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UFC 183 Results: 3 Fights for Thales Leites to Take Next

It’s difficult to consistently win on any level of mixed martial arts, let alone in the UFC’s evolving middleweight division.
But on the heels of a return to the promotion back in 2013 after a four-year hiatus, former middleweight title challenger Thal…

It’s difficult to consistently win on any level of mixed martial arts, let alone in the UFC’s evolving middleweight division.

But on the heels of a return to the promotion back in 2013 after a four-year hiatus, former middleweight title challenger Thales Leites is creating noticeable ripples every time he steps inside of the Octagon.

His submission victory over a hard-nosed Tim Boetsch at UFC 183 not only displayed his resilience in the eyes of a fearless brawler but ultimately extended his current UFC win streak to five, which includes three finishes.

Needless to say, the 33-year-old Brazilian has never looked better and is easily one of the top names to watch in 2015.

But is he ready to scale the division’s Top 10 and work his way back toward a title shot?

You better believe it.

Here are three fights for Leites to take next as he continues to impress:

Tim Kennedy

This is probably the most logical matchup for Leites moving forward.

Having just dropped a tough loss to Yoel Romero back in September at UFC 178, Kennedy is in need of a victory to re-solidify his spot in the middleweight title picture.

He’s most definitely a tougher matchup for the Brazilian than the other potential suitors on this list, but Kennedy is a big name in the division and a guy Leites could use to launch himself to the top of the crop.

It would be a showdown of two of the more active submission experts in the division, who also like to throw heavy hands.

Kelvin Gastelum

Following an egregious weigh-in on Friday, having missed the acceptable welterweight mark by eight pounds, Gastelum has been ordered by Dana White to move back to middleweight, per Combat (h/t to Guilherme Cruz of MMAfighting.com).

That leaves a fantastic matchup on the table between Leites and Gastelum, especially considering the 23-year-old was just one clean weight cut and decisive victory away from a potential title shot at 170 pounds.

Gastelum is already a big enough name in the sport to where a victory for Leites would further increase his chances of fighting a Top Five name by the end of 2015.

However, the UFC rarely pits fighters together who are coming off a respective win and a respective loss.

Winner of Michael Bisping vs. CB Dollaway

Bisping vs. Dollaway at UFC 186 is an interesting matchup in itself, but a potential showdown with The Count is the ideal scenario for Leities in 2015, should he miss out on Kennedy.

With all due respect to Dollaway, Bisping is simply the bigger fight.

He’s fought nearly every middleweight under the sun not named Anderson Silva and serves as a great opportunity for Leites to add another big name to his resume and move up the ranks.

That’s easier said than done considering Bisping is as game as they come, but Leites should be able to utilize his evolved striking and potent submission skills to extend his win streak to six.

For more UFC news and coverage, Follow @DHiergesell

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UFC 183 Results: Recapping Fight Night Bonuses

All in all, UFC 183 was an entertaining show. Aside from Kelvin Gastelum vs. Tyron Woodley, the show delivered the requisite amount of violence and then some. Several performances were worthy of post-fight bonuses, as the event featured five impressive…

The “Fight of the Night” at UFC 183 was Thales Leites vs. Tim Boetsch. Leites has been on a tear since his original departure from the UFC, and Boetsch was looking to halt the Brazilian’s ascent back to title contention.

Leites ate some hard punches from Boetsch that nearly finished the fight in the first round, but he endured the punishment and made it out of the round. The Brazilian was able to get the fight to the ground in Round 2, and after Boetsch slipped the first attempt, Leites put him to sleep with an arm-triangle choke at 3:45 of the second round.

Leites also took home a separate “Performance of the Night” bonus for the finish, and it was well worth it after what he endured in the previous round only to come back and render his opponent unconscious.

The other performance bonus went to Thiago Alves, who decimated Jordan Mein with a body kick and a swarm of strikes that earned him a second-round TKO in the UFC 183 main card opener. People had questioned whether Alves could still perform at a high level, but against a young and dangerous opponent like Mein, he showed the killer instinct that had brought him to welterweight title contention in the past.

The body kick that Alves landed instantly floored Mein and had him crumpled on the mat frozen and grimacing in pain. The Pitbull aggressively pursued the finish and came in with a flying knee to the body of a grounded Mein. After a few more hard shots from Alves, referee Herb Dean waved it off.

Mein had Alves busted up in the first round, and for Alves to come back and emphatically finish him proved he can still overcome adversity inside the cage. Whether he can still contend at the very top of the welterweight division remains to be seen, but that is certainly where he is headed.

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UFC 183 Gets Middleweight Contenders Thales Leites and Tim Boetsch

Riding seven straight wins, Thales Leites has been set up with a Top 15 middleweight contender. The Brazilian will meet Tim Boetsch at UFC 183 on January 31.
Sherdog.com reported the booking of the bout Wednesday.
After being released by the world’s to…

Riding seven straight wins, Thales Leites has been set up with a Top 15 middleweight contender. The Brazilian will meet Tim Boetsch at UFC 183 on January 31.

Sherdog.com reported the booking of the bout Wednesday.

After being released by the world’s top MMA promotion in August 2009, Leites posted a 6-1 record in smaller shows to earn his way back to the Octagon. Once a middleweight title challenger, Leites looks to be back on his way toward the top of the 185-pound class.

Since rejoining the UFC roster, Leites has beaten all four opponents he has faced. In his past two bouts, Leites unveiled new finishing ability by knocking out Francis Carmont and Trevor Smith. Although he was released following his loss to Leites, Carmont was a Top 15 middleweight not long ago.

Boetsch was also cut by the UFC brass in 2009, but he, too, earned his way back to the big show by stopping three straight foes. The Barbarian hasn’t been as flawless as Leites since returning, but he’s picked up some big wins against 185-pound contenders. Yushin Okami, Hector Lombard, CB Dollaway and more recently Brad Tavares have lost to Boetsch during his current UFC stint. However, losses to Luke Rockhold, Mark Munoz and Costas Philippou have prevented Boetch from reaching the next level.

Leites and Boetsch are both 33 years old right now. This is the time for them to make their most serious runs at the middleweight championship. This could be a decisive matchup in the careers of both men.

Headlined by a highly anticipated bout between former middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz, UFC 183 will be held in Las Vegas and will also feature a matchup between Jordan Mein and Thiago Alves as well as more contests to be determined.

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Thales Leites Deserves a Big Fight After Rattling off 4 UFC Wins in a Row

Thale Leites picked up his seventh consecutive victory at UFC Fight Night 49 with a knockout over Francis Carmont in August.
The victory moved him up to No. 11 in the middleweight division, and it is time for the UFC to put Leites in a premier bout in …

Thale Leites picked up his seventh consecutive victory at UFC Fight Night 49 with a knockout over Francis Carmont in August.

The victory moved him up to No. 11 in the middleweight division, and it is time for the UFC to put Leites in a premier bout in the division that could elevate him to being a contender for the gold.

Leites once challenged for the UFC middleweight title. At UFC 97 he was involved in a lackluster 25-minute fight against Anderson Silva. The former champion would not engage with Leites’ ground game, and that resulted in a disappointing fight.

Leites then dropped a split decision to Alessio Sakara and was released from the UFC in the summer of 2009.

Since that time he has gone 10-1 without a loss since 2010.

The Brazilian’s lone loss in that time was to Matt Horwich via submission, which Leites avenged with a submission of his own two years later. The win over Horwich earned Leites a spot back on the UFC’s roster.

Leites returned to the UFC in 2013 against Tom Watson. After defeating Watson, Leites moved on to Ed Herman and Trevor Smith before advancing to the Carmont bout.

Carmont was ranked in the Top 15 of the UFC’s official rankings prior to their bout. After beating him, Leites has earned a fight against someone in the Top 10, if not the Top Five.

Leites has shown growth in his game. He is no longer just a jiu-jitsu specialist. His newfound knockout power makes him a fun fighter to have in the division. His well-rounded abilities give him the chance to knock off anyone within the division.

There is a logjam toward the top of the division, and many of the Top 10 fighters are already locked into bouts. There are still others, such as Yoel Romero, who are available for Leites to take on in meaningful middleweight action. And should Nick Diaz fall out of the proposed fight against Anderson Silva, Leites makes sense as a replacement.

Whomever the UFC chooses as Leites’ next opponent, he has to be a Top 10 adversary.

Four wins within the Octagon make him a potential contender, but he lacks the signature win. The division needs more interesting contenders as it becomes increasingly less interesting. There is a need for fresh contenders for Chris Weidman’s title.

Putting Leites against a highly ranked opponent will also show fans if he is a legitimate contender or not. A win would legitimize Leites’ resurgence in the division, while a loss would give his opponent another quality victory. It may not quite be a title eliminator, but it will set the winner up for just that type of fight.

There are quality options for Leites’ next fight. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva just needs to settle on the right one. Anything less than Top 10 opposition is a failure and a disservice to both Leites and the fans.

Leites has done everything to earn a top-tier opponent, and there is every reason to schedule him against one for his next fight.

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5 Current UFC Fighters Who’ve Shown the Most Improvement

Some fighters are shipped to the UFC with “greatness” stamped onto the package.
For example, Anderson Silva immediately made his presence known within the first minute of his UFC debut. Jon Jones ran through every single opponent, regardless of t…

Some fighters are shipped to the UFC with “greatness” stamped onto the package.

For example, Anderson Silva immediately made his presence known within the first minute of his UFC debut. Jon Jones ran through every single opponent, regardless of the name, like a hot knife through butter.

Other fighters don’t have that stamp of domination from the start.

These are the fighters who, for one reason or another, took time to improve and hone their skills before they could be considered atop the crowd of athletes in their division.

Scroll on to see which fighters made the cut.

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And Now He’s Fired: Francis “Frankie Cars” Carmont Axed Following Three Straight Losses

(“Hang on a second, Frankie, cause you just blew my f*cking mind.” via Getty)

Francis Carmont — or as they refer to him on the CME podcast, “Frankie Cars” — has experienced one of the more surprising career downswings of them all in recent months. A training partner of Georges St. Pierre up at Quebec’s Tristar gym, Carmont kicked off his UFC career with six straight victories, including wins over Costa Philippou, Chris Camozzi, and Lorenz Larkin to name a few. While his grapple-heavy style was never exactly crowd-pleasing (and some of his aforementioned victories overshadowed by questionable judging decisions), Carmont was steadily working his way toward becoming a top contender in the middleweight division according to many.

Then 2014 happened, and Carmont suddenly couldn’t buy a win. In successive appearances, he dropped a pair of unanimous decisions to Ronaldo Souza and CB Dollaway at Fight Night 36 and 41, respectively. If that wasn’t bad enough, poor Frankie Cars was then crumbled by the patented overhand right of Thales Leites (a.k.a Tally Lates) at Fight Night 49 last month, making it three straight losses for the once promising French Canadian.

And today, the news of Carmont’s release comes straight from the horse’s mouth, er, Facebook page:

(“Hang on a second, Frankie, cause you just blew my f*cking mind.” via Getty)

And today, the news of Carmont’s release comes straight from the horse’s mouth, er, Facebook page:

I announce that after 6 win and 3 defeat, I am no longer a UFC fighter. However it is with determination that I will continue my career in combat sports. A friend told me, after my loss against Thales, ” You will come to understand it is the best thing that could’ve happen for your career, it’ll make you stronger.” At that moment i did not quiet understand, and after reflecting i came to auto-criticize myself. I come to the conclusion that in sports just like in life, there are many and different stages. By looking for perfection on my technique, i slowly estrange myself from the combat by instinct. Seeking to score points instead of finishing my opponent. My last loss pushes me to grow everyday. Life is a learning path and my career is far from finish. Thank you very much for your constant support.

We imagine that Carmont will likely get scooped up by either Bellator or WSOF based on his former UFC status alone, but his firing just proves more than anything that the three strike rule still applies to guys with boring styles.

Our advice to Carmont: Train dem hands, score a few quick KOs on the local scene, and maybe get arrested a time or two from some really sketchy sh*t. The three strike rule doesn’t apply to knockout artists, Frankie, and that’s the God’s honest truth. Just be thankful that you are living in an MMA landscape where all can be forgiven because DAT FEIJAO KO DOE.

–J. Jones