Rafael Cavalcante (born 5 April 1980) 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 fights in the light heavyweight division. He is currently competing for

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

. He trains with

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 and ...

and

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (, born 2 June 1976), better known as Minotauro or Big Nog, is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Inter ...

as part of the Black House camp. He formerly competed in

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'', ...

, where he was at one time Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. His nickname "Feijão" () means "

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

" in Portuguese. He holds notable wins over Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal and

Yoel Romero Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division ...

Background

Cavalcante is from São Paulo, Brazil and began training 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 ...

at the age of 10. Cavalcante also studied veterinary medicine for five years at the Universidade de Cuiaba - UNIC in his adopted hometown of Cuiaba, Mato Grosso, and it was the legendary

who personally convinced Cavalcante's father to allow his son to give up his medical career, in order to focus solely on training for a career in professional fighting under the tutelage of Nogueira. Cavalcante began training at Nogueira's gym daily, alongside the likes of Anderson Silva,

André Galvão André Luiz Leite Galvão (; born September 29, 1982) is a Brazilian grappler and professional mixed martial artist. A 4th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Fernando "Tererê" Augusto as well as a Judo black belt, Galvão is one of t ...

, and Nogueira's twin brother,

Antônio Rogério Nogueira Antônio Rogério Nogueira (; born 2 June 1976), also known as Minotouro or Lil Nog, is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC. He is the twin brother of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, the "Minotauro" ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Cavalcante made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2006, in the Pantanal Combat tournament, in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil, compiling an undefeated record of 3-0 before being signed by the

IFL IFL may refer to: ;American football *Intense Football League, (2004–2008) in the United States, merged into the Indoor Football League *Indoor Football League, (2008–present) in the United States *Intercontinental Football League, a European l ...

IFL

Cavalcante made his promotional debut at IFL: Atlanta, facing veteran

Devin Cole Devin Cole (born October 1, 1976) is an American mixed martial artist. He is a veteran of the Seattle Tiger Sharks and Portland Wolfpack in the IFL, and has also competed in the WEC, Strikeforce, the World Series of Fighting, and Shark Fights. E ...

whom he defeated via TKO early in the second round. Cavalcante made his next appearance at IFL: Las Vegas, facing fellow Brazilian

Márcio Cruz Marcio Ribeiro da Cruz (born April 24, 1978, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist. In Jiu-Jitsu, he is a 5th degree black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr. and is a six-time IB ...

. Cavalcante lost the fight via disqualification in the third round due to illegal upkicks. This was Cavalcante's first professional defeat.

EliteXC

In 2008, Cavalcante began competing for

EliteXC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decemb ...

, making his debut for the promotion and

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 ...

debut at EliteXC: Street Certified on 16 February 2008, facing John Doyle. Cavalcante won via TKO in the first round. Cavalcante made his next appearance at EliteXC: Return of the King on 14 June 2008 against veteran Wayne Cole. Cavalcante won via TKO, after knocking down Cole with a series of punches and knees. On 26 July 2008, Cavalcante faced Travis Galbraith, who was given a weeks' notice for the fight, at EliteXC: Unfinished Business. Cavalcante won via knockout in the first round. Cavalcante was next scheduled to fight for the inaugural

Light Heavyweight Championship against

Cyrille Diabaté Cyrille Moktar Diabaté (born October 6, 1973) is a retired French mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He has also competed in shoot boxing and Muay Thai. He has fought at Palace Fighting Championship, Tachi Palace Fights, PRIDE, ShoXC, Deep, ...

in November 2008, but Diabaté pulled out due to an injury, and the event itself was eventually folded as EliteXC closed operations a month before the fight's scheduled date. Cavalcante's contract was later purchased by

Strikeforce

On 6 June 2009, Cavalcante was originally scheduled to face

Renato Sobral Renato da Cunha Sobral (; born 7 September 1975), also known as "Babalu", is a retired Brazilian Luta Livre submission grappler, mixed martial artist, and was the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Sobral previously fought in the Ult ...

at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields, but Sobral pulled out due to personal reasons, and was replaced by

Jared Hamman Jared Hamman (born March 7, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist that competes in the World Series of Fighting's Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has also formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce and ShoXC. ...

, who also pulled out, due to an injury. Cavalcante instead faced

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 ...

veteran

Mike Kyle Michael Andrew Kyle (born March 31, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist and boxer currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, Kyle has competed for the UFC, the WEC, Strikeforce, the ...

