Gabriel Gonzaga - UFC Heavyweight Champion

1. Gabriel Gonzaga Details

2. Biography of Gabriel Gonzaga

2.1. Who is Gabreial Gonzaga?

Gabriel Gonzaga is a fifth-degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt grappler, professional boxer, and MMA fighter. On 18 May 1979, Gabriel was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gonzaga has competed at the professional level in jiu-jitsu and earned several titles in the BJJ discipline. Many of his friends called him Napao, which means ‘big nose’ in Portuguese. Gonzaga is a world's famous jiu-jitsu champion with a rock-solid 13-6 MMA record at age of 33. He is also an elite heavyweight competitor in the UFC.

His coach decided to relocate to the USA in 2000, and Gonzaga moved back to Sao Paulo in 2002 where he joined the academy of Jorge Patino known as the Macao Gold Team. Gonzaga progressed in jiu-jitsu and became the prominent black belt of the region and continued conquering competitions on national and international levels. In 2003, Gabriel was inclined toward MMA and it was the start of his transition from BJJ to MMA. But still, Gabriel prefers grappling in his career and gives priority to jiu-jitsu as his main career meanwhile the first debut of his MMA was held in 2003.

Gabriel Gonzaga also teaches jiu-jitsu at his home.

2.2. Early life of Gabriel Gonzaga

Brazilian native Gabriel Gonzaga started taking interest in martial arts at age of 14. He was attracted to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and decided to train under the coaching of Wander Braga. Gonzaga continued to earn reverence by winning jiu-jitsu competitions. Gonzaga made his professional MMA debut on 4 April 2003 in Santos, Brazil and fought with Cicero Costa. Gonzaga won the fight via first round punches KO.

Gonzaga has been in this profession of fighting for more than 20 years. He entered the promotion with a vaunted jiu-jitsu pedigree, a 2004 Mundalsi winner, and an Abu Dhabi Grappling veteran. Coach Alvan trained him in his early career and Gabriel said he remember his coach’s words:

“Gabriel has a lot of talent," boasted a beaming Alvan. "Gabriel, for me, is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world.”

The two became friends while growing up and competing in jiu-jitsu in Brazil. The two started Team Link with the goal of turning out top-notch fighters and competitors.

2.3. Gabriel Gonzaga Occupation Highlight

Gabriel Gonzaga began his profession in 2003 as a Brazilian Gladiator. Within two years Gonzaga subsequently surfaced on UFC boards in 2005. Gabriel continued his career in grappling, later on when MMA bouts got serious, he started to prioritize UFC. He retired from MMA, however, he remains busy in boxing. He had 28 battles in MMA with 17 wins and 12 losses. After his UFC winning streak, he turned into the next weight division which is ultra-heavyweight.

2.4. Forgotten UFC Heavyweight

Gabriel Gonzaga set his name in UFC on August 25, 2007, in Las Vegas was the night that was poised for his victory. A young Brazilian fighter was making headlines in UFC 74 and fighting Randy Couture for his heavyweight title. Fresh off his career with the highlight reel head rock kick KO of Mirko. Gonzaga was surging and fancied by many senior mates.

Fast forward to the present and the UFC Heavyweight division looks very different. It is now one of the more competitive UFC divisions. Gonzaga bounced back by defeating Tuchscherer.

2.5. “Bigfoot” Gabriel responds to Critics

Antonio Silva is famous for the name “Bigfoot” mentioned by Gonzaga in his comment to MMA Fighting.

“Criticism will always come. There are people who don't even understand or like the sport but still criticize it, but I don't even read it. I don't know about Gabriel, but I am on fire. I have been resting for two years, preparing for my comeback, and this is my time to return. I practiced doing more cardio and jiu-jitsu to regain my confidence after the knee injury. Gonzaga isn’t worried either. In fact, he defends bare-knuckle boxing as being safer than more popular sports like football, soccer, and racing.”

In his response, Gonzaga said:

“If you stop and think about it, I don’t know if you ever played soccer, but when someone crosses the ball and you hit it with the head, that’s harder than one of these punches.”

3. Gabriel Gonzaga Career

3.1. Professional BJJ Career

Gabriel Gonzaga started his professional career in 2003 battling for the Brazilian Gladiators. He had his early training in jiu-jitsu and boxing in Brazil, Gabriel then debuted his UFC fight on November 19, 2005, in Santos, Brazil. Although his wife miscarried one of their twins, he could not practice properly due to the high risk to his wife's health, weeks before the match. Still, he didn't lose his focus, not only Gabriel won the match against Kevin Jordan with an amazing hero punch at 4:39 of the third round but also won the attention of millions of fans.

