Rafaello Oliveira

Rafaello Oliveira

(born January 26, 1982) is an Brazilian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Oliveira is currently signed under the Ultimate Fighting Championshipspromotion, fighting in its lightweight division. He fights at Premier Martial Arts in Knoxville,TN USA.

Mixed Martial Arts career

Rafaello started his professional MMA career in 2004, competing in his native Brazil. He currently has a record of 10 wins and 3 losses.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In August 2009, it was announced he would be debuting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC 103. He was originally scheduled to fight Dan Lauzon but Lauzon pulled out of the bout due to an injury. Nik Lentz was chosen as Dan Lauzonreplacement. Despite pushing the pace in the first round and moving forward aggressively, Lentz was able to control the 2nd and 3rd rounds to win a unanimous decision.

Oliveira was expected to face Sean Sherk on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108. However, after an injury to Tyson Griffin, Sean Sherk would step up to face Jim Miller at UFC 108 leaving Oliveira to face John Gunderson. Oliveira went on to defeat Gunderson via unanimous decision.

Oliveria most recently faced Andre Winner on March 31, 2010 at UFC Fight Night 21, replacing an injured Cole Miller. Oliveira was defeated by Andre Winner via unanimous decision and was subsequently cut from the UFC.

Personal life

Rafaello is married and has two children.