Rafael Carvalho de Souza a.k.a Rafael Carvalho is a Brazilian renowned mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA under the middleweight division. As of December 2017, he is tied with Alexander Shlemenko for the most title defenses in the division’s history.
Rafael Carvalho is a native of Rio de Janeiro, born on 27th of July 1986. His star sign is Leo. By nationality, he is a Brazilian and belongs to African ethnicity.
Carvalho grew alongside his elder brother, Marcelo Penca, a social worker who ran a social project for poor kids. At the tender age of seven, he began MMA. Though he enjoyed training, he did not want as his career. Later, he dropped it for a decade and when he turned eighteen, he decided to join the army.
Nevertheless, Carvalho stayed in the Brazilian army for ten months and back to MMA as he regretted joining the army because it was nothing like he ever imagined.
Rafael Carvalho is a wealthy MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $2 million. His primary source of earning his MMA career as he has not disclosed any information about his income generating business.
His Bellator earning is reported to be $14,000.
On 17th of December 2011, Rafael Carvalho made his professional MMA career debut at FC 6, where she faced Julio Cesar Araujo Fernandes. She lost the fight via submission in the round one. Following the loss, he returned with a bang and went on a 9-fight unbeaten streak that included a unanimous decision victory against Gustavo Machado that won him the Smash Fight middleweight championship, prior to signing to Bellator MMA,
On 19th September 2014, Rafael Carvalho made his Bellator debut against Brian Rogers at Bellator 125. He kissed the victory in his start fight at Bellator, defeating his opponent in the first round via TKO.
In his second bout, he defeated Joe Schilling at Bellator 136, on 10th April 2015. Further, his third fight came on 23rd of October 2015 against Brandon Halsey at Bellator 144. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.
Carvalho had just one fight in the year 2016, and that was against Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 155, on 20th May. He won the battle via KO in the 5th round.
In his fifth bout, Carvalho again faced Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 176 on 8th April 2017. And again marked his win but this time via KO in the 4th round.
At Bellator 190, Carvalho faced Alessio Sakara on 9th December 2017. He won the fight via KO in the first round.
Furthermore, he is expected to face Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 200 on 25th May 2018, in London. This is the last fight of his contract.
Rafael Carvalho, 31, is a quite confidential person when it comes to his personal life. He has not openly discussed his love life in public or social media. It seems that he is much focused on his MMA career rather than involving in romantic relationships.
Carvalho actively surfs social sites including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, where he mostly post his MMA related pictures.
He stands at the height of 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and weighs 84 kg.
