Gregory Felipe Santos Rodrigues (born February 17, 1992) 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 ...

who competes in the

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 ...

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 ...

. He is an eight-time National BJJ Champion and he was the Smash Global MMA Middleweight Champion and former

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

(LFA) Middleweight Champion.

Background

Born in

Porto Velho Porto Velho (, ''Old Port'') is the capital of the Brazilian state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin, and a Catholic Metropolitan Archbishopric. The population is 548,952 people (as of the IBGE 2021 estimation). Located on the border ...

, Gregory came to

Manaus Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...

when he was still four months old. He was introduced to martial arts since he was five years old, starting out with capoeira, before migrating to jiu-jitsu at 8 years old and eventually becoming a black belt under Senseí Henrique Machado, who was also Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza’s jiu-jitsu coach. He became an eight-time national jiu-jitsu champion, jiu-jitsu world champion, and professional world champion in Abu Dhabi. He also trained in Olympic wrestling with professor Waldeci, joining the Brazilian wrestling cadet team and becoming the runner-up at Pan American wrestling championships in Nicaragua. In 2014, he moved to Rio de Janeiro to start his professional MMA career.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting his professional career in 2014, Rodrigues went 7–2 fighting mostly on the Brazilian regional scene, picking up wins in promotions such as ACB, where he picked up a first-round TKO victory at ACB 73 and winning the Smash Global Middleweight title also picking up a unanimous decision win at LFA 71. He was invited to compete against Jordan Williams at Dana White's Contender Series 33 on September 15, 2020. He lost the fight via first-round knockout. He would make his return to LFA, entering the four-man tournament for the LFA Middleweight Championship. In the first round, Rodrigues faced Al Matavao at LFA 102, where he knocked Matavao out in the second round. In the finals at LFA 108, Rodrigues stopped Josh Fremd within a round to claim the vacant LFA Middleweight Championship. Within days off the victory, Rodrigues was asked to compete in the UFC on short notice.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rodrigues, as a replacement for

Maki Pitolo Maki Ikaika Maleko Pitolo (born November 24, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pitolo has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and B ...

, faced

Duško Todorović Duško Todorović (born May 19, 1994) is a Serbian mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Todorović started training taekwondo around the age of eight, continuing un ...

on June 5, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Rodrigues faced

Jun Yong Park Park Jun-yong (born 27 February 1991) is a South Korean mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Starting his career in 2013, Park compiled a ...

on October 23, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori. He won the fight via knockout in round two. This fight earned him '' Fight of the Night'' award. Rodrigues faced Armen Petrosyan on February 26, 2022, at UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green. He lost the fight via controversial split decision. 10 out of 14 media outlets scored the fight for Rodrigues. Rodrigues faced

Julian Marquez Julian Felipe Marquez (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Marquez was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, a ...

, replacing

Wellington Turman Wellington Turman (born July 22, 1996) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, currently competing in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Turman was born and grew up in Curitiba, Brazil. He ...

, on June 18, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 37 ''UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 37'' and ''UFC Austin'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 18, 2022 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, United ...

. He won the bout in the first round via knockout. This win earned him his first

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

award. Rodrigues faced

Chidi Njokuani Chidi Godson Njokuani (born December 31, 1988) is an American former Muay Thai kickboxer and current professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professio ...

on September 17, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 210 ''UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 210'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 68'' and ''UFC Vegas 60'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 17, 2022, at the ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. Rodrigues was scheduled to face

Brad Tavares Bradley Kaipo Sarbida Tavares (born December 21, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Tavares currently competes in the middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2007, Tavares foug ...

on January 21, 2023, at

UFC 283 ''UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on January 21, 2023, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event will mark the p ...

. However, Tavares withdrawn from the bout due to an injury, and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Brunno Ferreira. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (Two times) **

(One time) *

** LFA Middleweight Champion (One time) * Smash Global ** Smash Global Middleweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma Cit ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodrigues, Gregory 1992 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Rondônia