Ante Delija

Ante Delija
Born	(1990-08-07) 7 August 1990 (age 34) Dubrovnik, Croatia
Nickname	Walking Trouble
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight	244 lb (111 kg; 17 st 6 lb)
Division	Heavyweight
Reach	79 in (201 cm)
Fighting out of	Dubrovnik, Croatia
Team	Gladiator Croatia, Cro Cop Team
Years active	2011–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	30
Wins	24
By knockout	11
By submission	6
By decision	7
Losses	6
By knockout	4
By submission	1
By decision	1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Ante Delija (born August 7, 1990 ^[1] ) 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). ^[2]

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. ^[3] 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. ^[4]

KSW

On November 9, 2019, Delija made his debut for Konfrontacji Sztuk Walki, in which he TKOed Englishman – Oli Thompson in the second round. ^[5]

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. ^[6] Bout was cancelled due to Delijas active contract with Professional Fighters League. ^[7]

Professional Fighters League

On February 9, 2021, it was announced that Delija would be part of the PFL heavyweight roster for 2021 season. ^[8]

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. ^[9]

On June 25, Delija defeated Chandler Cole via TKO in first round at PFL 6 and secured place in the PFL Playoffs. ^[10]

On August 19, Delija defeated Denis Goltsov via unanimous decision at PFL 8 and advanced to the PFL Playoff finals. ^[11]

On October 27, Delija faced Bruno Cappelozza in the PFL finals at PFL 10 and lost in five round bout via unanimous decision. ^[12]

Delijas PFL 2022 season campaign started with a KO victory over Matheus Scheffel on April 28 at PFL 2. ^[13]

On June 24, Delija defeated Shelton Graves via unanimous decision and secured his place in the 2022 PFL Playoffs. ^[14]

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. ^[15]

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. ^[16]

Delija faced Maurice Greene on June 16, 2023 at PFL 5. ^[17] He won the bout via unanimous decision. ^[18]

Delija faced Valentin Moldavsky at PFL 1 on April 4, 2024. He lost the bout by technical knockout in the first round. ^[19]

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. ^[20]

Fight Nation Championship

On March 7, 2025, it was announced that Delija had left PFL and signed with leading Balkan promotion, FNC. ^[21]

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.

References

1. "Ante Delija ("Walking Trouble") | MMA Fighter Page", Tapology
2. "Denis Smoldarev vs. Ante Delija", sportowefakty.wp.pl, February 28, 2014
3. "MMA borcu pukla noga tokom meča! (UZNEMIRUJUĆI VIDEO)", telegraf.rs (in Serbian), September 21, 2015
4. "Ante Delija vs. Ricardo Prasel", Tapology.com, May 6, 2018
5. Wirtualna Polska Media (November 9, 2019), "MMA. KSW 51. Ante Delija – Oli Thompson. Brutalny nokaut w drugiej rundzie", sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish)
6. Kewin Nowacki (September 28, 2020), "Ante Delija podpisał kontrakt z UFC i zadebiutuje już 17 października!", MMAfists.pl (in Polish)
7. Bartłomiej Zubkiewicz (October 14, 2020), "Na kilka dni przed UFC Fight Island 6, walka Ciryla Gane z Ante Deliją anulowana | MMA ROCKS", MMA Rocks! (in Polish)
8. "PFL reveals heavyweight and women's lightweight rosters for upcoming 2021 season", mmafighting.com, February 9, 2021
9. "Bruno Cappelozza def. Ante Delija at 2021 PFL 3: Best photos", mmajunkie.com, May 6, 2021
10. "Ante Delija vs. Chandler Cole", Tapology.com, June 25, 2021
11. "Denis Goltsov vs. Ante Delija", Tapology.com, August 19, 2021
12. "2021 PFL Championship: Bruno Cappelozza out-brawls Ante Delija in wild, back-and-forth affair", mmajunkie.com, October 27, 2021
13. "Ante Delija vs. Matheus Scheffel", Tapology.com, April 28, 2021
14. "Ante Delija vs. Shelton Graves", Tapology.com, June 24, 2021
15. "Ante Delija vs. Renan Ferreira", Tapology.com, August 13, 2021
16. "ANTE DELIJA WINS 2022 PFL HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION TITLE, 1 MILLION USD", total-croatia.com, May 11, 2023
17. Lee, Alexander K. (May 12, 2023). "PFL announces second-half event lineups following 9 fighters receiving drug test suspensions". MMA Fighting. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
18. Calhoun, Curtis (June 17, 2023). "2023 PFL 5 Results & Highlights: Ante Delija Outpoints Maurice Greene". MMA News | UFC News, Results & Interviews. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
19. Anderson, Jay (April 5, 2024). "Valentin Moldavsky Impresses with TKO of Ante Delija at PFL 1". Cageside Press. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
20. Adam Guillen (December 11, 2024). "Ante Delija out, Vadim Nemkov now faces Corey Anderson for light heavyweight title on Jan. 25 in Dubai". mmamania.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
21. "Fight Site - FNC obznanio najveće pojačanje u svojoj povijesti: Ante Delija pojačao kraljevsku kategoriju!". fightsite.hr (in Croatian). March 7, 2025. Retrieved March 8, 2025.