Raphael Pessoa (born March 9, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division of Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). He also formerly competed in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship (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 ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Pessoa fought mostly in Rio de Janeiro for NCE promotion, amassing an undefeated 9–0 record while also winning the NCE Heavyweight Title.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Pessoa made his promotional debut on 10 August 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2 against Ciryl Gane. Pessoa lost the fight by an arm triangle choke at the end of the first round. Pessoa faced Jeff Hughes on October 26, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN+ 20 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 162'' or '' UFC on ESPN+ 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 26, 2019 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Pessoa was expected to face Justin Tafa in a heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till on July 26, 2020. However, Tafa pulled out on July 15 due to unknown reasons and was replaced by Tanner Boser. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Pessoa tested positive for banned substance hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and its metabolites chlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB) in a sample collected in an out-of-competition test on March 4. Pessoa was given a

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent d ...

suspension of one year retroactive from the date the positive sample was collected, making him eligible to return on March 4, 2021. Due to laboratory closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Pessoa was able to fight 5 months after the positive test was collected, losing to Tanner Boser via second-round TKO. Pessoa is suspended by USADA for the second time for 2 years for positive for banned substance

7-Keto-DHEA 7-Ketodehydroepiandrosterone (7-keto-DHEA,7-oxo-DHEA), also known as 7-oxoprasterone, is a prohormone produced by metabolism of the prohormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). 7-oxo-DHEA is even more effective than DHEA for inducing heat productio ...

and AOD-9064 Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and its metabolites Chlorothiazide and 4-amino-6-chloro-1,3-benzenedisulfonamide (ACB). The samples were collected from out-of-competition on February 9, 2021, February 15, 2021, February 16, 2021, and March 4, 2021. Ressoa also evaded sample collection on January 25, 2021, and January 28, 2021. The suspension retroactive from February 9, 2021, and he is eligible to fight again in February 2023.

Post UFC

After his second suspension, Pessoa was released from the UFC. His first bout outside of the UFC was on August 28, 2021, against Mukhumat Vakhaev at ACA 127: Kerefov vs. Albaskhanov. Pessoa lost the bout via KO at the end of the first round. Pessoa faced Daniel James at November 18, 2021 at ACA 132: Johnson vs. Vakhaev. He lost the bout via ground and pound TKO in the second round. Pessoa faced Adam Bogatyrev on July 22, 2022 at ACA 141. He lost the bout via TKO stoppage early in the first round.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 10–5 , Adam Bogatyrev , TKO (punches) , ACA 141: Froes vs. Suleymanov , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Daniel James , TKO (punches) , ACA 132: Johnson vs. Vakhaev , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:14 , Minsk, Belarus , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 , Mukhomad Vakhaev , KO (punches) , ACA 127: Kerefov vs. Albaskhanov , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:28 , Krasnodar, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , Tanner Boser , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:36 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Jeff Hughes , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Kallang, Singapore , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 , Ciryl Gane , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2 , , align=Center, 1 , align=center, 4:12 ,

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Brian Heden , TKO (punches) , LFA 50 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:39 , Prior Lake, Minnesota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Wagner Maia , Decision (unanimous) , Shooto Brazil 78 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Diego Sagat , TKO (punches) , DC Fighters: DC Pro MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:23 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Carlos Alexandre , TKO (punches) , New Corpore Extreme 16: NCE Ladies , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:56 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Luan Mendes Oliveira , TKO (punches) , Full Fight Championship 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Leonardo Alves , Decision (unanimous) , New Corpore Extreme 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Fábio Marongiu , TKO (retirement) , New Corpore Extreme 11 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Romulo Ismael , Submission (kimura) , New Corpore Extreme 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:34 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Bruno Luiz Nicolau , KO , New Corpore Extreme 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:26 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pessoa, Raphael 1989 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Doping cases in mixed martial arts Brazilian sportspeople in doping cases