Dinis Paiva Record: 13-9-0

Defining bouts

A career highlight came in January 2017, when Paiva earned a decision over Jordan Espinosa at CES 41, beating a fighter who would go on to compete in the UFC. The step-ups that followed showed both his grit and his ceiling. In June 2018 he headlined CES 50 against Andre Ewell in a bout that bore his name on the marquee, falling to a third-round D'Arce choke. He kept fighting, and in 2020 he earned his lone appearance outside CES, dropping a decision to Kyle Driscoll on Dana White's Contender Series – a rare crack at the sport's biggest audition stage. His final cage bout came in another main event, CES 62 in April 2021, where he was submitted by Josh Smith via rear-naked choke. He returned once more in 2022 for a grappling match against Kris Moutinho, winning by decision, before stepping away to focus on the next chapter of his life.

Fighting style

Paiva was a finisher at heart, carrying a finish rate near 69% with seven of his wins coming by knockout and two by submission. His best work came from his hands, where his power and pressure produced most of his stoppages and made him a constant threat to end a fight early. The mat told a different story: all five of his finish losses came by submission, a clear signal that his grappling defense was the soft spot opponents targeted. The result was a fan-friendly, high-variance fighter who could blow out an opponent with strikes or get caught in a scramble, but who rarely produced a dull night.

Career highlights

• CES mainstay — built nearly his entire career and multiple main events with the Rhode Island promotion he called family.
• Win over a future UFC fighter — decisioned Jordan Espinosa at CES 41 in one of the signature results of his career.
• Contender Series alumnus — earned a spot on Dana White's Contender Series in 2020, the lone bout of his career outside CES.