Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos – Page 2

UFC on ESPN 45 predictions: Is anyone picking Kai Kara-France over Amir Albazi?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 45 main card in Las Vegas, featuring Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi at flyweight.

	Kara-France vs. Albazi	Caceres vs. Pineda	Altamirano vs. Elliott	Silva vs. Souza	Nurmagomedov vs. Zaleski dos Santos
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 77-52	Kara-France (56%)	Caceres (75%)	Elliott (60%)	Silva (74%)	Nurmagomedov (59%)
Matt Erickson @MattE 86-43	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Souza	Nurmagomedov
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 81-48	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Souza	Nurmagomedov
Simon Samano @SJSamano 81-48	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Silva	Nurmagomedov
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 78-51	Albazi	Pineda	Altamirano	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Nolan King @mma_kings 78-51	Albazi	Caceres	Elliott	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 76-53 2014 Champion	Kara-France	Caceres	Altamirano	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway -74-55 2018, 2022 Champion	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Silva	Zaleski dos Santos
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 72-57	Albazi	Caceres	Elliott	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 70-59	Albazi	Pineda	Altamirano	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 70-59	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Silva	Nurmagomedov
Brian Garcia @thegoze 68-61 2017 Champion	Albazi	Caceres	Altamirano	Silva	Zaleski dos Santos

Editor’s note: The main card fight between Jim Miller and short-notice replacement Jesse Butler was added too late for our picks deadline and is not included.)

After a week off, the UFC is back in Las Vegas with a key flyweight fight at the top of the bill.

UFC on ESPN 45 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will try to bounce back into contention after an interim flyweight title loss to Brandon Moreno in July 2022 when he meets [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who has yet to lose in the UFC.

Although the odds at most sportsbooks are a pick’em, it’s Albazi who is our closest thing to a unanimous pick on the main card this week. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers have it as a 10-1 blowout for Albazi.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Alex Caceres[/autotag] (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) meets [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag] (28-14 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in a featherweight bout. Caceres has won six of his past seven fights, is a -175 favorite at the betting window, and has a big 9-2 picks lead.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Victor Altamirano[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on former flyweight title challenger [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag] (18-12-1 MMA, 7-10 UFC). Elliott nearly is a 2-1 betting favorite, but our pickers have Altamirano in a 9-2 blowout.

[autotag]Karine Silva[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meets [autotag]Ketlen Souza[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in an all-Brazil women’s flyweight scrap. Silva is more than a 2-1 favorite and has a big 9-2 lead from our staff members.

And to open the main card at welterweight, [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag] (23-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC). The fight has nearly even odds with Nurmagomedov at -115, but our staff members have him with a huge 9-2 picks win, as well.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Kara-France (56 percent), Caceres (75 percent), Elliott (60 percent), Silva (74 percent) and Nurmagomedov (59 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.

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UFC on ESPN 45 pre-event facts: Jim Miller can add to octagon wins record, be first to 25

The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN 45, where Jim Miller and Andrei Arlovski can add to their places atop the UFC wins list.

The UFC opens a jam-packed June schedule on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 45, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a main card that airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

A rare non-title flyweight bout gets the main event spotlight. Former interim title challenger [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is set to takes on surging contender [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in a high stakes matchup scheduled for five rounds.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card – which features two of the longest-tenured veterans on the roster – check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN 45.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 24-30)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from April 24-30.

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos returns from suspension against Abubakar Nurmagomedov at June 3 UFC event

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos will return to UFC competition in June after serving a one-year suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag] will return after serving a one-year suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Zaleski dos Santos (23-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC) faces [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event on June 3 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

A person with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Canal Encarada was first to report the news.

On April 8, 2022, Zaleski dos Santos was suspended by USADA after failing an out-of-competition drug test for ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) that is prohibited at all times.

Zaleski dos Santos’ team claimed the failure was the result of a tainted supplement, but the pharmacy that makes the supplements denied any compounding of ostarine despite the positive result. Because of this, Zaleski dos Santos’ suspension with USADA wasn’t lowered.

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The failed drug test forced Zaleski dos Santos to withdraw from a scheduled bout against Mounir Lazzez at UFC on ESPN 34. The Brazilian hasn’t competed since defeating Benoit Saint-Denis in October 2021 at UFC 267.

Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov is coming off back-to-back wins. After dropping his UFC debut to David Zawada, the 33-year-old rebounded with unanimous decision wins over Jared Gooden and most recently Gadzhi Omargadzhiev last October at UFC 280.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for June 3 includes:

Jack Hermansson vs. Brendan Allen
Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Miesha Tate
Amir Albazi vs. Kai Kara-France
Tim Elliott vs. Rodrigo Nascimento
Jinh Yu Frey vs. Elise Reed
David Onama vs. TBA
Alex Caceres vs. Daniel Pineda
Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Luan Lacerda
John Castaneda vs. Mateus Mendonca
Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

UFC’s Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos reveals one-year USADA suspension, blames drug test failure on tainted supplement

UFC welterweight Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos reveals he’s been suspended by USADA.

