Daniel Sarafian Gantman (born 21 August 1982 in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

) is an Armenian-Brazilian

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, incorp ...

who last competed in 2018. A professional since 2006, Sarafian has formerly competed for 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, Bellator,

Absolute Championship Berkut Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), formerly known as Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), is a Russian mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization and one of the leading promotions in Europe. To date, most events have been ...

, and was a competitor on

Globo Globo (meaning ''globe'' in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian) may refer to: *Grupo Globo, a Brazilian conglomerate primarily in mass media **TV Globo, a television network ***GloboNews, a television 24-hour news channel ***Globo (Portuguese TV cha ...

's '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil''.

Background

Sarafian started training in the

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

at the age of five years under his grandfather who was a black belt in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

. Sarafian took solely judo classes until he was ten years old when he began training

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

. At sixteen he began taking lessons in

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

. After entering high school and getting constantly picked on for being overweight, Sarafian began working out and training MMA. Only a couple classes into MMA, Sarafian "fell in love with fighting".

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Sarafian made his professional debut at Predator FC 2 against Jorge Luis Bezerra, winning the fight via submission in round three. In his next bout, he agreed to fight UFC and

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

veteran

Mike Whitehead Michael Joe Whitehead (born June 29, 1981) is a former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight weight classes for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, IFL, Affliction, and Strikeforce. Mixed martia ...

. Sarafian lost the fight via unanimous decision. After his bout with Whitehead Sarafian was asked to take a fight for District Combat Promotions, a small promotion based in the United States. Sarafian took the fight and won via submission (armbar) in the third round. Sarafian stayed in the United States and fought on the Texas' promotion, Xtreme Fight Championship. He fought Cedric Marks and won the fight via

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

in the first round. Sarafian then signed a one-fight deal with Bellator Fighting Championships to compete on their first fight card of their inaugural season. Sarafian fought Gary Padilla, losing in the second round via referee stoppage. Sarafian racked up four straight wins before signing on to take part on

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

The Ultimate Fighter

In March 2012, it was revealed that Sarafian was selected to be a participant on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil''. Sarafian defeated Richardson Moreira via decision to move into the ''Ultimate Fighter'' house, and become an official cast member. Sarafian was selected as the third pick (sixth overall) by

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions. Belfort previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavywe ...

to be a part of Team Belfort. In the first Middleweight fight of the season, Sarafian was selected to fight Renee Forte. Sarafian dominated the fight and won via rear naked choke in the second round. In the semi-finals Sarafian was selected to fight

Sérgio Moraes Sérgio Ricardo de Moraes (born July 23, 1982) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the welterweight and middleweight division's for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was a competitor on '' The Ultimat ...

. Sarafian won the fight in the first round via KO after hitting Moraes with a flying knee as he dropped for a take down. The win moved Sarafian into the finals of the middleweight tournament, set to take place at the

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 middlewei ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sarafian was scheduled to officially make his UFC debut at

on 23 June 2012, to determine the middleweight winner of '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil''. However, due to an injury, Sarafian was replaced by

and did not compete at the event. In his debut, Sarafian faced

C.B. Dollaway Clarence Byron "C. B." Dollaway (born August 10, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. A professional since 2006, he formerly fought in the UFC and was a finalist ...

on 19 January 2013, at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Despite the loss, it was awarded the ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Sarafian faced promotional newcomer Eddie Mendez on 8 June 2013, at

UFC on Fuel TV 10 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2'' is an installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. This season consisted of 12 episodes and a live finale in Brazil. The season tournam ...