3.2. Professional MMA career

Gonzaga made his professional MMA debut on 4 April 2003 in Brazil against Costa, securing a first round win via submission.

3.3. Professional UFC

He made his UFC debut at UFC 56, knocking out Kevin Jordan with a supreme punch at 4:39 of the third round. However, Weeks before the fight, Gonzaga’s obligation to his wife during her pregnancy left him unable to train properly. In his UFC duration, Gonzaga finished several battles, with minimum time and rounds. At UFC 102 Gonzaga defeated Chris Tuchscherer via TKO in the first round.

His career in the UFC was going amazing and was about to get promoted but because of his defeat against Brendan Schaub, caused his release from the promotion in 2010.

3.4. Post UFC

After getting released from UFC, Gonzaga stated that he will focus on his BJJ fights but showed interest in returning to MMA. Gonzaga then fought in reality fighting against Parker Porter. He won the Reality Fighting Heavyweight Championship via an arm triangle choke.

3.5. Return to the UFC

On December 16, 2011, Gonzaga secured a new UFC contract of 4 fights. In UFC 142, he fought Ednaldo Oliveira at and submitted him via RNC.

4. Gabriel Gonzaga BJJ Accomplishment and Championships

4.1. Main Achievements

Year	Events	Position
2019	IBJJF Masters World Championship	1st Position
2006	IBJJF World Championship	1st Position
2006	CBJJO World Cup	1st Position
2005	CBJJO World Cup	2nd position
2005	CBJJO World Cup	3rd position
2005	ADCC Brazilian Trials	1st Position
2005	ADCC World Championship	2nd position
2004	Black Belt Grand Prix	1st Position
2003	CBJJO World Cup	2nd position
2002	IBJJF World Championship	3rd Position
2000	IBJJF World Championship	3rd Position
1999	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals	3rd position

4.2. Main Achievements Belts Records

Year	Events	Position	Belt
2019	Masters World Jiu-Jitsu Championship	1st Position	Black
2006	World Jiu-Jitsu Championship	1st Position	Black
2002	World Jiu-Jitsu Championship	3rd position	Black
1999	IBJJF World Championship	3rd position	Brown
1999	Brazilian national Jiu Jitsu Championship	3rd position	Black
1997	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals	1st Position	Purple
1996	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals	1st Position	Purple

4.3. Main Achievement Medal Record

5. Gabriel Gonzaga Professional Career

5.1. Professional Boxing Career

UFC veteran Gabriel Gonzaga won his pro boxing debut against Alejandro Esquilin Santiago via four-round majority decision. pic.twitter.com/O7tNFLd1Qm

— Mike Fridley (@mikefridley) October 29, 2017

On 14 September 2017, Gonzaga stepped in pro boxing, representing Rivera Promotions Entertainment boxing on 26 October and faced Alejandro Esquilin Santiago. Gonzaga secured a win via decision after a tough four round fight.

5.2. Bare Knuckle Boxing

On August 28, 2019, it was announced that Gonzaga would make his professional debut headlining his bare-knuckle match on October 19, 2019. He won the fight against Antonio Silva ( aka BigFoot) via second round knockout.

6. Historic Fights

6.1. Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Matt Mitrione

In 2014, it was announced that Gonzaga would face the Ultimate Fighting Champion Matt Mitrione. Gonzaga was defeated in the First-round via TKO punches. 

6.2. Next for Gonzaga

Gonzaga is 35 years old, and he has been fighting professionally since 2003. He has been knocked out nine times of his twelve losses. It's time for him to take a turn in his professional fighting career.

7. Gabriel Gonzaga professional Record Breakdown

7.1. BJJ Fight Record breakdown

Year	Opponent	W/L	Event	Method
2022	Dana Haigh	W	Reality Fight	Americana
2022	Tyler King	W	Reality Fight	Armbar
2020	Hunter Colvin	W	Underground 20	Armbar
2020	Leo Leite	W	BJJ Star	Advantage
2019	Gordan Ryan	L	Underground 10	Heel Hook
2019	Fabiano Scherner	W	Underground 9	Armbar
2006	Leo leite	W	IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship	Armbar
2005	Jeff Monson	L	ADCC Championships	Submission

