Luiz Philipe Lins Pimentel do Amaral (born August 17, 1985) 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

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 ...

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 won the 2018

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

heavyweight tournament.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Lins made his professional MMA debut in August 2005. For the first eight years of his career he fought exclusively in his native Brazil although he did take an extended break from MMA competition from 2006–2011. He remained undefeated during his time in Brazil, earning a record of seven wins and no losses. Before signing with Bellator, Lins was ranked by MMA news site Bloody Elbow as the second best Light Heavyweight prospect in 2012.

Bellator MMA

Lins made his North American and Bellator MMA debut in April 2014 at

Bellator 116 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

. He faced Travis Clark and won via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. In the summer of 2014, Lins was announced as a participant in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament. He faced Austin Heidlage in the opening quarterfinals at Bellator 121 and won via submission in the first round. He faced

Kelly Anundson Kelly Anundson (born August 29, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2010, Anundson has previously competed for Bellator, and was also a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 19. Background Born and raised in ...

in the semifinals and lost due to a knee injury. Lins was expected to return against

Francis Carmont Francis Carmont (born October 10, 1981) is a French professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, Carmont has competed for Bellator MMA, the UFC, and KSW. Mixed mart ...

at Bellator MMA & Glory: Dynamite 1 on September 19, 2015, however pulled out of the bout due to illness. Lins faced

Guilherme Viana Guilherme Viana (born May 13, 1986) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2012, Viana was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3. Mixed martia ...

at Bellator 159 on July 23, 2016. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. Lins faced Kleber Silva at Bellator 168 on December 10, 2016. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Lins faced

Vadim Nemkov Vadim Aleksandrovich Nemkov (russian: Вадим Александрович Немков; born 20 June 1992) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and a four-time Combat Sambo World Champion. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweig ...

at Bellator 182 on August 25, 2017. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. On February 20, 2018 it was announced that Bellator had released Lins from the promotion.

Professional Fighters League

In the fall of 2018, Lins entered the PFL Heavyweight tournament. At PFL 8 on October 5, 2018, he defeated Caio Alencar by guillotine choke submission in the quarterfinal round and then defeated

Jared Rosholt Jared Daniel Rosholt (born August 4, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Rosholt has competed for the UFC, Titan FC, Professional Fighters League, and L ...

by TKO in the semifinal round. Lins faced Josh Copeland in the finals at PFL 11 on December 31, 2018. He won the fight via technical knockout in the fourth round to win the PFL Heavyweight Tournament and earn the $1 million cash prize. Lins was expected to defend his championship in the second season of PFL, but had to withdraw from the whole season due to an injury.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Lins was scheduled to make his UFC debut against former UFC Heavyweight Champion,

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ho ...

on May 2, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Weidman. However, on April 9,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and rescheduled to May 13, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Lins faced

Tanner Boser Tanner Vilbon Nicholas Boser (born August 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently signed to the UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight division. He had previously competed for Unified MMA, where he won the ...

on June 27, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. Lins was scheduled to face Don'Tale Mayes on November 7, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira. However on October 14, it was announced that Lins had a knee injury and pulled out of the event. Mayes is now expected to face Roque Martinez at this event. Lins was scheduled to face

Ben Rothwell Ben Rothwell (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a Heavyweight. He most notably had a 17 bout stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and competed for the Quad Cities Silverbacks of the IFL where he h ...

on March 13, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 187 ''UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 187'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 45'' and ''UFC Vegas 21'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 13, 2021 at the UF ...

. However, during the week leading up to the event the bout was removed from the card due to undisclosed reasons. The pairing remained intact and the bout was rescheduled on May 8, 2021 at UFC on ESPN 24. While Rothwell made weight without issue, Lins never showed up to the weigh-ins and withdrew from the bout due to an illness. The bout was rescheduled again for May 22, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt. However, yet again, Lins was pulled from the event for undisclosed reason and he was replaced by newcomer Askhar Mozharov. Lins was scheduled to face

Ovince Saint Preux Ovince Saint Preux (born April 8, 1983) is a Haitian-American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2008, Saint Preux has also formerly competed for Strikef ...

on November 13, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 197 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 ...

. However Saint Preux withdrew from the fight for undisclosed reasons and the bout was cancelled. Lins was scheduled to face Azamat Murzakanov December 4, 2021 at

UFC on ESPN 31 ''UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 31'' and ''UFC Vegas 44'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 4, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevad ...

. However, Lins withdrew from the event for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by

Jared Vanderaa Jared Vanderaa (born May 12, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Vanderaa was born in Washington but moved around a lot with his mother in pursuit of ...

. Lins faced

Marcin Prachnio Marcin Prachnio (born July 14, 1988) is a Polish mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Prachnio has also competed in ONE C ...

on April 23, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 205 ''UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 205'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 63'' or ''UFC Vegas 52'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 23, 2022, at the UF ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Lins was scheduled to face

Maxim Grishin Maxim Anthony Grishin (born May 2, 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Grishin was the former M-1 Global Eastern Europe Heavyweight Champion ...

on on October 1, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 211 ''UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Yan'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 211'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 69'' and ''UFC Vegas 61'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 1, 2022, at the UFC Apex ...

. Despite both men weighing in successfully, the bout was cancelled while the event was in progress due to an undisclosed medical issue. Lins was scheduled to face

, replacing

Alexander Gustafsson Alexander Gustafsson (born 15 January 1987) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist. Gustafsson currently competes in the light heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gustafsson spent a major part of his MMA ...

, on 10 December 2022, at

UFC 282 ''UFC 282: Błachowicz vs. Ankalaev'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place on December 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

. However, Lins subsequently withdrew from the bout due to an undisclosed reason. The match between Preux and

was rescheduled for February 18, 2023 at

UFC Fight Night 219 ''UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 219'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 77'', and ''UFC Vegas 69'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 18, 2023, at ...

Championships and accomplishments

**2018 Heavyweight Tournament champion

Mixed martial arts record

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Bellator 122 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight, ...

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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 ...

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, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Antonio Mendes , Decision (unanimous) , Nordeste Combat Championship , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

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João Câmara João Câmara Filho, born in João Pessoa, Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba (Brazil), in 1944, is a Brazilian painter. He lives and works in Olinda, in the state of Pernambuco. The artist thinks of himself principally as painter but has also ex ...

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References

External links

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