. Cavalcante was handed his first decisive defeat, losing to Kyle via knockout. On 15 May 2010 Cavalcante knocked out

Antwain Britt Antwain Britt (born May 9, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in Strikeforce's Middleweight division. While perhaps best known for his stint with the Strikeforce organization, he also fought in YAMMA Pit Fi ...

at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery to become the number one contender for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship. Cavalcante fought against the heavily-touted

Muhammed Lawal Oklahoma State Cowboys Central Oklahoma Bronchos Muhammed Lawal (born January 11, 1981), also known as "King Mo", is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to Major League Wr ...

in Houston, Texas for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship, and defeated Lawal by TKO due to elbows from the clinch at 1:14 of round 3 to become the new Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Cavalcante lost his title to

Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...

via third-round TKO, on 5 March 2011. Cavalcante faced

on 10 September 2011 at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov. He won the fight via KO in the second round. Feijao fought a rematch against Mike Kyle on 19 May 2012. He avenged his previous defeat by rocking Kyle with a knee and then choked him out with a guillotine choke after 33 seconds in the first round. After the fight he tested positive for the banned substance

stanozolol Stanozolol (Abbreviation, abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American pharmaceuti ...

. As a result, the fight was overturned to a "no contest" by the CSAC and he was fined $2,500 and suspended for a year.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Cavalcante made his anticipated UFC debut against

Thiago Silva Thiago Emiliano da Silva (born 22 September 1984) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Chelsea and captains the Brazil national team. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, he is known f ...

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 ...

. Despite success early in the first round, Cavalcante lost via knock out at the end of the round. Though he lost, he still earned the ''Fight of the Night'' bonus along with Silva. Cavalcante faced

Igor Pokrajac Igor Pokrajac (born 2 January 1979) is a Croatian mixed martial artist, who formerly competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2003, Pokrajac has also formerly competed for K ...

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 won the fight via submission due to strikes in the first round. Cavalcante faced

Ryan Bader Arizona State Sun Devils Ryan DuWayne Bader (born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA where he is the current Bellator Heavyweight Champion, the former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, a ...

on 14 June 2014 at

UFC 174 ''UFC 174: Johnson vs. Bagautinov'' was a mixed martial arts event that took place on June 14, 2014, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Flyweight Championship bout between the curre ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Cavalcante faced Patrick Cummins on 1 August 2015 at

UFC 190 ''UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 1, 2015, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between former UFC Bantamweigh ...

. He lost the back-and-forth fight by TKO due to elbows in the third round. Cavalcante faced

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 6 February 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 82 ''UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 82'') was a mixed martial arts event held on February 6, 2016, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was originally billed as ''UFC 19 ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). After his loss to Ovince Saint Preux, he was subsequently released from the promotion.

Bellator MMA

On 1 July 2017, Cavalcante defeated Dan Konecke via technical knockout in the first round to earn a

contract.

Personal life

In June 2016, Cavalcante was involved in a bar fight at a country music bar in Cuiaba, Mato Grosso. In a police report, Cavalcante claims a man forcefully grabbed his girlfriend and along with a friend threatened to kill him. The other man stated Cavalcante verbally abused him and punched him in the face

Championships and accomplishments

** Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship (One time) *

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 ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) *

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

**2010 All-Violence Second Team

Mixed martial arts record

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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 ...

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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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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 , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 (1) ,

, TKO (knees and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:18 ,

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 ...

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, KO (punches) , UFC on Fuel TV: Nogueira vs. Werdum , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:29 ,

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 , , - , NC , align=center, 11–3 (1) ,

, NC (overturned) , Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:33 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

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, KO (punches) , Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:51 ,

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

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, TKO (punches) , Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:50 ,

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

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, TKO (punches and elbows) , Strikeforce: Houston , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:14 ,

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 ,

, KO (punches) , Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:45 ,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 ,

Aaron Rosa Aaron Isaac Rosa (born May 28, 1983) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2013, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, ShoXC, and Strikeforce. Background Born and raised in the bor ...

, TKO (punches) , Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:35 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

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, TKO (punches) , Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:05 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Travis Galbraith , KO (knees) , EliteXC: Unfinished Business , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 ,

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Wayne Cole , TKO (punches) , EliteXC: Return of the King , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:47 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , John Doyle , TKO (knee to the body) , EliteXC: Street Certified , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:17 ,

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

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, DQ (illegal upkick) , IFL: Las Vegas , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:42 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,

, TKO (punches) , IFL: Atlanta , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:26 ,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Rubens Xavier , TKO (Submission to punches) , MF 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

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, 2–0 , Miodrag Petkovic , TKO (knee and punches) , WFC: Europe vs Brazil , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:37 ,

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, Slovenia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 ,

Eduardo Maiorino Eduardo "Morpheus" Maiorino (August 16, 1979 – December 23, 2012) was a Brazilian professional kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He was a three time Brazilian Heavyweight Muay Thai Champion, the K-1 Brazil 2004 Tournament finalist and ...

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Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America. Also, it forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várzea Grande. The city' ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavalcante, Rafael 1981 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Brazilian sportspeople in doping cases Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Strikeforce (mixed martial arts) champions Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Doping cases in mixed martial arts Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian Muay Thai practitioners People from Ilha Solteira Sportspeople from São Paulo (state)