Jussier Formiga
Introduction '''Jussier Formiga''' (born April 14, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Formiga most notably competed in the UFC and is the former Shooto South America 123-pound champion.
Mixed martial arts career ===Shooto Brazil===Formiga won his professional mixed martial arts debut fight on November 29, 2008 at Shooto: Brazil 9 against Michael Willian Costa via split decision. This was followed up by an upset victory over Shinichi "BJ" Kojima via unanimous decision at Shooto: Revolutionary Exchanges 1: Undefeated.It was expected Formiga would be brought back for a year-end title rematch with Kojima. However, Kojima vacated the Shooto Bantamweight Championship, further complicating Jussier's future with the organization.Formiga was at this point, ranked as the number one Flyweight in the world and then fought Alexandre Pantoja, who was unbeaten as a Flyweight. On June 12, 2010, Formiga defeated Pantoja by unanimous decision to defend his South America Shooto 123 lb Championship.===Tachi Palace Fights===Formiga signed a four-fight exclusive contract with the California-based Tachi Palace Fights organization. His first fight with the organization was against WEC veteran Danny Martinez at Tachi Palace Fights 7.Formiga won the fight by unanimous decision.Fomiga's next fight was against another WEC veteran in Ian McCall. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.Formiga next faced top-ranked Flyweight Mamoru Yamaguchi at Tachi Palace Fights 10.He won the fight via unanimous decision.===Ultimate Fighting Championship===On July 14, 2012 it was announced that Formiga signed with the UFC.Formiga faced John Dodson on October 5, 2012 at UFC on FX 5.After a slow first round, Formiga began to succumb to the speed of Dodson, and was eventually finished via TKO with ground strikes at 4:35 of the second round.Formiga faced Chris Cariaso on May 18, 2013 at UFC on FX 8.He won the fight via unanimous decision.Formiga faced Joseph Benavidez on September 4, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 28.He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.Formiga faced Scott Jorgensen on March 23, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 38.Formiga won the fight via submission in the first round. Formiga unintentionally butted Jorgensen's chin with the top of his skull, which went unnoticed by the referee and submitted the dazed Jorgensen via rear-naked choke. Jorgensen appealed the headbutt to the Brazilian Athletic Commission, however the result was upheld.Formiga was expected to face Zach Makovsky on August 2, 2014 at UFC 176.However, after UFC 176 was cancelled, Formiga/Makovsky was rescheduled and eventually took place on August 16, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 47.Formiga won the fight via unanimous decision.Formiga was expected to face John Moraga on December 13, 2014 at UFC on Fox 13.However, on November 21, Formiga pulled out of the fight and was replaced by UFC newcomer Willie Gates.Formiga faced Wilson Reis on May 30, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 67.He won the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision.Formiga next faced Henry Cejudo on November 21, 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. He lost the fight by split decision.Formiga faced Dustin Ortiz on September 24, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 95.He won the fight via unanimous decision.Formiga was expected to face Sergio Pettis on January 15, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 103.However, Formiga pulled out of the fight in late December and was replaced by John Moraga.Formiga faced Ray Borg on March 11, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 106.He lost the fight via unanimous decision.After alternating between wins and losses in the latest four fights, Formiga decided to move from his native Brazil to Florida, United States in order to train at American Top Team.Formiga faced Ulka Sasaki on September 23, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami. He won the fight via submission in the first round.Formiga faced Ben Nguyen on February 11, 2018 at UFC 221.He won the fight via technical submission in the third round due to a rear-naked choke. This win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus.Formiga faced Sergio Pettis on October 6, 2018 at UFC 229.He won the fight via unanimous decision.Formiga faced Deiveson Figueiredo on March 23, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 148.He won the fight via unanimous decision.Formiga faced Joseph Benavidez in a rematch on June 29, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 3.He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round.Formiga faced Brandon Moreno on March 14, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 170.He lost the fight via unanimous decision.Formiga faced Alex Perez on June 6, 2020 at UFC 250.He lost the bout via first round technical knockout.On November 16, 2020, it was announced that Formiga had been released from his UFC contract and is now a free agent.===Post-UFC career===After the release from the UFC, Formiga headlined LFA 124 against Felipe Bunes on February 11, 2022.He won the fight via technical submission due to a rear-naked choke in the second round.
