Janigleison Herculano Alves,[4] better known as Gleison Tibau (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɡlejˈzõ tʃiˈbaw]; born July 10, 1983)[5] is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division.
Tibau started strong and was taking Diaz down efficiently while avoiding submissions using Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
He then took a one fight hiatus from the company and returned to defeat Jeff Cox by submission due to an arm-triangle choke.
Tibau won his second straight match with a first-round TKO over Caol Uno on March 31, 2010, at UFC Fight Night 21.
Tibau then defeated veteran Rafaello Oliveira[12] via second round rear naked choke, earning Submission of the Night honors.
[13] Tibau next faced undefeated prospect Khabib Nurmagomedov on July 7, 2012, at UFC 148,[14] losing via unanimous decision.
[23] Following the bout Hallmann failed his post fight drug test due to the presence of drostanolone in his system.
[24] Tibau defeated Norman Parke on January 18, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 59, replacing Jorge Masvidal,[25] winning via split decision.
[30] On December 4, 2015, Tibau was suspended by USADA due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition test.
On September 4, 2018, it was revealed that Tibau would fight Golden Boy Promotions' inaugural MMA event, headlined by the third encounter of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.
[39] Despite the announcement on going up a weight class, Tibau faced fellow UFC veteran Efrain Escudero in a 160lbs catchweight bout.
[41] Tibau replaced Abel Trujillo on short notice against Will Brooks at Battlefield FC 2 on July 27, 2019, winning by Round 1 Submission.
[43] However, the bout was moved to Taura MMA 12 on November 22, 2020, which in turn was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic related issues.
[44] On February 25, 2021, news surfaced that Tibau had signed with Professional Fighters League and is expected to compete in the welterweight tournament of season 2021.
[46] On March 25, it was announced that Kunchenko pulled out of the bout and due to this Tibau was set to face João Zeferino.
[54] However on August 4, it was announced that Sy replaced João Zeferino in the playoffs, and therefore Tibau's new opponent would be Curtis Millender.