Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (born November 12, 1986) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He was the former Jungle Fight welterweight champion in Brazil and currently competes in welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Zaleski was born in Francisco Beltrao, Parana, Brazil. He grew up training Capoeira 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. 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, 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 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 on March 17, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 127. 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