Leonardo Leite

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.

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.

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, 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.

Accomplishments Judo Brazilian Olympic Team - Pekin 2008 and London 2012 3x Pan American Champion 2x South American Champion Three medals on the World Judo Championships Team competition 2x Second place on the Judo World Cup Championship 1x Third place on Judo World Cup Championship

Jiu Jitsu 8x Brazilian Champion 4x World Champion 2x World Cup Champion South American Champion heavy weight and open weight 6x Second place on Jiu-Jitsu World Championship

Mixed martial arts record Win

Patrick Quadros Decision (unanimous) LFA 132

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Loss

Chris Honeycutt Decision (unanimous) Bellator 202

Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States Loss

Phil Davis Decision (unanimous) Bellator 186

University Park, Pennsylvania, United States Light Heavyweight bout. Win

Moise Rimbon Decision (majority) Fight2Night 1

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win

Julio Juarez Submission (rear-naked choke) Iron FC 10: POP

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Won the Iron FC Light Heavyweight Championship. Win

Matt Masterson TKO (punches) Final Fight Championship 25

Springfield, Massachusetts, US Win

Ryan Spann Decision (unanimous) Legacy Fighting Championship 48

Lake Charles, Louisiana USA Defended the Legacy FC Middleweight Championship. Win

Larry Crowe TKO (knee & punches) Legacy Fighting Championship 39

Houston, Texas USA Middleweight debut; won the Legacy FC Middleweight Championship. Win

Myron Dennis Submission (rear naked choke) Legacy Fighting Championship 35

Tulsa, Oklahoma USA Won the Legacy FC Light Heavyweight Championship. Win

Elias Mendonca Submission (rear naked choke) BC: Bitetti Combat 20

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win

Fabio Marongiu Decision (unanimous) WOCS: Watch Out Combat Show 31

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win

Diosman Nery de Jesus Decision (unanimous) BC: Bitetti Combat 17

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Win

Alessandro Macedo Submission (rear naked choke) Fight Against Crack

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Submission grappling record Result Weight category Opponent Method text-center| Event Year Stage