Championships and awards *'''Shooto South America'''**Shooto South American 123 lb Championship*'''Ultimate Fighting Championship'''**Performance of the Night (One time)  vs  Ben Nguyen
Mixed martial arts record Win24–8Felipe BunesTechnical Submission (rear-naked choke)LFA 12421:53Phoenix, Arizona, United StatesLoss23–8Alex PerezTKO (leg kicks)UFC 25014:06Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesLoss23–7Brandon MorenoDecision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira 35:00Brasília, Brazil Loss23–6Joseph BenavidezTKO  (head kick and punches)UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos 24:47Minneapolis, Minnesota, United StatesWin23–5Deiveson Figueiredo Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis 35:00Nashville, Tennessee, United StatesWin22–5Sergio Pettis Decision (unanimous)UFC 229 35:00Las Vegas, Nevada, United StatesWin21–5Ben NguyenTechnical Submission (rear-naked choke)UFC 221 31:43Perth, AustraliaWin20–5Ulka SasakiSubmission (rear-naked choke)UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami 14:30Saitama, JapanLoss 19–5 Ray Borg Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Gastelum 35:00 Fortaleza, Brazil Win 19–4 Dustin Ortiz Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg  3 5:00 Brasília, Brazil   Loss 18–4 Henry Cejudo Decision (split) The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale: Magny vs. Gastelum 35:00 Monterrey, Mexico   Win 18–3 Wilson Reis Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves  3 5:00 Goiânia, Brazil  Win 17–3 Zach Makovsky Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Saint Preux  3 5:00 Bangor, Maine, United States  Win 16–3 Scott Jorgensen Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2  1 3:07 Natal, Brazil  Loss 15–3 Joseph Benavidez TKO (knee to the body and punches) UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Bader  1 3:07 Belo Horizonte, Brazil  Win 15–2 Chris Cariaso Decision (unanimous) UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold  3 5:00 Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil  Loss 14–2 John Dodson TKO (punches) UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot  2 4:35 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States  Win 14–1 Sidney Oliveira Submission (rear-naked choke) Shooto Brazil 31  1 2:45 Brasília, Brazil  Win 13–1 Martin Coria Submission (triangle choke)Coliseu Extreme Fight  3 2:11 Maceió, Brazil  Win 12–1 Rodrigo Santos Submission (rear-naked choke)Fort MMA Championships 1  1 3:52 Natal, Brazil  Win 11–1 Michael Willian Submission (rear-naked choke) Shooto Brazil 26  2 4:55 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  Win 10–1 Mamoru Yamaguchi Decision (unanimous) Tachi Palace Fights 10  3 5:00 Lemoore, California, United States  Loss 9–1 Ian McCall Decision (unanimous) TPF 8: All or Nothing  3 5:00 Lemoore, California, United States  Win 9–0 Danny Martinez Decision (unanimous) Tachi Palace Fights 7  3 5:00 Lemoore, California, United States  Win 8–0 Alexandre Pantoja Decision (unanimous) Shooto Brazil 16  3 5:00 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  Win 7–0 Shinichi Kojima Decision (unanimous) Shooto Revolutionary Exchanges 1: Undefeated  3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan  Win 6–0 Michael Willian Decision (split) Shooto Brazil 9  3 5:00 Fortaleza, Brazil  Win 5–0 Ralph Lauren Submission (rear-naked choke) Shooto Brazil 8  1 1:46 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  Win 4–0 Jose Maria Tome Submission (rear-naked choke)Original Bairros Fight 7  1 3:41 Natal, Brazil  Win 3–0 Arinaldo Batista Decision (unanimous)Hikari Fight  3 5:00 Natal, Brazil  Win 2–0 Amaury Junior Decision (unanimous)Mossoró Fight  3 5:00 Mossoró, Brazil  Win 1–0 Chacal Chacal Submission (armbar)Tremons Fight  1 3:20 Natal, Brazil
See also * List of male mixed martial artists
References
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