Rafael Silva (; born March 20, 1985) is a retired Brazilian professional

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 competed in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

division. A professional competitor since 2005, Silva has competed in his native Brazil for most of his career, but has also multiple bouts in

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

, where he was the Bantamweight King of Pancrase, and

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 ...

Background

Silva started training martial arts at the age of 15. His brother Julio Cesar Neves is also a professional mixed martial artist.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Silva made his professional MMA debut in June 2005. After going 2–2 in his first four fights, he maintained an impressive record of 18 wins and only 1 loss from 2009 to 2012. Among his notable wins was a victory over former

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 ...

fighter

John Lineker John Lineker (born June 12, 1990), is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently signed to ONE Championship, where he is the former ONE Bantamweight World Champion. Lineker formerly competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting ...

. A long-time veteran of the national Brazilian MMA scene, Silva fought for a variety of promotions - including World Fighting Combat, Sparta MMA, Octagon MMA, Connect Fight Night, Energy Force, and Nitrix Champion Fight - before making his North American debut.

Bellator MMA

In June 2012, it was announced that Silva had signed with Bellator MMA, although he did not debut until a year later. Silva entered as a participant in the 2013 Summer Series Bantamweight tournament. He faced Rodrigo Lima in the semifinals at

Bellator 97 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight cha ...

and won via submission in the third round. The finals were delayed until the fall of 2013 and he eventually faced Anthony Leone at

Bellator 102 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight cha ...

. He won the fight via dominant unanimous decision to earn a title shot. Silva was booked to face Bantamweight Champion

Eduardo Dantas Eduardo Dantas (born 3 February 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Dantas mostly fought for the Bellator MMA where he was the former two-ti ...

on March 7, 2014, but due to a knee injury, Silva was replaced by Anthony Leone at

Bellator 111 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, ...

. Silva stepped in to replace

to face Joe Warren at Bellator 118 on May 2, 2014. The fight was scheduled for the Bellator Interim Bantamweight championship. Silva, however, missed weight and the promotion made the interim title available only if Warren were to win. Silva lost the fight via unanimous decision. Silva faced

Rob Emerson Robert Michael Emerson (born July 30, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Emerson is also a veteran of Bellator MMA, the UFC, Pancrase, and was a cast member of ''The Ultimate Fighter 5''. ...

on October 3, 2014 at

Bellator 127 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 won the fight by unanimous decision. Silva faced

Darrion Caldwell Darrion Caldwell (born December 19, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist and graduated collegiate wrestler, who currently competes in the bantamweight division of Bellator MMA, where he is the former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion ...

Bellator 137 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

on May 15, 2015. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. In June 2015, it was revealed that Silva, along with his brother Julio Cesar and 6 other fighters, were released from the promotion.

Post-Bellator career

Silva returned to the Brazilian circuit and faced Derinaldo Guerra for the vacant Aspera FC Bantamweight title on September 12, 2015, winning the fight by arm-triangle choke in the first round. After two submission wins in smaller independent organizations, Silva signed with

Pancrase

In his promotional debut Silva faced Shohei Masumizu at Pancrase 276 on March 13, 2016, winning the bout via submission in the first round. Next he faced

Masakatsu Ueda Masakatsu Ueda (born December 21, 1977) is a professional Japanese mixed martial artist who currently competes in the bantamweight division of Pancrase. Ueda was also a college level wrestler in Japan, where holds a win over fellow mixed marti ...

at Pancrase 279 on July 24, 2016. Silva won the bout via unanimous decision. In his third Pancrase bout Silva faced Victor Henry at Pancrase 282 on November 13, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Three straight victories in the promotion aligned Silva to challenge the prevailing Bantamweight King of Pancrase

Shintaro Ishiwatari is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist and former Pancrase Bantamweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2006, he has also competed in Shooto, RIZIN, Vale Tudo Japan, DEEP, and World Victory Road. Mixed martial arts career Shoo ...

at Pancrase 287 on May 28, 2017. He lost the title fight via unanimous decision. Later that year, Ishiwatari's title was vacated as he left Pancrase to enter Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix, leading Silva to rematch Masakatsu Ueda for the interim Bantamweight Championship. The fight eventually happened at Pancrase 296 on May 20, 2018, Silva becoming the interim Bantamweight King of Pancrase via unanimous decision. He was subsequently promoted to undisputed Bantamweight King of Pancrase. In the first title defense, Silva faced Kenta Takizawa at Pancrase 303 on March 17, 2019. Silva successfully defended the title, winning the fight via submission in the first round. As the second title defense, Silva faced Yuto Hokamura at Pancrase 307 on July 21, 2019. Silva defended his title again via second round submission win.

ONE Championship

In October 2019, Silva's manager revealed that Silva is no longer under contract with Pancrase, and had signed a one-bout contract with ONE Championship. In his promotional debut, Silva faced Shoko Sato at ONE Championship: Century Part 2 on October 13, 2019. Silva lost the round via technical knockout in the second round. Silva was then scheduled to face Gabriel Miranda at Brave CF 35 on March 28, 2020. However, the bout was scrapped after the event was postponed to another date due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Silva was scheduled to have a unification match with Taichi Nakajima at Pancrase 327 in April, 2022, however he suffered a knee injury and retired from MMA.

