Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (born November 12, 1986) is a 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 ...

. He was the former

Jungle Fight Jungle Fight is a Brazilian mixed martial arts and kickboxing promotion. It was created in 2003. The name is derived from its origin, the Amazonas state in Brazil. History Jungle Fight was founded by pioneering MMA fighter and long-time Brazi ...

welterweight champion in Brazil and currently competes in

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division of 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 ...

(UFC).

Background

Zaleski was born in Francisco Beltrao, Parana, Brazil. He grew up training

Capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...

at age of nine. Zaleski transitioned to MMA at age 20 and started competing professionally soon after.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Zaleski started his MMA career on November 8, 2009, and he fought for many promoters notably

, Smash and Amazon Fight in Brazil. He was the former Jungle Fight welterweight champion and he amassed a record of 14–4 with 13 finishes and 1 decision prior joining UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Zaleski made his promotional debut on May 30, 2015, at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves against

Nicolas Dalby Nicolas Dalby (born November 16, 1984) is a Danish mixed martial artist who is currently fighting in the Welterweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2008, he is both a former Welterweight and interim welterweight ...

. Zaleski outstruck Dalby as he landed 16 more significant strikes, but judges handed the victory via split decision to Dalby as he successfully took Zaleski down six times. He faced

Omari Akhmedov Omari Akhmedov (born October 12, 1987) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Ba ...

on his next fight at UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans on April 16, 2016. He won the fight and claimed his first UFC win via knockout in the third round. The fight earned him his first ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. On October 1, 2016, Zaleski returned to face

Keita Nakamura is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and grappler currently competing in the Welterweight division of RIZIN. A professional competitor since 2003, he has formerly competed for the UFC, World Victory Road, Pancrase, Shooto, DREAM, Vale ...

at UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson. After three rounds of fighting, he won the fight via unanimous decision with the score board of (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Zaleski faced

Lyman Good Lyman Merrill Good (born May 26, 1985), also known as "American Cyborg", is an American mixed martial artist. He is perhaps best known for his time spent with Bellator, where he was the inaugural Bellator Welterweight Champion. Good currently co ...

, former

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

and CFFC champion, on July 22, 2017, at UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum. He won the back-and-forth fight by split decision. The fight also earned him his second ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Zaleski faced

Max Griffin Max Griffin (born November 29, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Griffin currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2009, Griffin has also c ...

on October 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida. He won the fight via unanimous decision. The win also earned him his third ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Zaleski was expected to face

Jack Marshman Jack Robert Marshman (born December 19, 1989) is a retired Welsh professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), BAMMA a ...

on March 17, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 127 ''UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 127'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 17, 2018, at The O2 Arena in London, England. Background A heavy ...

. However, on February 19, 2018, it was announced that Zaleski pulled out of the fight, citing a knee injury. He was replaced by Brad Scott Zaleski faced

Sean Strickland Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former King of ...

on May 12, 2018, at

UFC 224 ''UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 12, 2018, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The UFC was initially targeting a UFC Wom ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Zaleski was scheduled to meet

Belal Muhammad Belal Muhammad (born July 9, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the UFC welterweight division. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for Bellator and Titan FC. As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 in ...

on September 22, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 137 ''UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 137'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 22, 2018 at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil. Background A ...

. However, on September 14, 2018 Muhammad was pulled from the bout and he was replace by newcomer

Luigi Vendramini Luigi Vendramini (born January 16, 1996) is a Brazilian professional male mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Vendramini started practising Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age ...

. He won the fight via knockout in round two. Zaleski was scheduled to face

Li Jingliang Li Jingliang (Chinese: 李景亮; pinyin: Lǐ Jǐngliàng; born March 20, 1988) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes as a welterweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 13, 2022, he is #15 in the UFC welterweight ...

on November 25, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 141 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 141'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on November 24, 2018 at Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China. Background ...

. However on October 27, 2018, it was reported that Zaleski withdrew from the bout due to a partial ligament tear in his right knee. Zaleski faced

Curtis Millender Curtis Marquir Millender (born December 1, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2013, Millender has formerly competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellato ...

on March 9, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 146 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 146'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 4'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 9, 2019 at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, ...

. He won the fight via submission in the first round. Zaleski was expected to face

Neil Magny Aoutneil "Neil" Jacques Magny (born August 3, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Magny ...

on May 18, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 151 ''UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 151'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 9'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on May 4, 2019 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontari ...

. However, on March 28, 2019 dos Santos announced that he had not been contacted by the UFC about the match. A pairing with

was rescheduled and took place on August 31, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 157 ''UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Zhang'' (also known as'' UFC Fight Night 157'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 15'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 31, 2019 at Shenzhen Universiade Sports ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round three. As the last fight of his prevailing contract, Zaleski faced

Alexey Kunchenko Alexey Andreevich Kunchenko (russian: Алексей Андреевич Кунченко; born May 02, 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the welterweight division. He is a former M-1 Global welterweight champion and co ...

on March 14, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 170 ''UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 170'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 28'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 14, 2020 at Ginásio Nilson Nelson in B ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. As the first fight of his new, four-fight contract, Zaleski faced

Muslim Salikhov Muslim Magomedovich Salikhov (born June 9, 1984), is a Russian mixed martial artist and Sanda fighter who currently competes in welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A multiple time Wushu Sanda wor ...

on July 11, 2020 at

UFC 251 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 ...

