Laureano Staropoli

Fighting out of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Laureano “El Matador” Staropoli, 26, was one of the winners at “UFC 237.” It was his second victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Featuring 12 mixed martial arts matches, “UFC 237” took place at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on May 11, 2019. In the ninth bout of the evening, Staropoli fought Thiago “Pitbull” Alves, 35, of Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil in the welterweight division with Osiris Maia as the referee.

After three five-minute rounds, the welterweight contest was left in the hands of the judges namely Sal D’Amato, Marcelo Vilhena and Derek Cleary. In the end, Maia raised the hand of Staropoli, who was declared the winner via unanimous decision.

Both D’Amato and Vilhena scored the bout 30-27 while Cleary scored it 29-28 all in favor of Staropli. Winning at “UFC 237″improved the Argentinian fighter’s professional MMA record to 9 wins and 1 loss while Alves now has 23 wins and 14 losses.

“UFC 237” marked Staropoli’s second UFC outing. When he made his promotional debut at “UFC Fight Night 140” on November 17, 2018, he won via unanimous decision against Hector Aldana, 30, of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.

Staropoli was born on February 27, 1993 in La Plata. He is training out of Invictus MMA in his birthplace.

After beating Alves at “UFC 237,” Staropoli is now riding a seven-bout winning streak. The first and only loss he had as a professional MMA fighter was on September 22, 2013 at “Punishers 4” at Complejo Arena City in Ramos Mejia, Argentina in the hands of Alejandro Ezequiel “Uchimata” Coslovsky, 33, of Buenos Aires.

Aside from Punishers, Staropoli competed in other promotions before signing with the UFC. He also competed Ultimatum Mixed Martial Arts, Espartaco MMA and Combate Cotas MMA.

While Alves was one of the 14 fighters who represented the Brazil at “UFC 237,” Staropoli solely represented Argentina. The other countries represented were Australia, Mexico, Peru and the United States.

Meanwhile, watch the “UFC 237” weigh-in here: