submission to punches) , Xtreme MMA 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:23 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Brad Morris , Submission (Americana) , Impact FC 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:20 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Leamy Tato , Submission (armbar) , XFC: Return of the Hulk , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 ,

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC 79 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:24 ,

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the f ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Shaun Vanof , KO (punch) , KOTC: Perth , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:05 ,

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Choi Mu-Bae , Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:55 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Vince Lucero , TKO (punches) , Shooto Australia – NHB , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Lance Cartwright , TKO (injury) , XFC 4 – Australia vs The World , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 ,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Christian Wellisch , TKO (punches) , Shooto Australia – NHB , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:33 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Don Richards , TKO (submission to punches) , Shooto Australia – NHB , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Edwin Montevgini , Submission (armbar) , After Dark Fight Night 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:15 , Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Gerald Burton-Batty , TKO (punches) , Thunderdome , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Brad Morris , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Xtreme Fight Night , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 3:00 , Australia ,

References

http://www.thewhatitdo.com/2013/09/17/exclusive-ufc-fighter-soa-the-hulk-palelei/

External links

* *http://www.soathehulk.com/ *
Soa Palelei from UFC Fans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palelei, Soa 1977 births Living people Australian male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Super heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Newcastle, New South Wales Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Australian people of Tongan descent Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters