BAD MMA - The origins of combat™ » Matt Horwich https://www.badmma.com The BADDEST Brand on the Planet™ Fri, 24 Jul 2026 06:38:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 UFC 163 Results: Back Home in the UFC, Thales Leites Dominates Tom Watson https://www.badmma.com/ufc-163-results-back-home-in-the-ufc-thales-leites-dominates-tom-watson.html https://www.badmma.com/ufc-163-results-back-home-in-the-ufc-thales-leites-dominates-tom-watson.html#comments Sun, 04 Aug 2013 07:47:10 +0000 BAD MMA News http://www.badmma.com/ufc-163-results-back-home-in-the-ufc-thales-leites-dominates-tom-watson.html Prior to UFC 163 , middleweight jiu-jitsu ace Thales Leites hadn’t fought inside the Octagon since losing to Alessio Sakara at UFC 101 in 2009.  That split-decision loss came just months after Leites battled middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 97. For many, the release came as a surprise, as Leites was touted as one of the more highly praised ground players in MMA at the time. On Saturday night at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Leites found himself once again fighting inside the Octagon, having toiled in various promotions for the past four years.  During his time away from the UFC , the Nova Unaio product managed a 6-1 record, scoring wins over UFC vets Matt Horwich and Jeremy Horn, earning his way back into the world’s premier fighting organization. English brawler Tom “Kong” Watson was the fighter given the job of welcoming Leites back to the cage.  And as far as Watson was concerned, it certainly wouldn’t be a friendly welcome. Round one saw the Rio native, Leites, open up with the aggression you would expect from a man who probably spent the last 50 or so months wondering if he would ever be fighting for divisional relevancy again.

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UFC 163 Results: Back Home in the UFC, Thales Leites Dominates Tom Watson – MMA Weekly

]]> https://www.badmma.com/ufc-163-results-back-home-in-the-ufc-thales-leites-dominates-tom-watson.html/feed 0 UFC 163′s Thales Leites explains 16-month MMA absence https://www.badmma.com/ufc-163s-thales-leites-explains-16-month-mma-absence.html https://www.badmma.com/ufc-163s-thales-leites-explains-16-month-mma-absence.html#comments Fri, 02 Aug 2013 02:45:00 +0000 BAD MMA News http://www.badmma.com/ufc-163s-thales-leites-explains-16-month-mma-absence.html Onetime UFC middleweight challenger Thales Leites was in the midst of a comeback after being released from the promotion in 2009. In three years, he’d amassed a 6-1 record and beaten a list of UFC vets that included Dean Lister , Jesse Taylor and Jeremy Horn . A loss to Matt Horwich in 2010 was avenged two years later. But it was that March 2012 fight in Brazil that forced him to take a step back from the sport and get his house in order. “Before I fought Horwich the second time, I was recovering from surgery on my left knee,” Leites told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “Then I tore the ACL on my right knee, my good knee.

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UFC 163′s Thales Leites explains 16-month MMA absence – MMA Junkie

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