# Ante Delija

Ante Delija (born August 7, 1990) is a Croatian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2011, Delija has fought in the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he was the 2022 PFL Heavyweight Championship, and other organizations such as M-1 Global, Rizin Fighting Federation, KSW.

## Mixed martial arts career
### M-1 Global

On February 28, 2014, Delija made his M-1 Global debut in the main event of M-1 Challenge 45 against Estonian Denis Smoldarev and lost via submission (keylock).
On September 20, 2015, Delija faced Marcin Tybura at M-1 Challenge 61 for the M-1 Global Heavyweight Championship and lost after he suffered horrible open fracture of tibia. Delija had two surgeries on the leg and after second surgery he got infected by hospital bactery.

### RIZIN

Three years after injury, Delija made his comeback in the sport on May 6, 2018, in Fukoka, Japan at RIZIN 10 against Ricardo Prasel and won by unanimous decision.

### KSW

On November 9, 2019, Delija made his debut for Konfrontacji Sztuk Walki, in which he TKOed Englishman – Oli Thompson in the second round.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Delija was supposed to make his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. Korean Zombie on October 17, 2020, in Abu Dhabi against Ciryl Gane. Bout was cancelled due to Delijas active contract with Professional Fighters League.

### Professional Fighters League

On February 9, 2021, it was announced that Delija would be part of the PFL heavyweight roster for 2021 season.
Delija opened the PFL 2021 season on May 6 in New Jersey at PFL 3 against Bruno Cappelozza and lost via TKO in first round.
On June 25, Delija defeated Chandler Cole via TKO in first round at PFL 6 and secured place in the PFL Playoffs.
On August 19, Delija defeated Denis Goltsov via unanimous decision at PFL 8 and advanced to the PFL Playoff finals.
On October 27, Delija faced Bruno Cappelozza in the PFL finals at PFL 10 and lost in five round bout via unanimous decision.
Delijas PFL 2022 season campaign started with a KO victory over Matheus Scheffel on April 28 at PFL 2.
On June 24, Delija defeated Shelton Graves via unanimous decision and secured his place in the 2022 PFL Playoffs.
In the PFL Playoff semi-finals, Delija faced Renan Ferreira at PFL 8 and won by TKO in first round and advanced to the finals.
In the finals, Delija was set to face Scheffel, whom he already defeated in first round of tournament and this time was no different. Delija knocked him out in the first round, becoming the PFL 2022 Heavyweight champion and earning the 1 milion dollar prize in the process.
Delija faced Maurice Greene on June 16, 2023 at PFL 5. He won the bout via unanimous decision.
Delija faced Valentin Moldavsky at PFL 1 on April 4, 2024. He lost the bout by technical knockout in the first round.
Delija was scheduled to face Vadim Nemkov on January 25, 2025 at Bellator Champions Series 6 (also marketed as PFL Road to Dubai: Champions Series), but Delija withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by Corey Anderson.

### Fight Nation Championship

On March 7, 2025, it was announced that Delija had left PFL and signed with leading Croatian promotion, FNC.

## Championships and accomplishments
### Mixed martial arts

* Professional Fighters League
** 2022 PFL Heavyweight Championship
** 2021 PFL Heavyweight Championship Runner-up

