Douglas Lima: Top 5 MMA Finishes

Douglas ‘The Phenom’ Lima, born 5 January, 1988, is a mixed martial artist from Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, with a record of 32-8, with 26 of those wins being finishes.

Lima is a 3-time, and current Bellator Welterweight champion and is ranked the best welterweight in the world outside of the UFC, with MMA Junkie and USA Today ranking him among the top 3 welterweights in the world, Fight Matrix ranks him 6th and Tapology notes Lima as the 77th best, pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world.

Lima holds notable wins over opponents such as Rory MacDonald, Paul Daley, Michael ‘Venom’ Page and Andrey Koreshkov. Lima is part of American Top Team (Gwinnett) fighting out of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It seems fighting is in Lima’s blood with ‘The Phenom’s’ younger brother Dhiego Lima, also being a mixed martial artist fighting in the welterweight division of the UFC.

Lima’s fighting style and signature is a combination of devastating stand-up skill with power in both hands, and debilitating leg kicks, alongside a threatening ground game as evidenced by Lima’s impressive 14 KO’s and 12 submission stoppages.

Lima started his professional MMA career in 2006, aged 18 and cultivated a 5-0 record before running into Matt Brown, who would later make a name for himself in the UFC. Fighting in various organizations, Lima was able to capture and defend the Welterweight MFC (Maximum Fighting Championship) title, which he used to propel himself to Bellator in 2011.

As mentioned, Lima’s become a 3-time Welterweight champion in Bellator and looked to try and capture Middleweight gold in 2020 but fell short (by decision only) against Gegard Mousasi. Leaving us with the question of, what’s next for ‘The Phenom’?

Now you’ve got a brief background on the Bellator champ, let’s get into ‘The Phenom’, Douglas Lima’s Top 5 MMA Finishes! (in descending order)

  1. Vs. Rick Hawn – Bellator 117 (April 18, 2014)
  2. This was Lima’s second shot at the vacant Bellator welterweight title, and he certainly looked intent to make a statement. Lima started round one using his size advantage against the former lightweight Hawn, striking from a distance.

    A staple in Lima’s career is his low kick, which he managed to repeatedly land causing Hawn to fall later in the round. Again, Lima landed another debilitating leg kick followed by a knee to the mid-section grounding Hawn, but with only 30 seconds left in the round, Lima wasn’t quite able to square things away.

    The second round started as the first finished with Lima landing brutal legs kicks dropping Hawn three times in two minutes. Finally, after being dropped no less than five times in the round with leg kicks, the fight is finishes via corner stoppage at 3 minutes, 19 seconds into the second round.

    This win gave Lima his first reign as Bellator champion.

    1. Vs. Andrey Koreshkov (2) – Bellator 164 (Nov. 10, 2016)
    2. This fight was the second of the trilogy, with Lima previously losing to Koreshkov in their first matchup and here, he sought to even things up and regain Bellator’s welterweight title.

      The first minute and a half was a feeling out process from both fighters, then as Lima overreaches with a right hand, Koreshkov is able to land a takedown. Yet, Lima uses his butterfly guard to get back up quickly. The round ends without much action from either fighter.

      Within the first minute of the second round, Koreshkov lands a powerful body kick and Lima fires back with a leg kick that visibly hurts Koreshkov. The leg kick landing gives Lima a boost in confidence, and he begins to press the fight, landing another damaging leg kick. Koreshkov senses danger and shoots in for a takedown and secures it against the cage to control Lima for the rest of the round.

      The third round starts, and Lima, arguably being two rounds down, looks to start strong, landing his signature low-calf kick, upon which Koreshkov seems to lose control over his footing. As Koreshkov tries to close the distance, with Lima backed against the cage, Lima lands a powerful left hook knocking Koreshkov down and out at 1 minute, 21 seconds into the third round.

      Lima’s win progressed him to the semi-final of Bellator’s grand prix tournament.

      1. Vs. Jacob Ortiz – Bellator 79 (Nov. 2, 2012)
      2. Vs. Jacob Ortiz – Bellator 79 (Nov. 2 2012)

        Within the first minute of this bout, Lima lands a massive overhand right that sends Ortiz tumbling over. Lima takes the back of Ortiz and is extremely close to finishing the fight with some heavy punches and a threatening rear-naked choke attempt.

        Ortiz tries to recover from the last round and limits his engagement whilst Lima uses his footwork. With just over three minutes elapsed into the second round, Lima lands an excruciating leg kick leading to an Ortiz fall, but he manages to grab Lima’s leg on the way down and uses it to regain his footing.

        Ortiz controls Lima against the cage, however, Lima blasts a knee that finds a home, knocking Ortiz down who is saved by the bell before Lima can seal the deal.

        As the third round starts, the accumulated damage has taken its toll on Ortiz, and Lima continues to show his class. Ortiz appears to be exhausted, and each strike that Lima lands seems to wobble Ortiz.

        As Ortiz tries to survive the final round, Lima lands a powerful overhand right, and as Ortiz tries to escape, Lima lands a beautifully timed head kick trailed by a flying knee knocking Ortiz down. Lima swiftly finishes the fight off at 4 minutes 50 seconds of the third round.

        1. Vs. Ben Saunders – Bellator 100 (Sept. 20, 2013)
        2. The fight started with both fighters throwing a variety of kicks trying to establish distance. Later in the round, Lima finds success multiple times with his left hook over the shoulder of Ben.

          Saunders throws a head kick, but Lima is able to counter with a devastating kick to the standing leg of Saunders which buckles his base.

          The second round starts slow until Douglas lands a stiff uppercut as Ben closes the distance, wobbling him, and as he tries to clinch, Lima lands another destructive uppercut that knocks Saunders down. However, Ben is able to use his impressive ground game to get back to his feet by threatening a leg lock.

          With 30 seconds left in the round, Lima lunges forward, throwing his left hook that had already consistently landed, but this time targets Saunders’ body, causing him to drop his guard. He then immediately follows with a head kick leaving Saunders incapacitated, falling limp to the canvas at 4 minutes, 33 seconds into the second round.

          Lima, with this fight, won Bellator’s welterweight tournament and a shot at the vacant welterweight title.

          1. Vs. Michael Page – Bellator 221 (May 11, 2019)
          2. Lima faced MVP, who held a perfect record of 14-0 at the time, in the semi-final of Bellator’s welterweight tournament, looking to progress into the final.

            The first round started with MVP blitzing Lima, and stabbing his sidekick to Lima’s thigh. The middle of the round consisted of MVP’s unorthodox movements with Lima trying to land his leg kicks and find his distance, until MVP darts in. This allows Lima to secure a takedown, but Page is able to limit damage sustained through good wrist control.

            The second round starts, and Page wastes no time throwing a beautiful spinning hook that glances off Lima’s guard, then MVP lands with a superman punch that rocks Lima. Page then tries to follow up on his previous success and throws another superman punch; however, this time it’s countered by a sharp leg kick that grounds MVP. Then Lima lands a swift uppercut knocking Page unconscious in a sudden turn of events 35 seconds into the second round.

            This win against MVP led Lima to the final of Bellator’s welterweight grand prix tournament.

            So, there we have it, folks, 5 of Douglas Lima’s best MMA Finishes! With a solid record of 32 wins with 14 TKO/KO’s and 12 submissions, could he be ranked among the best welterweights in the world, or do you think he IS the best in the world? What’s your favourite Lima fight moment from the list above? Which fighter should be KFK’d next? Let us know in the comments below; Like, share and join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram.

            Whether it’s STAND-UP STRIKES, HIGH & LOW, or a solid GROUND GAME you’re after, awaken ‘THE PHENOM’ in you in the KINGDOM of FU: lock horns with our Top 5 MMA series, and these MMA Specials: Who is the Greatest of All Time?, Jorge Masvidal: Inside the Mind of a Real-Life Street Fighter, Khabib Nurmagomedov: Inside the Mind of the Russian Eagle, Leon Edwards: Inside The Mind of Birmingham’s Own ‘Rocky’, box with our exclusive, heavyweight, Lennox Lewis interview,  and with ONE’s Featherweight World Champion: Thanh Le! ROUSE YOUR ‘PHENOM’ SELF in KFK gear, and subscribe for more MM-MULTI-DIMENSIONAL FU on YouTube!

Joe Petrozzi

Joe Petrozzi is currently studying Sports and Exercise Science in his final year at Staffordshire University. He is interested in all types of martial arts combat, and has been since a young age after his dad introduced him to MMA. He is specifically engrossed with the psychology of being a fighter and the mind of a combat athlete.

We will be happy to hear your thoughts

Leave a reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Kung-fu Kingdom
Logo