Leonardo Leite

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Leonardo "Leo" Leite (born in March 23, 1978, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian judoka, jiu jitsu practitioner, and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to Bellator MMA.