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 30 matches | 24 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 11 | 4 |
| By submission | 6 | 1 |
| By decision | 7 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 24–6 | Valentin Moldavsky | TKO (knees and punches) | PFL 1 (2024) | April 4, 2024 | 1 | 2:17 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 24–5 | Maurice Greene | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 5 (2023) | June 16, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
| Win | 23–5 | Matheus Scheffel | TKO (punches) | PFL 10 (2022) | November 25, 2022 | 1 | 2:50 | New York City, New York, United States | Won the 2022 PFL Heavyweight Tournament. |
| Win | 22–5 | Renan Ferreira | TKO (punches) | PFL 8 (2022) | August 13, 2022 | 1 | 4:31 | Cardiff, Wales | 2022 PFL Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 21–5 | Shelton Graves | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 5 (2022) | June 24, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | Graves was deducted one point in round 2 due to a headbutt. |
| Win | 20–5 | Matheus Scheffel | TKO (punches) | PFL 2 (2022) | April 28, 2022 | 2 | 0:59 | Arlington, Texas, United States | |
| Loss | 19–5 | Bruno Cappelozza | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 10 (2021) | October 27, 2021 | 5 | 5:00 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | 2021 PFL Heavyweight Tournament Final. |
| Win | 19–4 | Denis Goltsov | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 8 (2021) | August 19, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | 2021 PFL Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 18–4 | Chandler Cole | TKO (punches) | PFL 6 (2021) | June 25, 2021 | 1 | 4:39 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Loss | 17–4 | Bruno Cappelozza | KO (punches) | PFL 3 (2021) | May 6, 2021 | 1 | 0:46 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 17–3 | Oli Thompson | TKO (punches) | KSW 51 | November 9, 2019 | 2 | 1:58 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 16–3 | Carl Seumanutafa | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 3 (2019) | June 6, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Uniondale, New York, United States | |
| Win | 15–3 | Ricardo Prasel | Decision (unanimous) | Rizin 10 | May 6, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Fukuoka, Japan | |
| Loss | 14–3 | Marcin Tybura | TKO (leg injury) | M-1 Challenge 61 | September 20, 2015 | 1 | 2:21 | Nazran, Russia | For the M-1 Global Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 14–2 | Tibor Soos | TKO (punches) | Obracun Ringu 13 | May 30, 2015 | 1 | 1:30 | Split, Croatia | |
| Win | 13–2 | Konstantin Gluhov | Decision (unanimous) | M-1 Challenge 56 | April 10, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Nazran, Russia | |
| Win | 12–2 | Archontis Taxiarchis | Submission (north-south choke) | Final Fight Championship: Futures 3 | September 27, 2014 | 1 | 2:59 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 11–2 | Valentijn Overeem | TKO (punches) | Noc Gladiatora 9 | July 3, 2014 | 1 | 1:24 | Dubrovnik, Croatia | |
| Win | 10–2 | Ruben Wolf | Submission (guillotine choke) | Final Fight Championship: Futures 2 | May 3, 2014 | 2 | 1:28 | Opatija, Croatia | |
| Loss | 9–2 | Denis Smoldarev | Submission (kimura) | M-1 Challenge 45 | February 28, 2014 | 2 | 2:27 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 9–1 | Sergey Sokha | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Noc Gladiatora 8 | December 21, 2013 | 1 | 1:23 | Dubrovnik, Croatia | |
| Loss | 8–1 | Dion Staring | TKO (punches) | Final Fight Championship 8 | October 25, 2013 | 2 | 2:42 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 8–0 | Gzim Selmani | TKO (punches) | Final Fight Championship 5 | May 24, 2013 | 1 | 3:09 | Osijek, Croatia | |
| Win | 7–0 | Michail Laprakis | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Final Fight Championship 3 | April 19, 2013 | 1 | 1:27 | Split, Croatia | |
| Win | 6–0 | Ricco Rodriguez | Decision (unanimous) | House of Gladiators 1 | December 21, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Dubrovnik, Croatia | |
| Win | 5–0 | Kristof Nataška | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Fight for Victory 1 | August 3, 2012 | 2 | 1:09 | Bibinje, Croatia | |
| Win | 4–0 | Zeli Zalani | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Opatija Fight Night 4 | February 24, 2012 | 1 | N/A | Opatija, Croatia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Dražen Forgač | KO (punches) | Noc Gladiatora 6 | December 16, 2011 | 1 | 1:02 | Dubrovnik, Croatia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Erni Strmonja | TKO (corner stoppage) | Noc Gladijatora | April 23, 2011 | 1 | 0:38 | Novi Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| Win | 1–0 | Saša Lazić | TKO (submission to punches) | Herus Fight 1 | January 22, 2011 | 1 | 1:24 | Split, Croatia | Heavyweight debut. |