[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag] has been handed a one-year suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, according to his team.

The UFC welterweight failed an out-of-competition drug test for ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) which is prohibited at all times, on April 8 and thus has been suspended by USADA – the UFC’s anti-doping partner.

Zaleski dos Santos’ manager Tiago Okamura confirmed the news to MMA Junkie after being first reported by MMA Fighting.

Zaleski dos Santos’ team denies any intentional wrongdoing and claims the drug test failure came from a tainted supplement. They said they acquired the suspected supplements independently tested by a certified lab in Brazil. One of the supplements came back positive for ostarine, which they then communicated to USADA.

The pharmacy that makes the supplements denied any compounding of ostarine despite the positive result, and Zaleski dos Santos’ team weren’t able to get lowered the suspension with USADA. According to Okamura, Zaleski dos Santos didn’t get the standard two-year suspension for first-time violators, as ostarine contamination in supplements is very common.

Zaleski dos Santos joins a long list of UFC fighters who have tested positive for ostarine including Sean O’Malley, Marvin Vettori, Amanda Ribas, Marc-Andre Barriault, Tom Lawlor, and others.

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The failed drug test forced the Brazilian to withdraw from a bout against Mounir Lazzez that was scheduled to go down at UFC on ESPN 34 on April 16 in Las Vegas. Lazzez went on to defeat short-notice replacement Ange Loosa by unanimous decision.

Zaleski dos Santos has been competing in the UFC since 2015. This is the first time the Brazilian fails a drug test in his seven-year run in the company. The 35-year-old is eligible to return to competition on April 8, 2023.

Below is Okamura’s complete statement:

“On April 8th,2022 Elizeu Zaleski was contacted by USADA about an adverse finding in an out-of-competition urine test he had given on march 14th. The sample had shown traces of Ostarine under 1 ng/ml which could indicate contamination on some supplements Elizeu had used previously.

Facing a 1-year suspension for something we knew he had not done we started talking to USADA and the UFC (Jeff Novitzky and Donna Marcolini) about the case and what could be done to get a better understanding of where the intake of Ostarine could have come from. Once the B Sample was tested and had the same result it was certain that there was no mistake, somehow Ostarine had gotten into Elizeu´s system and we needed to find out how. Elizeu has been in the USADA system since he first entered the UFC, 7 years ago, and he has never tested positive for anything, he has always been a model athlete when it comes to USADA compliance. So the positive test came as a surprise to all of us, and we knew something must have happened since him knowingly taking Ostarine didn’t make sense.

Going through his supplements we found 3 that could have contamination, 2 compound ones, and 1 that was not certified. Elizeu still had some left on the original packaging of all 3 and they were sent to the accredited lab in Rio de Janeiro for testing. After a few weeks, we had the news we were hoping for, in one of the compound supplements traces of Ostarine were found. At that moment we were relieved, expecting that the positive result was all we needed to clear Elizeu out of this situation. But unfortunately, that was not the case. After the result, USADA contacted the Pharmacy, Elizeu, and the doctor who had prescribed the compound supplements. The talks with Elizeu and the doctor went as expected but the Pharmacy denied compounding ostarine and later questioned the tested sample and even the packaging it was sent to the lab in.

With the Pharmacy denying the results and the fact they mixed ostarine we came to a standstill, Elizeu´s and the Doctor’s word against the Pharmacy´s word. Unfortunately, there is no reason for the Pharmacy to admit their mistake to USADA since they have no jurisdiction over any Brazilian pharmacy and especially because Ostarine is no longer a legal substance and its compounding has been prohibited by ANVISA (Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency). After almost 6 months of fighting to clear his name with USADA and reduce his suspension, we are now stuck. We did everything that was requested but we cannot make the pharmacy comply.

Elizeu is now facing a year without competing and earning because of this contamination and even though we might have lost the battle in the USADA system we will now move the battle to another field as someone will have to be responsibilized for this mistake and the impact it is having in Elizeu´s life and career.”

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UFC on ESPN 34 news: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos withdraws from fight against Mounir Lazzez

UFC on ESPN 34 has lost a fun matchup.

[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag](23-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC) has withdrawn from Saturday’s welterweight matchup against [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at the UFC Apex due to personal reasons. Lazzez is expected to remain on the card.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the news but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was first to report the withdrawal.

Dos Santos rebounded from a split decision loss to Muslim Salikhov with a lopsided decision win over Benoit Saint-Denis this past October at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, Lazzez will look to return for the first time since suffering a TKO loss to Warlley Alves in January 2021. Prior to that, “The Sniper” scored an impressive win over Abdul Razak Alhassan in his UFC debut in July 2020 on “Fight Island.” Lazzez was scheduled to face Niklas Stolze this past July, but visa issues forced him out of the bout.

