Thiago Tavares used to make a living in the cage. Now he’s a medical doctor researching what that living does to the brain.
Sherdog broke the news, crediting @alonsopvt. “From throwing punches to studying their long-term impact: A former UFC fighter is now a doctor researching brain damage in combat sports. His mission outside the cage could be his most important fight yet,” the outlet wrote on X. Sherdog’s accompanying story described Tavares, a former UFC featherweight, as having “embarked on a new challenge outside the cage.”
The sources don’t spell out the specifics of his research yet. The résumé behind it is easier to pin down.
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Tavares, born November 8, 1984, in Brazil, started judo at five and Brazilian jiu-jitsu at nine. He turned pro in November 2003 and went 10-0 in his first three years before the UFC signed him. He went on to fight 18 times for the promotion, with stops in the PFL and Cage Warriors too. His most recent division was lightweight, per his Wikipedia page.
He was a grappler first. He outworked Naoyuki Kotani for a decision, submitted Jason Black, choked out Pat Audinwood with a first-round guillotine at UFC 119 after stepping in for an injured Aaron Riley, and rode top control to a decision over Sam Stout at UFC 142. He also beat Michihiro Omigawa and TUF finalist Manvel Gamburyan, and stopped Spencer Fisher by TKO in Round 2 at UFC 134.
He also took real damage, which is the part that matters here. Matt Wiman knocked him out. Shane Roller did it again in Round 2 in March 2011 with a straight right, after Tavares had Roller hurt in the first and couldn’t close the show. He went to the scorecards in a lot of hard fights, too, including a loss to Tyson Griffin at UFC 76 (the first of his career) and a loss to Kurt Pellegrino. He collected four Fight of the Night bonuses along the way, and those bonuses don’t get handed out for quiet nights.
That’s why this one lands. Plenty of people in medicine study head trauma in combat sports. Very few of them have been put to sleep on a UFC card, twice, and then gone back to the gym to do it again.
What comes out of his research is the next story. For now, the guy who once got caught clean by Shane Roller’s right hand is the one holding the clipboard.
