Rafael Dias
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Rafael Dias (born October 20, 1979) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt training out of American Top Team.
He stands 5 ft. 9 in. (176 cm) tall and fights in the featherweight division (145 lbs.).
Dias is an IFL veteran and currently fights as a featherweight for the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) organization.
Early Career
Rafael Dias made his professional mixed martial arts debut on May 1, 2004 for the Absolute Fighting Championships. He faced future TUF 5 contestant, Brian Geraghty, and came out victorious after two rounds via split decision.
After two more victories in the AFC, Dias suffered his first professional loss as he was defeated by seasoned veteran, Steve Kinnison by decision.
Dias immediately avenged the loss two months later when he submitted Kinnison with a rear naked choke in just 1:17 of round 1.
By the end of 2006, Dias had secured three more victories to improve to 7-1 in his short career.
In his first bout for 2007, Dias fought to a draw with Sami Aziz at a Bodog event. He followed that with two disappointing decision defeats at the hands of Phil Cardella and Per Eklund.
Dias halted the worrying slide as he picked up his first victory for 2007 when he strangled York Ash in the first round of their bout.
After opening 2008 with a 27 seconds rear naked chokeout of Derrick Brown, Dias signed on to fight with the International Fight League. His IFL debut came against future TUF 9 contestant, Santino DeFranco. Dias didn't waste much time as he secured DeFranco's back and made it two rear naked choke victories in a row with the end coming at 2:03 of the first round.
In his last bout for the IFL, Dias faced LC Davis and was highlight-reel-KO'd with a head kick just before the end of the third round.
Five months later, Dias submitted Rocky Long to rebound from the brutal loss to Davis.
WEC
Shortly after the Long victory, Dias made his debut for the WEC at WEC 36. He faced off against Danny Castillo in a lightweight bout and was battered with punches midway through the second round resulting in the fight being stopped.
Dias rebounded from his disappointing debut by dropping down to featherweight and defeating Mike Budnik on the undercard of WEC 40 via unanimous decision.
At WEC 42, Dias met undefeated Brazilian, Diego Nunes on the un-televised portion of the card. Nunes was too much for Dias though and rode out a comfortable unanimous decision scoring 30-27 on all three cards.
Mixed martial arts record
| 19 matches | 12 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 2 |
| By submission | 7 | 0 |
| By decision | 3 | 4 |
| Draws | 1 | |
Record
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Diego Nunes | Decision (Unanimous) | WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles | 8/09/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Win | Mike Budnik | Decision (Unanimous) | WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki | 4/05/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Featherweight debut; Budnik failed to make weight so fought at Catchweight of 149 lbs. |
| Loss | Danny Castillo | TKO (Punches) | WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown | 11/05/2008 | 2 | 2:54 | WEC Debut |
| Win | Rocky Long | Submission (Choke) | C3 Fights: Clash in Concho | 9/19/2008 | N/A | N/A | - |
| Loss | LC Davis | KO (Head Kick) | IFL: New Jersey | 4/04/2008 | 3 | 3:56 | - |
| Win | Santino Defranco | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | IFL: Las Vegas | 2/29/2008 | 1 | 2:03 | - |
| Win | Derrick Brown | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | MVT: Miami Vale Tudo | 1/26/2008 | 1 | 0:27 | - |
| Win | York Ash | Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) | PXF: Premier X-treme Fighting | 12/08/2007 | 1 | N/A | - |
| Loss | Per Eklund | Decision (Unanimous) | Bodog Fight: Vancouver | 8/25/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Loss | Phil Cardella | Decision (Unanimous) | GFC: Evolution | 5/19/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Draw | Sami Aziz | Draw | Bodog Fight: Costa Rica Combat | 2/17/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | - |
| Win | Henry Matamros | Submission (Punches) | Bodog Fight: To the Brink of War | 8/22/2006 | 2 | 3:21 | - |
| Win | Keith Wilson | TKO | ACF: Exodus | 5/06/2006 | 1 | 0:15 | - |
| Win | Tim Honeycutt | TKO | AFC 15: Absolute Fighting Championships 15 | 2/18/2006 | 1 | N/A | - |
| Win | Steve Kinnison | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | AFC 13: Absolute Fighting Championships 13 | 7/30/2005 | 1 | 1:17 | - |
| Loss | Steve Kinnison | Decision | FCC 19: Freestyle Combat Challenge 19 | 5/14/2005 | N/A | N/A | - |
| Win | Nardu Debrah | Decision (Unanimous) | AFC 11: Absolute Fighting Championships 11 | 2/12/2005 | 2 | 5:00 | - |
| Win | Bryan Medlin | Submission (Armbar) | AFC 10: Absolute Fighting Championships 10 | 10/30/2004 | 1 | 1:15 | - |
| Win | Brian Geraghty | Decision (Split) | AFC 8: Absolute Fighting Championships 8 | 5/01/2004 | 2 | 5:00 | - |
Gallery
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External links
http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Rafael-Dias-10340
http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/gallery/fighter/10340/
--Wrldchmpnabrvtr 07:42, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
