Is New and Improved Thales Leites Contender Material?

Thales Leites has found a way to bring his mixed martial arts career full circle. A little more than five years ago he was jettisoned from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and an afterthought in the middleweight division. Now, not only has he returned to the largest stage in MMA; he's put himself into a position where he should begin to receive consideration as a potential name to watch in the 185-pound group.

After his split-decision defeat at the hands of Alessio Sakara at UFC 101, Leites found himself outside of the UFC and looking for work. From that point forward, the Rio De Janeiro, Brazil native turned his career around in a way that very few individuals can after receiving a UFC pink slip. Leites has put together a 10-1 record, that includes four straight wins since being brought back into the promotion in 2013. His current run has allowed him to reach the 11th spot on the current UFC rankings.

However, one must wonder if this new and improved Thales Leites is a true contender in a new-look middleweight division. According to his stats provided by Fight Metric, Leites is much of the same fighter that earned a title shot years ago; except for one recent new wrinkle. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has found the ability to finish opponents by knockout to go along with his high-level grappling. When he knocked out Trevor Smith at UFC Fight Night: Minotauro vs. Nelson, he earned his first KO victory in nearly 10 years. He then followed up that performance months later by becoming the first man to knockout Francis Carmont in a decade.

Quite the resurgence for a fighter that could have faded away to obscurity. Leites recognizes the importance of finishing fighters at this point in his career.

“I will always try to finish the fight before the decision,” Leites said to Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. “We're fighting in a big promotion, with high-level athletes, and sometimes it won't happen.”

Leites has taken the opportunity to seize the moment as he's started calling out bigger-named opponents in the middleweight division. He took to that same interview to reiterate his thoughts about facing Michael Bisping next.

“He's [Bisping] well ranked, has a big name, and I think it would be great if we fight,” Leites said. “It can be in Brazil or England. I think it would be an interesting fight" (via MMA Fighting).

Since then, Bisping has been paired with Luke Rockhold (via Sherdog) but that still leaves a number of other interesting matchups for the Brazilian competitor. With one or two more victories, Leites can find himself on the short list of men ready to face the champion, or be placed in a title-eliminator in 2015. Not many fighters have found a way to turn around their career in such a dramatic way after being cut by the UFC. Thales Leites has proved that it's possible and his story is yet to be complete.