With the change, the UFC on ESPN 34 lineup now includes:

Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad
Chris Barnett vs. Martin Buday
Mounir Lazzez vs. TBA
Brandon Jenkins vs. Drakkar Klose
Rafa Garcia vs. Jesse Ronson
Caio Borralho vs. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev
Pannie Kianzad vs. Lina Lansberg
TJ Laramie vs. Pat Sabatini
Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Wu Yanan
Jordan Leavitt vs. Trey Ogden
Sam Hughes vs. Istela Nunes
Miguel Baeza vs. Andre Fialho
Heili Alateng vs. Kevin Croom
Devin Clark vs. William Knight

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Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 7-13)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Feb. 7-13.

UFC books Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Mounir Lazzez for April 16 event

A welterweight matchup between elite strikers Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Mounir Lazzez will take place in April.

A welterweight matchup between elite strikers will take place in April.

[autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag](23-7 MMA, 9-3 UFC) faces [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event on April 16 that doesn’t yet have a publicly known venue or location.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by MMA Fighting. The people requested anonymity since UFC officials has yet to make an announcement.

Winner of nine of his past 11, dos Santos is coming off a lopsided win over newcomer Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 267 in October. The win didn’t come without a bit of controversy, though, as the Brazilian put a beatdown on Saint Denis, but referee Vyacheslav Kiselev refused to stop the fight, which left the commentary team irate.

Meanwhile, Lazzez has split his first two UFC appearances. After a big upset win over Abdul Razak Alhassan in his promotional debut in July 2020, the Tunisian fighter was stopped by Warlley Alves at UFC on ESPN 20 in January 2021. Lazzez was scheduled to face Niklas Stolze in July, but visa issues forced him out of the bout.

With the addition, the April 16 event includes:

Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad
Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz
Brandon Jenkins vs. Drakkar Klose
Miguel Baeza vs. Dhiego Lima
Chris Barnett vs. Martin Buday
Pannie Kianzad vs. Lina Lansberg
Mounir Lazzez vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

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UFC 267 medical suspensions: Glover Teixeira among six facing potential six-month terms

Six fighters were suspended for 180 days due to injuries sustained in Abu Dhabi.

Glover Teixeira lived out a championship dream at UFC 267, but it came with a price.

After the UFC light heavyweight title was wrapped around his waist for the first time, a goal he’d chased for two decades, Teixeira was handed a six-month suspension by the commissioning regulatory body for a right shoulder injury.

MMA Junkie obtained a list of medical suspensions Tuesday from MixedMartialArts.com, the official record keeper of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC).

UFC 267 took place Saturday, Oct. 30 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

Teixeira wasn’t the only one handed a potential 180-day suspension. Preliminary card fighters Albert Duraev, Benoit St-Denis, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, Michal Oleksiejczuk, and Allan Nascimento were also given six-month terms.

Scroll below to see a complete list of UFC 267 suspensions below. It’s important to note fighters can become eligible to return to competition prior to suspension completion if they are cleared by a physician.

UFC 267: Benoit Saint-Denis’ manager irate with referee’s handling of eye poke in Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos loss

Benoit Saint-Denis’ manager is not happy with Vyacheslav Kiselev’s refereeing at UFC 267, but not for the same reasons as most.

[autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]’ manager is not happy with Vyacheslav Kiselev’s refereeing at UFC 267, but not for the same reasons as most.

Saint-Denis (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) dropped a lopsided unanimous decision to [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag] this past Saturday and took an incredible amount of damage.

The Frenchman was rocked by a dos Santos right hand in the second round and took an array of unanswered punches. While Saint-Denis showed plenty of heart by somehow staying on his feet, commentators Daniel Cormier and Paul Felder were losing their minds at how Kiselev didn’t stop the fight.

But the punishment didn’t stop there. Less than a minute into the third round, Saint-Denis was poked in the eye and Kiselev only gave him 45 seconds to recover, despite Saint-Denis claiming he couldn’t see.

And that’s what his manager, Guillaume Peltier, was more upset about than anything else.

“To tell the truth, whether or not to stop the fight (in the second round) is not really what gives me a bitter taste,” Peltier told MMA Junkie. “Where I am angry is the finger in the eye. We know the rules. We know that if the fighter can no longer see, the doctor must intervene. Benoit has said several times that he can no longer see. We also in the area shouted it and yet the referee made him go back to the fight while Benoit tells him that he can’t see. This is unacceptable and played an important role in the third round. Regardless, we are proud of Benoit. We know our axis of work.”

Peltier admitted Saint-Denis’ corner could have stopped the fight at the end of Round 2, but knowing his fighter, he knew he could keep fighting until the end.

“It’s a complicated subject because on one hand, I would like to say that (Kiselev) should have stopped the fight in the second round,” Peltier said. “But on the other hand, the fight proves the opposite. If the fight was finished by TKO in Round 3, we too could have stopped the fight before. But we know Benoit and we know his ability to go through hell and come back, and that’s what he did – he came back in the third round.”

Kiselev, who was scheduled to referee the main card opener between Magomed Ankalaev and Volkan Oezdemir, was pulled from his assignment after what happened in the dos Santos vs. Saint-Denis bout.

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