Thales Leites
| Thales Leites | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Thales Leites Lourenço September 6, 1981 (age 34) Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 186 lb (84 kg; 13.3 st) |
| Division | Middleweight |
| Reach | 78.0 in (198 cm) |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai |
| Team | Nova União |
| Rank | 1st degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Welton Ribeiro |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 33 |
| Wins | 26 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 15 |
| By decision | 7 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 6 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Thales Leites Lourenço (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈtaliʒ ˈlejtʃiʃ]; born September 6, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of February 1, 2016 he is #12 in official UFC Middleweight rankings.
Leites made his mixed martial arts debut at Shooto Brazil in 2003, defeating Felipe Arinelli by arm-triangle choke submission. Leites would win his next two fights in Vitória before making his debut in the United States in Hawaii's Rumble on the Rock promotion in 2005, where he defeated Adam Roland in his fourth consecutive mixed martial arts victory.
After a successful outing in the U.S., Leites returned to Brazil to fight Gustavo Machado, who was coming off two wins in the Japanese Pancrase organization. Leites defeated the more experienced Machado by submission in the third round, and was invited back to Rumble on the Rock to fight Hawaiian Ronald Jhun in September. Despite fighting a hometown favorite, Leites notched his sixth victory, defeating Jhun by technical knockout in the later half of the fight.
Although Leites held an unblemished record, he did not gain much mainstream exposure until his bouts with Osami Shibuya in Japan's MARS promotion, and Jose Landi-Jons in Brazil's Jungle Fight promotion. In both fights, Leites was much less experienced than his opponents; about Landi-Jons, Leites admitted, "He was already famous when I was not even interested" in mixed martial arts. Despite the experience disparity, Leites defeated both opponents, scoring a unanimous decision over Shibuya, and submitting Landi-Jons with an arm-triangle choke, increasing Leites' professional record to 9-0.
In September 2006, it was announced that Leites would make his UFC debut against veteran middleweight Nate Marquardt at Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter. However, due to issues with his travel documentation, Leites was not able to compete at the event as planned.
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