Rafael Cavalcante formerly competed in Strikeforce, where he was at one time Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.
31 Facts About Rafael Cavalcante
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Rafael Cavalcante holds notable wins over Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal and Yoel Romero.
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Rafael Cavalcante studied veterinary medicine for five years at the Universidade de Cuiaba - UNIC in his adopted hometown of Cuiaba, Mato Grosso, and it was the legendary Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira who personally convinced Rafael Cavalcante's father to allow his son to give up his medical career, in order to focus solely on training for a career in professional fighting under the tutelage of Nogueira.
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Rafael Cavalcante began training at Nogueira's gym daily, alongside the likes of Anderson Silva, Andre Galvao, and Nogueira's twin brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
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Rafael Cavalcante made his promotional debut at IFL: Atlanta, facing veteran Devin Cole whom he defeated via TKO early in the second round.
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Rafael Cavalcante made his next appearance at IFL: Las Vegas, facing fellow Brazilian Marcio Cruz.
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Rafael Cavalcante lost the fight via disqualification in the third round due to illegal upkicks.
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In 2008, Rafael Cavalcante began competing for EliteXC, making his debut for the promotion and light heavyweight debut at EliteXC: Street Certified on 16 February 2008, facing John Doyle.
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Rafael Cavalcante made his next appearance at EliteXC: Return of the King on 14 June 2008 against veteran Wayne Cole.
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Rafael Cavalcante won via TKO, after knocking down Cole with a series of punches and knees.
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On 26 July 2008, Rafael Cavalcante faced Travis Galbraith, who was given a weeks' notice for the fight, at EliteXC: Unfinished Business.
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Rafael Cavalcante was next scheduled to fight for the inaugural EliteXC Light Heavyweight Championship against Cyrille Diabate in November 2008, but Diabate pulled out due to an injury, and the event itself was eventually folded as EliteXC closed operations a month before the fight's scheduled date.
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On 6 June 2009, Rafael Cavalcante was scheduled to face Renato Sobral at Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields, but Sobral pulled out for personal reasons, and was replaced by Jared Hamman, who pulled out, due to an injury.
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Rafael Cavalcante was handed his first decisive defeat, losing to Kyle via knockout.
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On 15 May 2010 Rafael Cavalcante knocked out Antwain Britt at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery to become the number one contender for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.
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Rafael Cavalcante fought against the heavily-touted Muhammed Lawal in Houston, Texas for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship, and defeated Lawal by TKO due to elbows from the clinch at 1:14 of round 3 to become the new Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.
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Rafael Cavalcante lost his title to Dan Henderson via third-round TKO, on 5 March 2011.
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Rafael Cavalcante faced Yoel Romero on 10 September 2011 at Strikeforce: Barnett vs Kharitonov.
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Rafael Cavalcante won the fight via KO in the second round.
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Rafael Cavalcante avenged his previous defeat by rocking Kyle with a knee and then choked him out with a guillotine choke after 33 seconds in the first round.
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Rafael Cavalcante made his anticipated UFC debut against Thiago Silva on 8 June 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV 10.
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Rafael Cavalcante faced Igor Pokrajac on 9 November 2013 at UFC Fight Night 32.
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Rafael Cavalcante won the fight via submission due to strikes in the first round.
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Rafael Cavalcante faced Ryan Bader on 14 June 2014 at UFC 174.
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Rafael Cavalcante faced Patrick Cummins on 1 August 2015 at UFC 190.
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Rafael Cavalcante lost the back-and-forth fight by TKO due to elbows in the third round.
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Rafael Cavalcante faced Ovince Saint Preux on 6 February 2016 at UFC Fight Night 82.
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Rafael Cavalcante lost the fight by unanimous decision.
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On 1 July 2017, Rafael Cavalcante defeated Dan Konecke via technical knockout in the first round to earn a Bellator MMA contract.
30.
In June 2016, Rafael Cavalcante was involved in a bar fight at a country music bar in Cuiaba, Mato Grosso.
31.
The other man stated Rafael Cavalcante verbally abused him and punched him in the face.