Championships and accomplishments

** Bellator 2013 Summer Series Bantamweight Tournament Winner *

** Pancrase Interim Bantamweight Championship (one time; former) ** Pancrase Bantamweight Championship (one time; former) ***Two successful title defenses *Aspera Fighting Championship **AFC Bantamweight Championship (one time; former)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 31–7 , Shoko Sato , TKO (punches) , ONE Championship: Century Part 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:30 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 31–6 , Yuto Hokamura , Submission (head and arm choke) , Pancrase 307 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:54 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 30–6 , Kenta Takizawa , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pancrase 303 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:12 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 29–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 296 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 28–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 287 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 28–5 , Victor Henry , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase 282 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, , - , Win , align=center, 26–5 , Shohei Masumizu , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Pancrase 276 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

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, , - , Win , align=center, 24–5 , Jeferson Vieira da Silva , Submission (armbar) , XFC i 13 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:25 ,

Sao Paulo SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 23–5 , Derinaldo Guerra , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Aspera FC 24 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:03 ,

Sao Jose, Santa Catarina SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U. ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

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

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a t ...

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, Decision (unanimous) ,

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Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–3 , Anthony Leone , Decision (unanimous) ,

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

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–3 , Rodrigo Lima , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:03 ,

Rio Rancho, New Mexico Rio Rancho ( es, Río Rancho) is the most populous and only city in Sandoval County, New Mexico, Sandoval County, part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into north ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 , Fabio Selim , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Sparta MMA , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:01 ,

Itajaí Itajaí () is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. It is located on the northern central coast of Santa Catarina and is part of the Vale do Itajaí Mesoregion, on the right bank of the Itajaí-Açu river mouth. It lies at th ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Luciano Aranha , TKO (punches) , Connect Fight Night 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:56 , Biguacu, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 , Mauricio da Silva , KO (head kick) , Energy Force , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:07 ,

Navegantes Navegantes (, ''Seafarers'') is a coastal and tourist city located in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. The population is 83,626 (2020 est.) in an area of 112.0 km². Ministro Victor Konder International Airport serves the popular bea ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 , Saulo Silva , KO (Superman punch) , Connect Fight Night 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Balneario Camboriu A balneario ( Portuguese spelling: balneário) is an Iberian and Latin American resort town, typically a seaside resort, and less commonly along the shores of lakes and rivers or next to hot springs. In Spain, balneario typically only refers to spa ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , Diego D'Avila , TKO (punches) , Nitrix Champion Fight 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Camboriú Camboriú is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil, near Balneario Camboriu, a popular beach destination. Toponym Th ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Wagner Noronha , Decision (split) , Apocalypse Fighting Championship , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Passo Fundo Passo Fundo is a municipality in the north of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is named after its river. It's the twelfth largest city in the state with an estimated population of 204,722 inhabitants living in a total municipa ...

Rio Grande Do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Fernando Giacometti , TKO (elbows) , Octagon MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Tiago Silva , KO (punch) , Octagon MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:52 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Jonatan Feitosa , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Centurion Mixed Martial Arts 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Ozeias Costa , Decision (unanimous) , Full Heroes Battle 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Paranagua, Paraná, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Rogerio Goncalves Menna , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , World Fighting Combat: Pretorian , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:46 ,

Pelotas Pelotas () is a Brazilian city and municipality (''município''), the third most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is located 270 km (168 mi) from Porto Alegre, the state's capital city, and 130 km (80.8&nb ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Diego D'Avila , Submission (armbar) , Nitrix Champion Fight 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:33 ,

Brusque, Santa Catarina Brusque is a city in Santa Catarina, Brazil. It was founded in 1860, by 55 German immigrants. The city was originally called Colônia Itajahy, but on 17 January 1890 it was renamed Brusque after former Santa Catarina province president Francisc ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Erikson Lima , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Centurion Mixed Martial Arts , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:38 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Fabio Nunes , Submission (kimura) , Colizeu Fight Championship , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

Joaçaba Joaçaba is a city situated in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, with approximately 30,404 inhabitants. Located in 27º10'22" S and 51º30'03" W and 516.74 m above sea level, the city was colonized in the early 20th century by German and Ital ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Edson da Silva , Submission (triangle choke) , Black Trunk Fight 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina, in the South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as well as part of the mainland. It has a populat ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Joilson Costelinha , Submission (armbar) , Nitrix Champion Fight 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:53 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , David Bad Boy , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Nitrix Show Fight 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:40 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Warrior's Challenge 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Porto Belo Porto Belo is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina in the South region of Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin Americ ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–2 , Wagner Mexicano , TKO (retirement) , Nitrix Show Fight 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Alessandro Cordeiro , TKO (punches) , Nitrix Show Fight 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina, in the Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitiba and Porto Alegre. Joinville is also a ...

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Marcio Furlin , Decision (split) , Floripa Fight 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Santa Catarina, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Wallid Wallid , TKO (punches) , X-treme Combat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:36 , Brazil , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Rafael 1985 births Living people People from Lages Brazilian male mixed martial artists Bantamweight 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 Sportspeople from Santa Catarina (state)