Thales Leites
From FightWiki
Thales Leites is currently fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight promotion where he fights in the Middleweight division.
Leites made his debut with the organization on November 11, 2006, after a bout originally planned for October fell through due to visa-processing issues.
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Name | Thales Leites |
| Nickname | N/A | |
| Association | Nova Uniao | |
| Weight Class | Middleweight | |
| Height | 6' 1" (185 cm) | |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | |
| Birth Date | September 6, 1981 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Country | Brazil |
Professional Record
| Record | 14 - 1 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 2 (T)KOs 9 Submissions 3 Decisions |
| Losses | 0 (T)KOs 0 Submissions 1 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Drew McFedries | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote | 10/25/2008 | 1 | 1:18 | |
| Win | Nate Marquardt | Decision (Split) | UFC 85: Bedlam | 6/07/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Marquardt was docked 1 point in Round 2 for kneeing the head of a downed opponent, and another point in Round 3 for strikes to the back of the head. |
| Win | Ryan Jensen | Submission (Armbar) | UFC 74: Respect | 8/25/2007 | 1 | 3:47 | |
| Win | Floyd Sword | Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) | The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale | 6/23/2007 | 1 | 3:50 | |
| Win | Pete Sell | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 69: Shootout | 4/07/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Martin Kampmann | Decision (Unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale | 11/11/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | UFC debut |
| Win | Jose Landi-Jons | Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) | JF 6: Jungle Fight 6 | 4/29/2006 | 1 | 2:40 | |
| Win | Osami Shibuya | Decision (Unanimous) | MARS | 2/04/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Jason Guida | Submission (Armbar) | UWC 1: Ultimate Warriors Combat | 12/10/2005 | 1 | 1:38 | |
| Win | Ronald Jhun | TKO (Doctors Stoppage) | ROTR: Qualifiers | 9/17/2005 | 3 | 0:32 | |
| Win | Gustavo Machado | Submission | SS 8: Storm Samurai 8 | 7/02/2005 | 3 | N/A | |
| Win | Adam Roland | Submission (Armbar) | ROTR 7: Rumble on the Rock 7 | 5/07/2005 | 1 | 0:49 | |
| Win | Flavio Luiz Moura | Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) | VEF 1: Vitoria Extreme Fighting 1 | 5/29/2004 | N/A | N/A | |
| Win | Lucio Linhares | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | VEF 1: Vitoria Extreme Fighting 1 | 5/29/2004 | 1 | N/A | |
| Win | Felipe Arinelli | Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) | Shooto Brazil: Welcome to Hell | 11/23/2003 | 2 | N/A | |
Early Career
A relative newcomer to the sport, 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 wouldn't 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 wins, 0 losses.
Transition to the UFC
In September, 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.
Leites made his debut at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale, where he lost his first professional fight by unanimous decision to Danish kickboxer Martin Kampmann, but since then has gone undefeated.