. He lost the fight via a split decision. Zaleski was expected to face promotional newcomer

Shavkat Rakhmonov Shavkat Bakhtibaevich Rakhmonov (born October 23, 1994) is a Kazakh professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Rakhmonov is also a former M-1 Global Welter ...

on October 24, 2020 at

UFC 254 ''UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 24, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event proceeded w ...

. However, Zaleski pulled out in late September due to a knee injury that required surgery. Zaleski faced promotional newcomer

Benoît Saint-Denis Benoît Saint-Denis (born 18 December 1995), is a French professional mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the first French fighter having competed and won on a UFC card o ...

on October 30, 2021 at

UFC 267 ''UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 30, 2021, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background This event took plac ...

. After nearly finishing Saint Denis in round two, he won the bout via unanimous decision. Zaleski was scheduled to face

Mounir Lazzez Mounir Lazzez (born November 16, 1987) is a Tunisian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional fighter since 2012, he is the first fighter that was born and raised in an A ...

on April 16, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 34 ''UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 34'' and ''UFC Vegas 51'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 16, 2022, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, ...

. However, Zaleski dos Santos withdrew the week of the fight due to personal reasons and was replaced by Ange Loosa. On September 22, 2022, it was announced that

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent d ...

suspended Zaleski for 1 year after testing positive for

ostarine Enobosarm, also known as ostarine or MK-2866, is an investigational selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) developed by GTx, Inc. for the treatment of conditions such as muscle wasting and osteoporosis, formerly under development by Merc ...

in an out-of-competition test on March 14, 2022. Zaleski and his team contended that the test was due to a contaminated supplement. He is eligible to return on March 14, 2023.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (Three times) vs.

and

** Jungle Fight Welterweight Championship (One time) *** One successful title defense

Personal life

His moniker "Capoeira” was coined as he started his combat sport in

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 23–7 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–7 ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 22–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–6 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Zhang , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:51 ,

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 21–5 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:36 ,

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–5 ,

, KO (flying knee and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:20 ,

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 ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 19–5 ,

, KO (spinning wheel kick and punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:40 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 18–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 17–5 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 ,

, TKO (knees and punches) , UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:03 ,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–5 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves , , 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, 14–4 , Eduardo Ramon , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Jungle Fight 75 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:07 ,

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Itamar Rosa , KO (punches) , Jungle Fight 71 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Rodrigo Souza , KO (punches) , Jungle Fight 65 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:57 ,

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Josenildo Ramalho , KO (punches) , Jungle Fight 59 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Guilherme Vasconcelos , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Jungle Fight 54 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:20 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Ricardo Silva , KO (punches) , Smash Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 ,

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, 9–3 , Gilmar Dutra Lima , KO (punch) , Smash Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Franklin Jensen , Decision (unanimous) , Sparta MMA , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Itajai, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Misael Chamorro , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Beltrão Combat , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Francisco Beltrão Francisco Beltrão, established on December 14, 1952, is a municipality in the state of Paraná in Brazil. In 2010, the population was 80,727, of which 85% lived in the city proper and 15% on the surrounding land. Francisco Beltrão is very clo ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

Viscardi Andrade Viscardi Andrade Guimarães (born 8 March 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of Taura MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, he was also a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 before ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Max Fight 11 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , José de Ribamar , Decision (split) , Amazon Fight 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Jackson Pontes , TKO (punches) , Max Fight 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , João Paulo Prado , TKO (retirement) , Vale Fighting Championship , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Misael Chamorro , TKO (punches) , Big Bold's Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Cascavel Cascavel is a municipality in the state of Paraná in Brazil. It is the fifth most populous city in the state with 332,333 residents, according to IBGE, a government agency. The distance to Curitiba, the state capital, is 491 kilometers by fr ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Dyego Roberto , TKO (body kick) , Samurai Fight Combat 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:16 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Christian Tide Squeti , Decision (split) , Londrina Fight Show 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and fourth largest in the southern regi ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Wellington Morgenstern , KO (punches) , B33 Fight 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Ponta Grossa Ponta Grossa () is a municipality in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. The estimated population is 355,336 according to official data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics and it is the 4th most populous city in Paraná ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Douglas Jandozo , KO (punches) , G1: Open Fight 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:03 , Joaquim Tavora, Brazil , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaleski dos Santos, Elizeu 1986 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing capoeira Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Paraná (state) Brazilian people of Polish descent Brazilian capoeira practitioners Brazilian Muay Thai practitioners Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters