Paulo Thiago

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1 Profile
2 Early Career
3 UFC Career
4 Mixed martial arts record
5 Gallery
6 External links

Profile

Paulo Thiago (born 1981) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist fighting and Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Ataide Jr.

He stands 5 ft. 11 in. tall and fights in the welterweight division (170 lbs.) for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Thiago also works as a Special Operations Police Officer in conjunction with his professional MMA career.

Early Career

Paulo Thiago made his professional mixed martial arts debut on July 2, 2005 for the Brazilian based, Storm Samurai event. He faced and defeated Ricardo Petrucio via triangle choke in the third round.

Thiago's second, third and fourth fights all came on the one night a little over a year later in October, 2006. He entered a one night 8 man tournament for the Grand Prix Planatina promotion. He submitted all three of his opponents en route to the title.

Continuing to fight in Brazil, Thiago picked up two more submission wins in lesser known Brazilian organizations before moving onto the more well known Brazilian promotion, Jungle Fight.

Thiago had four fights for Jungle Fight, winning each fight in a variety of manners with all bouts taking place in 2008.

UFC Career

Going 10-0 to start his professional career, Thiago gained a call up to the premiere mixed martial arts organization, the UFC.

Fighting for the first time outside of Brazil, Thiago travelled to London, England to face TUF 1 veteran, Josh Koscheck on UFC 95's main card.

Given little to no chance before the fight, things didn't start so well for the Brazilian as his awkward striking technique was not lending itself well to Koscheck's power shots. Thiago shocked everyone though at 3:20 mark of the first round as he landed a crisp right uppercut to Koscheck's jaw as the TUF 1 alum came in with a sloppy jab. The shot sent Koscheck to the mat hard, even bouncing his head off the mat. Thiago waded in for the kill but backed off after believing Koscheck to be out. The referee quickly stopped the fight and awarded Thiago his first UFC victory. The TKO earned Thiago the $40,000 "Knockout of the Night" bonus.