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#2 Paulo Thiago
Given Paulo Thiago had 13 fights in the UFC and was once considered a solid top-ten level contender at Welterweight, it’s surprising that the Brazilian has now been largely forgotten since leaving the promotion in 2014. But that’s the case, as you’d be hard pressed to find a lot of fans who remember him.
Wins over two top contenders in Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick in 2009 and 2010 made Thiago a man to watch in the 170lbs division, but losses to Jon Fitch, Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez prevented him from really breaking out as a genuine threat to the Welterweight title. But the Brazilian remained a solid action fighter – and a tough one to beat at that.
Unfortunately, Thiago’s career took a slide in 2012, as he lost to both Siyar Bahadurzada and Dong Hyun Kim, before he righted the ship with a win over Michel Prazeres in 2013. Three losses followed, though, coming to lesser opposition each time in the form of Brandon Thatch, Gasan Umalatov and Sean Spencer – and that was enough to earn him his release.
So why’s he become forgotten? For a couple of reasons most likely; firstly, Thiago was never a wild personality despite being popular in Brazil due to his other job as a Special Forces officer, and secondly, while his first 6 UFC fights came on televised main cards, 3 of his final 4 came on prelims – an easy way to end up fading from the memories of the fans.
