Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (born November 12, 1986) 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, incorpo ...

. He was the former Jungle Fight welterweight champion in Brazil and currently competes in

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

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 ...

(UFC).

Background

Zaleski was born in Francisco Beltrao, Parana, Brazil. He grew up training

Capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th centur ...

at age of nine. Zaleski transitioned to MMA at age 20 and started competing professionally soon after.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Zaleski started his MMA career on November 8, 2009, and he fought for many promoters notably Jungle Fight, Smash and Amazon Fight in Brazil. He was the former Jungle Fight welterweight champion and he amassed a record of 14–4 with 13 finishes and 1 decision prior joining UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Zaleski made his promotional debut on May 30, 2015, at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves against

Nicolas Dalby Nicolas Dalby (born November 16, 1984) is a Danish mixed martial artist who is currently fighting in the Welterweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2008, he is both a former Welterweight and interim welterwei ...

. Zaleski outstruck Dalby as he landed 16 more significant strikes, but judges handed the victory via split decision to Dalby as he successfully took Zaleski down six times. He faced Omari Akhmedov on his next fight at UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans on April 16, 2016. He won the fight and claimed his first UFC win via knockout in the third round. The fight earned him his first ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. On October 1, 2016, Zaleski returned to face Keita Nakamura at UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson. After three rounds of fighting, he won the fight via unanimous decision with the score board of (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Zaleski faced

Lyman Good Lyman Merrill Good (born May 26, 1985), also known as "American Cyborg", is an American mixed martial artist. He is perhaps best known for his time spent with Bellator, where he was the inaugural Bellator Welterweight Champion. Good currently co ...

, former Bellator and CFFC champion, on July 22, 2017, at UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum. He won the back-and-forth fight by split decision. The fight also earned him his second ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Zaleski faced

Max Griffin Max Griffin (born November 29, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Griffin currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2009, Griffin has also ...

on October 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida. He won the fight via unanimous decision. The win also earned him his third ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Zaleski was expected to face

Jack Marshman Jack Robert Marshman (born December 19, 1989) is a retired Welsh professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), BAMMA a ...

on March 17, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 127 ''UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 127'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 17, 2018, at The O2 Arena in London, England. Background A heavy ...

. However, on February 19, 2018, it was announced that Zaleski pulled out of the fight, citing a knee injury. He was replaced by Brad Scott Zaleski faced Sean Strickland on May 12, 2018, at UFC 224. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Zaleski was scheduled to meet Belal Muhammad on September 22, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 137. However, on September 14, 2018 Muhammad was pulled from the bout and he was replace by newcomer Luigi Vendramini. He won the fight via knockout in round two. Zaleski was scheduled to face Li Jingliang on November 25, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 141. However on October 27, 2018, it was reported that Zaleski withdrew from the bout due to a partial ligament tear in his right knee. Zaleski faced

Curtis Millender Curtis Marquir Millender (born December 1, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2013, Millender has formerly competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellato ...

on March 9, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 146 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 146'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 4'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 9, 2019 at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, ...

. He won the fight via submission in the first round. Zaleski was expected to face

Neil Magny Aoutneil "Neil" Jacques Magny (born August 3, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Magny ...

on May 18, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 151. However, on March 28, 2019 dos Santos announced that he had not been contacted by the UFC about the match. A pairing with Li Jingliang was rescheduled and took place on August 31, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 157. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round three. As the last fight of his prevailing contract, Zaleski faced Alexey Kunchenko on March 14, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 170. He won the fight via unanimous decision. As the first fight of his new, four-fight contract, Zaleski faced Muslim Salikhov on July 11, 2020 at UFC 251. He lost the fight via a split decision. Zaleski was expected to face promotional newcomer Shavkat Rakhmonov on October 24, 2020 at

UFC 254 ''UFC 254: Khabib vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 24, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event proceeded ...

