Fredson Paixão Melo (; born May 13, 1979) 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, incorpo ...

and

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 ...

instructor. He has competed as a

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

in the United States with 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 ...

and WEC, in Japan with

Deep Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), ...

, and in

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 ...

with

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 ...

. He is a four-time

World Champion and a

professor, who teaches in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, and has affiliate schools in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Okinawa, Japan is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, under the ''Fredson Paixao Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Association'' banner. He is a former member of the Gracie Barra Combat Team.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Paixão is one of the top grapplers in the world, earning his black belt under Grand Master Osvaldo Alves in 1998. He is one of only two people to ever be skipped from purple belt straight to black belt. He has won multiple World Championships as a black belt. He took first place in the Worlds in 1998 (as a purple belt); and in 2001, 2002, and 2005 (as a black belt). In addition, he finished second (silver medal) in 2004. He is also a nine-time Brazilian National Champion. In May 2010, Paixão defeated

Caol Uno (born May 8, 1975) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is the Co-Champion of the UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament and a former Shooto Lightweight Champion. As one of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship's ...

(who is a BJJ black belt,

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 ...

black belt, shoot wrestler, and

veteran) in a no-gi jiu-jitsu superfight at the UFC Fan Expo held in Las Vegas at

UFC 114 ''UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 29, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC Fan Expo took place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Backg ...

Mixed martial arts career

Paixão made his WEC debut at

WEC 40 ''WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on April 5, 2009 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The event aired live on the Versus Network. Background This was the first WEC event to ...

, where he lost a unanimous decision to

Wagnney Fabiano Wagnney Silva Fabiano-Santos (born July 14, 1975) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is best known for fighting in the WEC, as well as for the Toronto Dragons of the International Fight League and is the former IFL Featherweight Champion. ...

. In his next fight, Paixao fought Cole Province at

WEC 42 ''WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on August 9, 2009 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada Background Kenji Osawa was originally scheduled to face Rani Yahya at this ...

, where he originally suffered a split decision loss. The result was later changed to a no contest after Province tested positive for banned substances during a post-fight screening. Paixão was expected to face

Bryan Caraway Bryan Caraway (born August 4, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Battlefield Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Caraway has fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, EliteXC, and the WEC. He wa ...

on March 6, 2010, at

WEC 47 ''WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on March 6, 2010. It was held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio Background The only WEC event held in Ohio, WEC 47 coincided with the Arnold ...

, but Caraway was forced off the card with an injury. Paixão instead faced Courtney Buck and won via first round submission. Paixão eventually fought and defeated Caraway via split decision at

WEC 50 ''WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on August 18, 2010 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. Background This event marked WEC's first visit to Las Vegas since WEC ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In October 2010,

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

merged with 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 ...

. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Paixão has the distinction of being part of the very first featherweight fight in UFC history. His UFC debut was against Pablo Garza at The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale. Paixão was knocked out in the first round by a flying knee from Garza and subsequently released from the promotion. Despite that, he continues to be the personal BJJ coach to many UFC executives and fighters.

Personal life

Paixão has a daughter named Emma. He appears in the video game

UFC Undisputed 3 ''UFC Undisputed 3'' is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is a sequel to '' UFC Undisputed ...

Mixed martial arts record

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Lance Palmer Lance Palmer (born February 7, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former collegiate wrestler. He currently competes in the featherweight division of Professional Fighters League, where he is the 2019's tournament champi ...

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Masakazu Imanari is a Japanese former professional wrestler and current mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional competitor since 2000, he is a veteran of ONE Championship, DEEP, ZST, Pa ...

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Marcos Galvão Marcos Galvão (born 23 June 1981) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2003, Galvão peaked at a global ranking ...

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Rani Yahya Rani Ahmad Yahya (born September 12, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and BJJ practitioner. He won the 66 kg division of the prestigious ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in April 2007. He currently fights in t ...

, Decision ,

Jungle Fight 2 The year 2004 is the second year in the history of Jungle Fight, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Brazil. In 2004 Jungle Fight held 2 events beginning with, ''Jungle Fight 2''. Events list Jungle Fight 2 Jungle Fight 2 was an event ...

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, Brazil ,

Championships and achievements

Grappling

Black belt 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 ...

under Osvaldo Alves. 4 time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion: 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005 9 time Brazilian National Champion: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

References

External links

* * *http://www.fpbjja.com *http://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/fredson-paixao {{DEFAULTSORT:Paixao, Fredson 1979 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Personal life

Mixed martial arts record

Championships and achievements

Grappling

See also

References

External links