Paulo Thiago Alencar Artunes (born January 25, 1981 in Brazil) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and a member of BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Especiais), the elite special police force in Brazil. Thiago is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in their welterweight division. Thiago is often ranked among the top ten welterweights in the world by leading mixed martial arts publications. MMA Weekly currently ranks him at No. 6, whilst Sherdog currently ranks him at No. 5.
Mixed martial arts[]
Paulo made his professional debut at Storm Samurai 8 in 2005. He fought Ricardo Petrucio and won the fight via submission in round three. His next three fights came on the same night almost a year after his debut. Paulo competed in the Grand Prix Planaltina, winning all three of his fights and became the tournament winner. Paulo finished all three of the fights by submission. After two more victories, Paulo was signed by Jungle Fights MMA. Paulo won four fights for the promotion before being signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championships.[1]
Ultimate Fighting Championship[]
Paulo never signed a contract before his fight against Koscheck, he was only able to acquire a tryout.[2] Paulo made his UFC debut on February 21, 2009, scoring an upset victory over top contender Josh Koscheck at UFC 95. During the fight, commentator Joe Rogan commented that Thiago's striking looked inferior to Koscheck's. However, Thiago won the fight by KO, with a flush right uppercut and a left hook. The referee stopped the fight before Thiago could pounce on him. Koscheck immediately rose and argued that he was still alert and able to defend himself. Further review of the replay shows Koscheck's eyes roll back as he falls down, giving merit to the stoppage. At the post-fight conference, Dana White confirmed that Thiago had won the Knockout of the Night award.
Thiago had his second fight in the UFC, fighting against welterweight contender and Koscheck teammate Jon Fitch. The fight took place at UFC 100. This was Thiago's first fight in the United States and he lost via unanimous decision. This fight was delayed until after the main event due to time constraints.
He then defeated UFC newcomer Jacob Volkmann at UFC 106 via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). The fight originally was set to be on the undercard but after a fight was cancelled at last minute, Paulo's fight was bumped up to main card.
In Paulo's fourth outing in the UFC octagon, he was set to have a rematch against Josh Koscheck at UFC 109.[3] However, Koscheck pulled out of the bout after an undisclosed injury.[4] Koscheck was replaced by AKA team-mate Mike Swick.[5] Thiago won via submission (d'arce choke) in the second round and earned his second UFC fight bonus with the win. By defeating Swick, Thiago took his record against AKA members to two wins and one loss.
Thiago is expected to face Martin Kampmann on June 12, 2010 at UFC 115.[6]
Personal life[]
Paulo was born and raised in Brazil. Besides being a mixed martial artist Paulo is also a member of BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Especiais), the elite special police force in Brazil, based in Brasília.
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Mixed martial arts record[]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 19 | 13 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 2 | 0 |
| By submission | 8 | 0 |
| By decision | 3 | 1 |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Martin Kampmann
|
UFC 115 | June 12, 2010 |  Vancouver, Canada
|
|||||
| Win |  Mike Swick
|
Technical Submission (D'Arce Choke) | UFC 109: Relentless | February 6, 2010 | 2 | 1:54 | Las Vegas, Nevada
|
|
| Win | Jacob Volkmann
|
Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2 | November 21, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada
|
|
| Loss | Jon Fitch
|
Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 100 | July 11, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada
|
|
| Win | Josh Koscheck
|
KO (Uppercut) | UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson | February 21, 2009 | 1 | 3:29 |  London, England
|
|
| Win |  Luiz Dutra Jr.
|
TKO (Injury) | Jungle Fight 11 | September 13, 2008 | 1 | 0:40 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|
| Win | File:Tunisia flag.svg Ferrid Kheder | Decision (Unanimous) | Jungle Fight 10 | July 12, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|
| Win | Paulo Cavera
|
Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) | Jungle Fight 9: Warriors | May 31, 2008 | 1 | N/A | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|
| Win | Leonardo Pecanha
|
Decision (Unanimous) | Jungle Fight 8 | April 6, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|
| Win | Fernando Bettaga
|
Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) | Capital Fight | December 14, 2007 | 1 | 2:02 | Brasilia, Brazil
|
|
| Win | Frank Carelli
|
Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) | Conquista Fights 3 | May 12, 2007 | 2 | 0:37 | Brazil
|
|
| Win | Igor Pakoto
|
Submission (Anaconda Choke) | Grand Prix Planaltina | October 13, 2006 | 1 | 1:06 | Planaltina, Brazil
|
|
| Win | Diogo Almeida
|
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | Grand Prix Planaltina | October 13, 2006 | 3 | 1:21 | Planaltina, Brazil
|
|
| Win | Marcone Marcone
|
Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) | Grand Prix Planaltina | October 13, 2006 | 3 | 1:31 | Planaltina, Brazil
|
|
| Win | Ricardo Petrucio
|
Submission (Triangle Choke) | Storm Samurai 8 | July 2, 2005 | 3 | 1:36 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
References[]
- ↑ Report: Koscheck set to face newcomer Thiago at UFC 95. cbssports.com. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
- ↑ Paulo Thiago Gets a Tryout at UFC 95, Not a Contract. cagepotato.com. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
- ↑ Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago II Being Targeted for UFC 109 in February. mmafighting.com. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
- ↑ Phil Davis vs. Brian Stann added to UFC 109; Josh Koscheck forced out (Updated). mmajunkie.com. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
- ↑ Mike Swick Replaces Josh Koscheck, Will Face Paulo Thiago at UFC 109. mmafighting.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
- ↑ Template:Cite news
External links[]
ja:パウロ・チアゴ no:Paulo Thiago pt:Paulo Thiago (lutador)