. He won the fight via arm triangle submission in the first round. In what was originally set to be '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil'' middleweight final, Sarafian faced

Cezar Ferreira Cezar Jesus Ferreira (born February 15, 1985), better known in his home country Brazil as Cezar Mutante, is a mixed martial artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, he has competed fo ...

on 9 November 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 32 ''UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 32'') was a mixed martial arts event held on November 9, 2013, at the Goiânia Arena in Goiânia, Brazil. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Background Th ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Sarafian faced

Kiichi Kunimoto is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has also competed for the RIZIN, UFC, Bellator, and Pancrase. Background Born and raised in the Nishina ...

in a welterweight bout on 14 June 2014, at UFC 174. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Sarafian was expected to return to middleweight and face Dan Miller on 20 December 2014, at

UFC Fight Night 58 ''UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 58'') was a mixed martial arts event held at the Ginásio José Corrêa in Barueri, Brazil on December 20, 2014. Background The event was the second that the UFC has hoste ...

. However, Miller pulled out of the bout on 11 December and was replaced by promotional newcomer Antônio dos Santos. Sarafian won the fight via second round TKO as dos Santos dislocated a finger and was unable to continue. Sarafian was expected to face Ricardo Abreu on 6 June 2015, at

UFC Fight Night 68 ''UFC Fight Night: Boetsch vs. Henderson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 68'') was a mixed martial arts event held on June 6, 2015, at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Background The event was expected to be headlined by a l ...

. However on 4 May, Sarafian was forced to withdraw from the event due to injury and was replaced by

Jake Collier Jake Collier (born October 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background With no background in sports, Collier started Brazilian jiu-jitsu to lose weight ...

. Sarafian was expected to face

Sam Alvey Samuel William Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Alvey has also formerly com ...

on 21 February 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 83 ''UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 83'') was a mixed martial arts event held on February 21, 2016, at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Background This was the second event that the UFC hos ...

. However, Alvey pulled out of the bout in late December after sustaining a broken jaw and was replaced by

Oluwale Bamgbose Oluwale Bamgbose (born August 4, 1987) is a Nigerian-American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Education Oluwale was raised by traditional parents who were very s ...

Sarafian lost the fight via knockout in the first round. After his loss to Bamgbose, Sarafian was subsequently released from the promotion

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

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 ...

* * The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil Middleweight Tournament Finalist (replaced due to injury by

)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 11–6 , Carlos Eduardo , Decision (unanimous) , ACB 82: Silva vs. Kolobegov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 10–6 , James Austen Heidlage , Decision (unanimous) , LFA: Sioux Falls Fight Night 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, United States , Return to

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

. , - , Loss , align=center, 9–6 ,

, KO (head kick and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 ,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–5 , Antônio dos Santos , TKO (finger injury) , UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:01 ,

Barueri Barueri ( or ) is a Brazilian municipality in the State of São Paulo located in the northwestern part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 276,982 (2020 est.) in an area of . Its boundaries are Santana de Parnaíba to th ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–5 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC 174 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:52 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–4 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Goiânia Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Eddie Mendez , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC on Fuel TV: Nogueira vs. Werdum , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 ,

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–3 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Ricardo Silva , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pretorian 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:01 , São Paulo, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Gilklei Antonio Silva , Submission (punches) , Blaze FC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:44 ,

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Mauricio Alonso , Decision (unanimous) , First Class Fight 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , São Paulo, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Yuri Villas Boas , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Hero Kombat 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 , São Paulo, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–2 , Gary Padilla , TKO (punches) ,

Bellator 1 2009 in Bellator MMA was the first installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started broadcasting April 3, 2009, through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes. The episodes had a one-day ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:04 ,

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

, United States ,

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Cedric Marks , Submission (triangle choke) , Xtreme Fight Championship , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ,

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Lamont Lister , Submission (armbar) , District Combat Promotions 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:32 , Washington, D.C., United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Platinum Fighting Productions 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jorge Luis Bezerra , Submission (guillotine choke) , Predador FC 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:43 , São Paulo, Brazil ,

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, - , Win , align=center, 3-0 ,

, KO (flying knee) , '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil'' , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:07 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2-0 , Renee Forte , Submission (rear-naked choke) , '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil'' , (airdate) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Richardson Moreira , Decision (unanimous) , '' The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil'' , (airdate) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , -

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarafian, Daniel 1982 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male judoka Brazilian male karateka Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Bellator male fighters Brazilian people of Armenian descent Sportspeople from São Paulo