Leonardo Leite Explained

Leonardo Leite
Other Names:Leo
Birth Date:23 March 1978
Birth Place:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Weight:185.5lb
Weight Class:Light Heavyweight
Middleweight
Stance:Orthodox
Fighting Out Of:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Team:Rizzo RVT
Years Active:2013–2022
Mma Kowin:3
Mma Subwin:3
Mma Decwin:5
Mma Decloss:2
Sherdog:139245
Module2:
Embed:yes
Weight Class:100 kg, Open
Worlds Rank:R16
Worlds Year:2011
Worlds Weight:Men's 100 kg
Regionals Type:AM
Regionals Rank:1
Regionals Year:2001
Regionals Year2:2001

Leonardo "Leo" Leite (born March 23, 1978, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a retired Brazilian judoka, jiu jitsu practitioner, and mixed martial artist.

Martial arts career

Judo

Leite began his career in judo in 1984 at the Federal Club under Omar Brazil. In 1988, at age 10, he transferred to the Clube de Regatas do Flamengo and began to participate in official competitions of the Judo Federation of Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian Judo Confederation. In 1997, he achieved a place in the Brazilian junior national team, and in 1998 the first call for leading the Brazilian judo team, which he continued until 2012. Leite also works as a TV commentator for Judo and MMA events.

Jiu Jitsu

Parallel to his judo career, in 1993 he began his career in jiu-jitsu under the supervision of Alexandre Paiva, who coaches him still today. In 1999, Leite competed in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Jiu Jitsu's most important competition, for the first time. He was a brown belt then and was expecting to compete in that division. However, his coach Paiva had other plans for him, and two weeks before the event he promoted him to black belt. Leite won the competition, winning in the final against a legend in the sport, Mario Sperry.

MMA

In 2013, Leite started his MMA career. Competing in his native Brazil, he amassed a record of 4–0 in his first year in the sport.

In 2014, Leite began fighting for Legacy Fighting Championship in the United States. He won the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight titles while with the promotion.

In 2017, Leite entered Bellator MMA with an undefeated 10–0 record. In his first fight for the promotion, he faced Phil Davis on November 3, 2017 at Bellator 186. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[1]

In his second fight for the promotion, Leite faced Chris Honeycutt on July 13, 2018 at Bellator 202. He again lost the fight by unanimous decision.[2]

After almost 4 years away due to a nearly fatal case of tuberculosis and a leg injury that required a long stay in the hospital,[3] Leite returned for his farewell bout at LFA 132 on May 13, 2022 against Patrick Quadros. He won the bout via unanimous decision and retired from MMA.[4]

Accomplishments

Judo

Jiu Jitsu

Mixed martial arts record

|-|Win|align=center|11–2|Patrick Quadros|Decision (unanimous)|LFA 132||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil||-|Loss|align=center| 10–2|Chris Honeycutt|Decision (unanimous)|Bellator 202||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States||-|Loss|align=center| 10–1|Phil Davis|Decision (unanimous)|Bellator 186||align=center|3|align=center|5:00|University Park, Pennsylvania, United States|Light Heavyweight bout.|-|Win|align=center| 10–0|Moise Rimbon|Decision (majority)|Fight2Night 1||align=center| 3|align=center| 5:00|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil||-|Win|align=center| 9–0|Julio Juarez|Submission (rear-naked choke)|Iron FC 10: POP||align=center| 1|align=center| 2:23|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil|Won the Iron FC Light Heavyweight Championship.|-|Win|align=center| 8–0|Matt Masterson|TKO (punches)|Final Fight Championship 25||align=center| 3|align=center| 1:13|Springfield, Massachusetts, US||-|Win|align=center| 7–0|Ryan Spann|Decision (unanimous)|Legacy Fighting Championship 48||align=center| 5|align=center| 5:00|Lake Charles, Louisiana USA|Defended the Legacy FC Middleweight Championship.|-|Win|align=center| 6–0|Larry Crowe|TKO (knee & punches)|Legacy Fighting Championship 39||align=center| 2|align=center| 2:19|Houston, Texas USA|Middleweight debut; won the Legacy FC Middleweight Championship.|-|Win|align=center| 5–0|Myron Dennis|Submission (rear naked choke)|Legacy Fighting Championship 35||align=center| 4|align=center| 4:50|Tulsa, Oklahoma USA|Won the Legacy FC Light Heavyweight Championship.|-|Win|align=center| 4–0|Elias Mendonca|Submission (rear naked choke)|BC: Bitetti Combat 20||align=center| 1|align=center| 1:07|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil||-|Win|align=center| 3–0|Fabio Marongiu|Decision (unanimous)|WOCS: Watch Out Combat Show 31||align=center| 3|align=center| 5:00|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil||-|Win|align=center| 2–0|Diosman Nery de Jesus|Decision (unanimous)|BC: Bitetti Combat 17||align=center| 3|align=center| 5:00|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil||-|Win|align=center| 1–0|Alessandro Macedo|Submission (rear naked choke)|Fight Against Crack||align=center| 1|align=center| 3:25|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil|

Submission grappling record

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ResultWeight categoryOpponentMethodtext-centerEventYearStage
Win 100KGMario SperryPoints: 4x0BJJ World Championship1999Final
LossAbsoluteFernando MargaridaPoints: 9x2BJJ World Championship2000Semifinal
Win Over 100KGAurelio FernandesPointsBJJ World Championship2000Final
Win Over 100KGRonald BauerPointsBJJ World Championship2003Round1
Win Over 100KGFrancisco FernandesN/ABJJ World Championship20034F
Win Over 100KGMarcio CorletaPoints: 4x2BJJ World Championship2003Semifinal
LossOver 100KGFabricio WerdumPointsBJJ World Championship2003Final
Win Over 100KGAurelio FernandesPoints: 2x0BJJ World Cup2003Semifinal
Win Over 100KGFabricio WerdumN/ABJJ World Cup2003Final
Win Over 88KGMarco VilelaArmbarTeam Nationals2004Final
Win Over 100KGAdriano PiresPointsBJJ World Cup2005Semifinal
Win Over 100KGGabriel NapaoPoints: 4x0BJJ World Cup2005Final
Win Over 100KGMauro JorgeSubmissionBJJ World Championship20064F
Win Over 100KGLucio RodriguesRNCBJJ World Championship2006Semifinal
LossOver 100KGGabriel GonzagaPoints: 4x0BJJ World Championship2006Final
Win Over 100KGAsa FullerChokeBJJ World Championship2008Round1
LossOver 100KGRoger GracieCross chokeBJJ World Championship2008Final
LossOver 99KGCharles CachoeiraPointsCapital Challenge2008Semifinal
Win Over 99KGFabricio WerdumPointsCapital Challenge20083PLC
LossAbsoluteBraulio EstimaPointsCapital Challenge2008Final
Loss99KGLeo ChocolateReferee DecisionADCC Trials2009Semifinal
LossOver 100KGT. GaiaChokeBrasileiro2012Semifinal
Win Over 100KGUnknownN/ABJJ World Championship2012Round2
Win Over 100KGR. EvangelistaPoints: 2x2, AdvBJJ World Championship20124F
Win Over 100KGAlexander TransPoints: 2x0BJJ World Championship2012Semifinal
LossOver 100KGMarcus AlmeidaArmbarBJJ World Championship2012Final
Loss94KGRodolfo VieiraArmbarCopa Podio2013SPF
Win AbsoluteAnderson LimaN/ABJJ World Championship2013RDS
Win AbsoluteDJ JacksonPointsBJJ World Championship2013RDS
Win AbsoluteAndre GalvaoReferee DecisionBJJ World Championship20134F
LossAbsoluteRodolfo VieiraArmbarBJJ World Championship2013Semifinal
Loss100KGJoao RochaChoke from backBJJ World Championship20134F
LossAbsoluteRodolfo VieiraPoints: 14x2Copa Podio2013Semifinal

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Anderson . Jay . 2017-11-03 . Bellator 186 Results: Phil Davis Cruises Past Leo Leite . 2022-05-29 . Cageside Press . en-US.
  2. Web site: 2018-07-14 . Bellator 202 results: Chris Honeycutt dominates Leo Leite with trio of 30-25 scores . 2022-05-29 . MMA Junkie . en-US.
  3. Web site: Cruz . Guilherme . 2022-05-27 . Victorious in retirement fight, Leo Leite explains how Dana White helped him become two-division MMA champ . 2022-05-29 . MMA Fighting . en.
  4. Web site: 2022-05-14 . LFA 132: aos 44 anos, Léo Leite vence em sua despedida do MMA; Ítalo Gomes supera Melk Costa . 2022-05-21 . tatame.com.br . pt-BR.

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