# Yan Cabral

Yan Cabral (born 13 May 1983 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a mixed martial artist, grappler and 4th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt practitioner and instructor associated with the Nova União academy. A former UFC fighter, Cabral trained mixed martial art (MMA) competing in the lightweight division. Head coach of the Aranha Association team, Cabral teaches out of Barcelona.

## Mixed Martial Arts career
### Background and early career

Cabral currently trains with team Nova Uniao alongside fighters such as Wagnney Fabiano, former UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo, former UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barão.
Cabral made his professional MMA debut fighting in Luxembourg in December 2007. Over the next four years, he quickly amassed an undefeated record of 10-0. All of his wins have come via submission with Cabral never having been into the third round in any of his fights.

### DREAM

In 2011, Cabral signed with DREAM to compete in their welterweight division. In his debut, he faced Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream.17. Cabral won the fight via submission in the second round, earning him his highest profile win to date.

### The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil

In March 2013, it was revealed that Cabral was a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2. He won his elimination fight to get into the TUF house, defeating Ronaldo Oliveira Silva by rear naked choke submission in round 1. He was chosen to be a member of Team Werdum and defeated David Vieira before being removed from the show due to a broken hand. At this point Cabral held an MMA record of 12 fights and 12 wins all by submission.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Cabral made his official UFC debut at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields, where he defeated David Mitchell by unanimous decision.
In his second fight for the promotion, Cabral faced Zak Cummings at UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva. Despite controlling Cummings on the ground for a large portion of the fight, Cabral lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Cabral returned on 25 October 2014 at UFC 179, where he faced Naoyuki Kotani. Cabral won the fight via second round rear naked choke.
Cabral was expected to face Mairbek Taisumov on 24 January 2015 at UFC on Fox 14. However, Cabral was pulled from the fight for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Anthony Christodoulou.
Cabral was expected to face K. J. Noons on 30 May 2015 at UFC Fight Night 67. However, Cabral was forced out of the bout after contracting Dengue Fever and replaced by Alex Oliveira.
Cabral faced Johnny Case on 7 November 2015 at UFC Fight Night 77. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Cabral faced Reza Madadi on 8 May 2016 at UFC Fight Night 87. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round after a brutal uppercut. Following his loss against Madadi, Cabral was released from the UFC.

### After the UFC

In january 2017, Yan Cabral came back in the octagon to face Zalimkhan Yusupov at the World Kings Glory MMA 2. Cabral displayed high level jiu jitsu to win by RNC. He then came back in december 2017, for a second fight in China. He faced Peng Yang at The Legend King Championship 4 and won by submission.
He was expected to face John Maguire in May 2020 in Madrid but the fight was cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.
Cabral came back to fight in May 2024, for AFL 34 against Mauricio Otalora, in Badalona, a city close to Barcelona, where Cabral lives. He won the fight by TKO. Following his win, he retired from MMA at the age of 41, surrounded by his team and his family.

## Professional grappling career

Cabral is due to compete against Joao Zeferino of ADXC 6 on October 25, 2024.

## Championships and achievements
### Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Main Achievements (at Adult black belt level):
* CBJJO World Cup Champion (2009)
* 2nd Place CBJJO World Cup Championship (2008)
* 2nd Place IBJJF European Championship (2009 / 2007)
Main Achievements (at Master 1 black belt level):
* ACB World Champion (2019)
* 2nd Place Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu Jitsu Championship (2020)
* Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Champion - Abu Dhabi (2020)
* Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Champion - Los Angeles (2019)
* 2nd Place Abu Dhabi Grand Slam - Tokyo (2019)
* 2nd Place Abu Dhabi Grand Slam - Moscow (2019)

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 18 matches | 15 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 1 |
| By submission | 13 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 15–3 | Mauricio Otalora | TKO (punches) | Ansgar Fighting League 34 | 25 May 2024 | 1 | 1:51 | Badalona, Spain | Catchweight (181 lb) bout. |
| Win | 14–3 | Peng Yang | Submission (triangle armbar) | The Legend King Championship 4 | 23 December 2017 | 1 | 1:07 | Yantai, China | |
| Win | 13–3 | Zalimkhan Yusupov | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | World Kings Glory MMA 2 | 6 January 2017 | 1 | 1:01 | Harbin, China | |
| Loss | 12–3 | Reza Madadi | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski | 8 May 2016 | 3 | 1:56 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | |
| Loss | 12–2 | Johnny Case | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 3 | 7 November 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | São Paulo, Brazil | |
| Win | 12–1 | Naoyuki Kotani | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 179 | 25 October 2014 | 2 | 3:06 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Lightweight debut. |
| Loss | 11–1 | Zak Cummings | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva | 10 May 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 11–0 | David Mitchell | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields | 9 October 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Barueri, Brazil | |
| Win | 10–0 | Kazushi Sakuraba | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Dream 17 | 24 September 2011 | 2 | 2:42 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 9–0 | Djordje Beric | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Strength and Honor Championship 2 | 10 April 2010 | 1 | 1:30 | Geneva, Switzerland | |
| Win | 8–0 | Arbi Agujev | Submission (armbar) | Vienna Fight Night: Fabulous Las Vegas | 24 January 2010 | 2 | 1:40 | Vienna, Austria | |
| Win | 7–0 | Peter Angerer | Submission (kimura) | Strength and Honor Championship 1 | 26 September 2009 | 1 | 3:45 | Geneva, Switzerland | |
| Win | 6–0 | Mattias Awad | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Superior Challenge 3 | 30 May 2009 | 2 | 2:35 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
| Win | 5–0 | Gary Kono | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Yamabushi: Combat Sport Night 5 | 2 May 2009 | 1 | 1:30 | Geneva, Switzerland | |
| Win | 4–0 | Catalin Ersen | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Almogavers 1 | 22 March 2009 | 2 | 1:33 | Barcelona, Spain | |
| Win | 3–0 | Francis Guilherme | Submission (kimura) | Shooto: Brazil 8 | 30 August 2008 | 2 | 2:18 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 2–0 | Christos Petroutsos | Submission (armbar) | Fight Fiesta de Luxe: Unstoppable | 5 April 2008 | 1 | 4:37 | Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | |
| Win | 1–0 | Chas Jacquier | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Fight Fiesta: de Luxe 3 | 22 December 2007 | 1 | N/A | Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | |