Soa Palelei was born on 12 July 1977 and is an Australian retired mixed martial artist.
25 Facts About Soa Palelei
2.
Soa Palelei says he cannot recall ever getting into street scraps as a kid, and, remarkably, does not like confrontation out of the ring.
3.
Soa Palelei's sporting prowess started with basketball, then moved to rugby, while he trained in freestyle and Greco wrestling, followed by Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
4.
Soa Palelei's father took him to get his first tattoo at 15, a rite of passage that would be repeated through milestones in his life, the patterns portraying significant Tongan symbols.
5.
Soa Palelei's parents had exposed him to the tough plantation life in Tonga as a young child.
6.
Soa Palelei published a memoir, titled Face Your Fears, in June 2016.
7.
Soa Palelei made his acting debut in the 2014 Australian film, Son of a Gun, playing the role of a henchmen Tommy alongside Ewan McGregor, Matt Nable and Brenton Thwaites.
8.
Since then Soa Palelei has played the lead in Zombie Ninjas Vs Black Ops which is due to be released in 2015, and Football Breakers an Australian Comedy.
9.
Soa Palelei suffered his first defeat via submission to Choi Mu-Bae at PRIDE 28 in October 2004.
10.
Soa Palelei had a brief stint in the UFC at UFC 79 against Eddie Sanchez, losing by TKO in the third round.
11.
Soa Palelei was replaced by former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia.
12.
Soa Palelei defeated McCorkle in the main event at Australian Fighting Championship 4 via technical knock-out in round one and defended his AFC heavyweight title he won at AFC 3.
13.
In March 2013, Soa Palelei signed a multi fight deal with the UFC.
14.
Soa Palelei was expected to face Stipe Miocic on 15 June 2013 at UFC 161 until Miocic was reassigned to fight Roy Nelson as a replacement on the main card and Soa Palelei was pulled from the event.
15.
Soa Palelei won the fight via third-round TKO in a lackluster fight which saw both fighters exhausted after the first round.
16.
Soa Palelei next faced Pat Barry at UFC Fight Night 33 on 7 December 2013.
17.
Soa Palelei won the fight via knockout in the first round, after achieving full mount position and landing a barrage of punches.
18.
Soa Palelei faced promotional newcomer Ruan Potts on 10 May 2014 at UFC Fight Night 40.
19.
Soa Palelei won the fight via knockout, again from a full mount, in the first round.
20.
Soa Palelei faced Jared Rosholt on 28 June 2014 at UFC Fight Night 43.
21.
Soa Palelei was expected to face Daniel Omielanczuk on 8 November 2014 at UFC Fight Night 55.
22.
Soa Palelei won the fight by TKO in the second round.
23.
Soa Palelei faced Antonio Silva on 1 August 2015 at UFC 190.
24.
Soa Palelei lost the fight by TKO in the second round.
25.
In turn, Soa Palelei announced his retirement from MMA on 19 October 2015.