Luigi Vendramini
Luigi Vendramini (born January 16, 1996) is a Brazilian professional male mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background. Vendramini started practising Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of 12 to lose weight, transitioning to mixed martial arts a year later. His father Augusto is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and he put Vendramini on the path to becoming a fighter, remaining his trainer to this day. A native of Brazil, Vendramini also owns Italian and Swiss passports through his father and mother, respectively. Being away from the cage for  758 days after his UFC debut, and unable to get paid for his work as a fighter, Vendramini decided to help his family business in the meantime. His parents are mushroom producers and have run a bakery in Brasilia for half a century. Mixed martial arts career. Early career. Starting his professional career in 2016, Vendramini compiled an undefeated 8–0 record on the regional Brazilian scene, winning all 8 bouts via stoppage. Ultimate Fighting Championship. Vendramini, as a replacement for Belal Muhammad, moved up in weight and faced Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on a weeks notice on September 22, 2018 , at . He lost the fight via knockout in round two. Vendramini suffered an injury – a tear in the knee ligament – which he felt in the first round left “The Italian Stallion” about seven months away from training. After the inactive period, Vendramini was scheduled to face Nick Hein on June 1, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 11. However, Vendramini pulled out of the bout in late April citing a new tear in the same knee and subsequent surgery,which left him unable to compete for eight months. Following the second surgery, the doctor said that the first surgeon did the  wrong surgery, meaning that he lost a year of his career due to a medical error. Vendramini made his sophomore appearance in the organization against Jessin Ayari on October 4, 2020 at . He won the fight via technical knockout in round one.This win earned him the "Performance of the Night bonus." Vendramini faced Farès Ziam on June 12, 2021 at UFC 263. He lost the fight via majority decision. Vendramini faced Paddy Pimblett on September 4, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 191. He lost the fight via knockout in round one.