Brazilian featherweight Thiago Tavares is no longer in the UFC following his KO loss to Doo Ho Choi last July. MMA Fighting confirmed on Thursday that the Choi bout was Tavares’ last on his UFC contract, and the promotion opted not to re-sign him.
Tavares (20-7-1) made his Octagon debut in 2007, besting Naoyuki Kotani by unanimous decision. The 32-year-old compiled a UFC record of 10-7-1, earning Fight of the Night honors four times, two Performance of the Night bonuses, and one Submission of the Night award for his rear-naked choke finish of Jason Black. Thiago never won more than two consecutive bouts, but did have notable wins over Clay Guida, Sam Stout, Manny Gamburyan, and Michihiro Omigawa. Perhaps his most notable loss was the 2013 first-round KO he suffered vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, after which Tavares would test positive for drostanolone and serve a one-year suspension.
In August 2014, Tavares dropped down to featherweight, and choked out Robbie Peralta in his first bout in the division. A dramatic third-round TKO loss to Brian Ortega soon followed in June 2015, but he bounced back with a 39-second submission of Clay Guida in November. The KO defeat vs. Choi on the TUF 23 Finale main card marked his fifth KO/TKO loss, and it looks as if that’s the last time we’ll ever see Tavares in a UFC cage.
With his UFC career now over, Tavares is scheduled to fight on February 18th against Mauricio Machado at Aspera FC 49 in Brazil.