. However, Zaleski pulled out in late September due to a knee injury that required surgery. Zaleski faced promotional newcomer Benoît Saint-Denis on October 30, 2021 at UFC 267. After nearly finishing Saint Denis in round two, he won the bout via unanimous decision. Zaleski was scheduled to face Mounir Lazzez on April 16, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 34 ''UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 34'' and ''UFC Vegas 51'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 16, 2022, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise ...

. However, Zaleski dos Santos withdrew the week of the fight due to personal reasons and was replaced by Ange Loosa. On September 22, 2022, it was announced that

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 ...

suspended Zaleski for 1 year after testing positive for ostarine in an out-of-competition test on March 14, 2022. Zaleski and his team contended that the test was due to a contaminated supplement. He is eligible to return on March 14, 2023.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Omari Akhmedov,

and

* Jungle Fight ** Jungle Fight Welterweight Championship (One time) *** One successful title defense

Personal life

His moniker "Capoeira” was coined as he started his combat sport in

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 23–7 , Benoît Saint-Denis , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 267 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–7 , Muslim Salikhov , Decision (split) , UFC 251 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 22–6 , Alexey Kunchenko , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–6 , Li Jingliang , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Zhang , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:51 ,

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major Sub-provincial division, sub-provincial city and one of the Special economic zones of China, special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pea ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 21–5 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:36 ,

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–5 , Luigi Vendramini , KO (flying knee and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:20 ,

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 Ga ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 19–5 , Sean Strickland , KO (spinning wheel kick and punches) , UFC 224 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:40 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 18–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 17–5 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 United States Census. Uniondale is home to Hofstra University's nor ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5 , Keita Nakamura , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 , Omari Akhmedov , TKO (knees and punches) , UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:03 ,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–5 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Eduardo Ramon , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Jungle Fight 75 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:07 ,

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Itamar Rosa , KO (punches) , Jungle Fight 71 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Rodrigo Souza , KO (punches) , Jungle Fight 65 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:57 ,

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Josenildo Ramalho , KO (punches) , Jungle Fight 59 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Guilherme Vasconcelos , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Jungle Fight 54 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:20 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Ricardo Silva , KO (punches) , Smash Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 ,

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area c ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Gilmar Dutra Lima , KO (punch) , Smash Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Franklin Jensen , Decision (unanimous) , Sparta MMA , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Itajai, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Misael Chamorro , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Beltrão Combat , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Francisco Beltrão Francisco Beltrão, established on December 14, 1952, is a municipality in the state of Paraná in Brazil. In 2010, the population was 80,727, of which 85% lived in the city proper and 15% on the surrounding land. Francisco Beltrão is very clo ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 , Viscardi Andrade , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Max Fight 11 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , José de Ribamar , Decision (split) , Amazon Fight 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Jackson Pontes , TKO (punches) , Max Fight 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , João Paulo Prado , TKO (retirement) , Vale Fighting Championship , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Misael Chamorro , TKO (punches) , Big Bold's Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Cascavel Cascavel is a municipality in the state of Paraná in Brazil. It is the fifth most populous city in the state with 332,333 residents, according to IBGE, a government agency. The distance to Curitiba, the state capital, is 491 kilometers by ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Dyego Roberto , TKO (body kick) , Samurai Fight Combat 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:16 ,

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Christian Tide Squeti , Decision (split) , Londrina Fight Show 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and fourth largest in the southern regi ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Wellington Morgenstern , KO (punches) , B33 Fight 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 ,

Ponta Grossa Ponta Grossa () is a municipality in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. The estimated population is 355,336 according to official data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics and it is the 4th most populous city in Paraná ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Douglas Jandozo , KO (punches) , G1: Open Fight 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:03 , Joaquim Tavora, Brazil , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaleski dos Santos, Elizeu 1986 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing capoeira Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Paraná (state) Brazilian people of Polish descent Brazilian capoeira practitioners Brazilian Muay Thai practitioners Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters