Douglas Lima

Douglas Lima (born 5 January 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. He formerly competed for Bellator MMA, where he is a former three-time Bellator Welterweight Champion. He is also the former MFC Welterweight Champion. Lima and his younger brother, Dhiego, own and operate American Top Team - Team Lima in Duluth, Georgia.

Background Lima was born and grew up initially in Aparecida de Goiânia, Brazil. Douglas took interest in martial arts from Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, and started training capoeira.

Mixed martial arts career Early career Lima began his professional mixed martial arts career with decent success, soon compiling a record of 5–0. by defeating him via TKO due to punches in the second round. Weedman threatened early on with a triangle choke which was unsuccessful. Late in the second round, Weedman again caught Lima in a triangle choke, but transitioned to an armbar, which forced Lima to submit, giving Weedman the title. However, Lima was forced to withdraw from the card while waiting on papers to arrive from the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. Lima's WEC debut never transpired, as instead, he joined King of the Cage, where he faced another future Ultimate Fighter competitor in Charles Blanchard, losing by unanimous decision.

With the win, Lima was given an MFC Welterweight title shot against Jesse Juarez at MFC 27. Lima went on to defeat Juarez via armbar, midway through the final round.

Lima then defended the title against Terry Martin at MFC 29, winning the fight via first-round TKO.

Bellator Fighting Championships In May 2011, it was announced that Lima had signed to fight for Bellator Fighting Championships.

Lima entered into the Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament. He fought Steve Carl in the opening round held at Bellator 49 and won the fight via unanimous decision. Lima fought Chris Lozano in the semifinals at Bellator 53 and won via KO in the second round. In the finals held at Bellator 57, he claimed the tournament victory and earned a shot at the title by knocking out Ben Saunders in the second round.

First title shot Lima got his title shot against welterweight champion Ben Askren at Bellator 64 on April 6, 2012. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Lima defeated Jacob Ortiz via head kick and knee at 4:50 of the third round at Bellator 79 on November 2, 2012.

Bellator Season Eight tournament Lima faced Russian MMA prospect Michail Tsarev in Season Eight Welterweight Tournament on January 24, 2013 at Bellator 86. He won the fight via TKO due to leg strikes in round 2. In the semi-finals, he was scheduled to face Brent Weedman, but ultimately Weedman suffered an injury and was replaced by Bryan Baker at Bellator 90 on February 21, 2013. He won the fight via knock out in the first round. He was expected to face Ben Saunders in a rematch in the tournament final at Bellator 93. However, Lima suffered a broken hand and the rematch was postponed, finally taking place at Bellator 100 on September 20, 2013. Lima once again won in the second round, this time via a brutal head kick knockout.

First Bellator Welterweight Championship reign Lima faced judo olympian Rick Hawn at Bellator 117 on April 18, 2014, for the vacant Bellator Welterweight Championship. After several knockdowns due to leg kicks, Lima won via TKO due to corner stoppage to win the vacant Bellator Welterweight Championship.

Lima was scheduled to make his first title defense against Paul Daley on February 27, 2015 at Bellator 134. However, in January, it was announced that Lima had pulled out of the fight due to injury. Lima was replaced by fellow Brazilian André Santos.

After 15 months away from the sport due to knee injuries, Lima returned to defend his title against Bellator Season Ten Welterweight tournament winner Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 140 on July 17, 2015. He lost the fight and title by unanimous decision.

Return to title contention and second reign After nearly a year away from the sport, Lima returned to the Bellator cage to replace Josh Koscheck against Paul Daley at Bellator 158 on July 16, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

The win over Daley earned Lima a rematch against Bellator Welterweight Champion Andrey Koreshkov. The two met in the main event at Bellator 164 on November 10, 2016. Lima regained his title by winning by knockout in the third round.

For the first defense of his second title reign, Lima faced Lorenz Larkin at Bellator NYC on June 24, 2017. He won the fight via a unanimous decision (50–45, 48–47, and 48–47) to retain the Bellator welterweight championship.

On September 6, 2017 Lima announced that he had signed a six-fight, two-year contract with Bellator.

For the second defense of his title, Lima faced Rory MacDonald at Bellator 192 on January 20, 2018. He lost the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision.

2019 Bellator Welterweight GP and third reign Lima faced Andrey Koreshkov in a third match as part of the opening round of the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix on September 29, 2018 at Bellator 206. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke in the fifth round.

In the tournament semifinals, Lima faced the undefeated Michael Page in the co-main event at Bellator 221 on May 11, 2019. Lima won the fight via knockout in round two.

In the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix final, Lima challenged Rory MacDonald in a rematch for the welterweight title at Bellator 232 on October 26, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision to become a three-time Bellator welterweight champion and the 2019 Welterweight Grand Prix winner, receiving the $1,000,000 prize.

Attempt at middleweight championship As the first fight of his new, multi-year contract, Lima was scheduled to face Gegard Mousasi for the vacant Bellator Middleweight World Championship at Bellator 242 on May 9, 2020. However, it was later announced that Bellator 242 and Lima's fight against Mousasi were being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Lima faced Mousasi on October 29 at Bellator 250. Lima lost the fight via unanimous decision.

In the first defense of his title in his third reign as Bellator Welterweight World Champion, Lima faced undefeated Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 260 on June 11, 2021. He lost the bout by unanimous decision.

Losing streak Lima faced Michael Page in a rematch on October 1, 2021 at Bellator 267. He lost the bout via split decision. 6 out of 7 media outlets scored the bout as a win for Lima.

Lima was scheduled to face Jason Jackson on May 13, 2022 at Bellator 281. However, for unknown reasons, the bout was pulled from the event and was rescheduled for July 22, 2022 at Bellator 283. After the main event was scrapped and the reshuffling of the bouts, Lima vs. Jackson was upgraded to the main event and 5 rounds. At the weigh-ins, Douglas Lima, came in at 172.8 lbs, 1.8 pounds heavy for his headlining welterweight bout. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Lima was fined a percentage of his individual purse, which went to Jackson. Lima lost the bout via unanimous decision, getting controlled on the ground for 5 rounds.

Return to middleweight Moving up to Middleweight once again, Lima faced Costello van Steenis on May 12, 2023 at Bellator 296. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

With one fight remaining on his prevailing contract, Lima signed a new multi-year contract with PFL after publicly scolding the organization for keeping him benched for over a year for allegedly too high purse. As the first bout of his new contract, Lima faced Aaron Jeffery at Bellator Champions Series 4 on September 7, 2024. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Global Fight League On January 16, 2025, it was announced that he had left the promotion and signed with the Global Fight League.

Lima was scheduled to face Uriah Hall on May 25, 2025 at GFL 2. However, all GFL events were postponed indefinitely.

Professional grappling career Lima competed against Rinat Fakhretdinov at ADXC 2 on January 19, 2024. He lost the match by unanimous decision.

Personal life Lima and his wife have two daughters and a son.

Championships and accomplishments Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator Welterweight World Championship (Three times) One successful title defense (second reign) Bellator Season 8 Welterweight Tournament Winner Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Winner Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix Winner Tied (with Patricky Freire) for second most knockouts in Bellator history (nine) Second most wins in Bellator welterweight division history (13) Tied (with Michael Page and Andrey Koreshkov) for most knockout victories in Bellator welterweight division history (eight) Only fighter in Bellator history to win three tournaments Maximum Fighting Championship MFC Welterweight Championship (One time; former) One successful title defense Knockout of the Night (One time) Submission of the Night (Two times) Sin City Fight Club/SportFight X 2010 REDLINE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Sherdog 2013 All-Violence Third Team MMAJunkie.com 2019 May Knockout of the Month vs. Michael Page

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Aaron Jeffery Decision (unanimous) Bellator Champions Series 4

San Diego, California, United States Win

Costello van Steenis Decision (unanimous) Bellator 296

Paris, France Loss

Jason Jackson Decision (unanimous) Bellator 283

Tacoma, Washington, United States Loss

Michael Page Decision (split) Bellator 267

London, England Loss

Yaroslav Amosov Decision (unanimous) Bellator 260

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Loss

Gegard Mousasi Decision (unanimous) Bellator 250

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Rory MacDonald Decision (unanimous) Bellator 232

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Michael Page KO (punches) Bellator 221

|Rosemont, Illinois, United States Win

Andrey Koreshkov Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator 206

San Jose, California, United States Loss

Rory MacDonald Decision (unanimous) Bellator 192

Inglewood, California, United States Win

Lorenz Larkin Decision (unanimous) Bellator NYC

New York City, New York, United States Win

Andrey Koreshkov KO (punches) Bellator 164

Tel Aviv, Israel Win

Paul Daley Decision (unanimous) Bellator 158

London, England, United Kingdom Loss

Andrey Koreshkov Decision (unanimous) Bellator 140

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Rick Hawn TKO (corner stoppage) Bellator 117

Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States Win

Ben Saunders KO (head kick) Bellator 100

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Bryan Baker KO (punch) Bellator 90

West Valley City, Utah, United States Win

Michail Tsarev TKO (leg kicks) Bellator 86

Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States Win

Jacob Ortiz TKO (head kick and knee) Bellator 79

Rama, Ontario, Canada Loss

Ben Askren Decision (unanimous) Bellator 64

Windsor, Ontario, Canada Win

Ben Saunders KO (punches) Bellator 57

Rama, Ontario, Canada Win

Chris Lozano KO (punch) Bellator 53

Miami, Oklahoma, United States Win

Steve Carl Decision (unanimous) Bellator 49

Atlantic City, New Jersey United States Win

Terry Martin TKO (punches) MFC 29: Conquer

Windsor, Ontario, Canada Win

Jesse Juarez Submission (triangle armbar) MFC 27

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Win

Ryan Ford Submission (armbar) MFC 26

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Win

Cortez Coleman Decision (split) SportFight X-1: Beatdown

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Win

Clint Hester Decision (unanimous) Sin City Fight Club: Redline Grand Prix Round 2

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Win

Eddie Hernandez Submission (triangle choke) Sin City Fight Club: Redline Grand Prix Opening Round

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Loss

Eric Dahlberg Decision (unanimous) Best of the Best

Columbus, Georgia, United States Loss

Charles Blanchard Decision (unanimous) KOTC: Invincible

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Win

Joseph Baize TKO (punches) Southern Kentucky: Combat League

Owensboro, Kentucky, United States Loss

Brent Weedman Submission (armbar) AFL: Bulletproof

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Win

Cody Senseney TKO (punches) AFL: Eruption

Lexington, Kentucky, United States Win

Eric Davila Submission (armbar) ROF 31: Undisputed

Broomfield, Colorado, United States Win

Daniel Douglas Submission (rear-naked choke) RMBB & PCF 1: HellRazor

Denver, Colorado, United States Win

Kyle Baker Submission (triangle armbar) Reign in the Cage

Alabama, United States Win

Ed Nuno TKO (injury) XFS 6: Bad Blood

Boise, Idaho, United States Win

Joshua Hancock TKO Evolution: Mayhem in Albany

Albany, Georgia, United States Loss

Matt Brown TKO (punches) ISCF: Invasion

Kennesaw, Georgia, United States Win

Ray Perales TKO (submission to punches) Xtreme Fight Series 3

Boise, Idaho, United States Win

John Nellermoe Submission (triangle choke) ISCF: Southside Slugfest

Peachtree City, Georgia, United States Win

Nathan Osterkamp Submission (rear-naked choke) Border Warz

Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States Win

Steve Linton Submission (verbal) ISCF: Fever Fight Night

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Win

Carlos Julio Molestina KO (punches) Wild Bill's: Fight Night 3

Duluth, Georgia, United States