Gleison Tibau leaves UFC after 12 years

G. Tibau has not yet decided which organization he will fight for next. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram gleisontibau_official

With a 19-year career in professional MMA, 12 of which in Ultimate, Brazilian Gleison Tibau says goodbye to the UFC after 28 fights. After four consecutive defeats, the Espírito Santo player did not have his contract renewed with the franchise. He has already been approached by other organizations and will soon define his future.

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“There are a lot of offers coming in, but nothing is defined yet. Rizin offered me a fight with Takanori Gomi on two weeks' notice, but I was in Brazil, I was running my cookie business and I wasn't even training, so I didn't accept. ACB also sent me an offer, but then they canceled some cards, so I declined. Bellator asked me to wait a little, but they are interested. There is also an Abu Dhabi promotion, another in Russia as well. I will sign one-fight agreements, so I will remain free”, explained Tibau in an interview with the “MMA Fighting” website.

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In over a decade in Ultimate, Tibau has accumulated a 16-12 record. The Brazilian defeated fighters like Rafael dos Anjos, Jeremy Stephens, Caol Uno, Francisco 'massaranduba' Trinaldo, Pat Healy, Jamie Varner, Norman Parke and Terry emo. Still faced Nick Diaz, Jim Miller, Khabib Nurmagomedov e Tony Ferguson.

The Brazilian's last four fights in the Ultimate Octagon include a victory against Abel Trujillo in November 2015, but which was changed to a defeat after being caught in a drug test by the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission (CABMMA).

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Tibau guaranteed that the next fights in his career will no longer be at lightweight, as he cut and gained a lot of weight before and after the weigh-in. “I should have done this a while ago. I only train with the best welterweights and do very well in the gym. The weight cut bothered me a lot. I want to fight as well as I do in training. I perform well at 35 and, with the weight cut, I don’t have explosiveness, stamina or stamina, so I’m going to go up in weight,” he admitted.

At 35 years old, Tibau leaves Ultimate after 28 fights, with 16 wins and 12 losses. In his professional MMA career there were 46 fights, with 32 triumphs and 14 setbacks. In his last fight, the Brazilian was defeated by Desmond Green in June 2018.

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