7.2. MMA Record Break Down(17-12-0)

Total 29	Win 17	Losses 12
By Knockout	9	10
By submission	7	0
By decision	1	2

8. Gabriel Gonzaga Fight History

Year	Opponent	W/L/D	Method	Event	Round	Location
2018	Alexander Emelianenko	L	TKO (punches and knees)	RCC	2	Russia
2016	Derrick Lewis	L	KO (punches)	UFC Fight Night	1	Croatia
2015	Konstantin Erokhin	W	Decision (unanimous)	The Ultimate Fighter	3	United States
2015	Mirko Cro Cop	L	TKO (elbows and punches)	UFC Fight Night	3	Poland
2014	Matt Mitrione	L	TKO (punches)	UFC on Fox	1	United States
2014	Stipe Miocic	L	Decision (unanimous)	UFC on Fox	3	United States
2013	Shawn Jordan	W	KO (punches)	UFC 166	1	United States
2013	Dave Herman	W	KO (punches)	UFC 162	1	United States
2013	Travis Browne	L	KO (elbows)	The Ultimate Fighter	1	United States
2013	Ben Rothwell	W	Submission (guillotine choke)	UFC on Fox	2	Brazil
2012	Ednaldo Oliveira	W	Submission (rear-naked choke)	UFC 142	1	Brazil
2011	Parker Porter	W	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	Reality Fighting	3	United States
2010	Brendan Schaub	L	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 121	3	United States
2010	Junior dos Santos	L	TKO (punches)	UFC Live	1	United States
2009	Chris Tuchscherer	W	TKO (punches)	UFC 102	1	United States
2009	Shane Carwin	L	KO (punch)	UFC 96	1	United States
2008	Josh Hendricks	W	KO (punches)	UFC 91	1	United States
2008	Justin McCully	W	Submission (americana)	UFC 86	1	United States
2008	Fabrício Werdum	L	TKO (punches)	UFC 80	2	England
2007	Randy Couture	L	TKO (punches)	UFC 74	3	United States
2007	Mirko Cro Cop	W	KO (head kick)	UFC 70	1	England
2006	Carmelo Marrero	W	Submission (armbar)	UFC 66	1	United States
2006	Fabiano Scherner	W	TKO (punches)	UFC 60	2	United States
2005	Kevin Jordan	W	KO (superman punch)	UFC 56	3	United States
2004	Walter Farias	W	Submission (neck crank)	Shooto Brazil: Never Shake	2	Brazil
2004	Charlie Brown	W	TKO (retirement)	Jungle Fight 2	3	Brazil
2003	Fabrício Werdum	L	TKO (punches)	Jungle Fight 1	3	Brazil
2003	Branden Lee Hinkle	W	Submission (triangle choke)	Meca 9	1	Brazil
2003	Cicero Costa	W	TKO (submission to punches)	Brazilian Gladiators 2	1	Brazil

9. Gabriel Gonzaga’s Staph Infection and Hand Surgery

Gabriel Gonzaga Staph Infection

Former heavyweight number Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga was forced to withdraw from the UFC 108 card due staph infection where he would face Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos. The Brazilian has been doing light training but has to take antibiotics.

According to the Journal:
“I believe Napao will be ready to fight in March or April. His arm is better and he is going to train in full swing in January. It’s a slight infection, however, it turns out to be difficult because he can’t stay in contact with other people.”

Gabriel Gonzaga fought in UFC 108. However, the fight got canceled because of Gonzaga’s staph infection.

Gabriel’s Hand Surgery

Former UFC heavyweight No 1. Gabriel shared his right hand during his 265-pound collision against Stipe Miocic on Jan 25, 2014. After undergoing surgery to have a plate and a couple of screws put in to repair the hand, Gabriel was set to undergo yet another surgery to have them removed. Once fully healed, Gonzaga eyes a late 2014 return to action, as he told MMA fighting.

“I had a complicated fracture. My bone was completely broken and I had to put a plate with four screws. I didn't lose any movements, but I have to go on surgery again to remove the plate and the screws, or I can suffer another fracture.”

Gonzaga lost another fight via unanimous decision to Stripe, breaking his two-winning streaks, which he earned by knocking out Dave Herman and Shawn Jordan in a combined time of almost 2 minutes.

Gabriela Gonzaga's words;
“That's how the sport is, one loss and you're back to the end of the line. I still don't have any fight in mind (for my return), but I'm sure I will be back with everything with my gym, and Team Link. We opened a new gym in Natick, Mass., so I will have a better structure to have more athletes helping me throughout my camp. We have a good relationship with the Boxer MMA team and we do good work together as well.”

10. Passing Guard By Gabriel Gonzaga DVD Overview

Gabriel Gonzaga launched his BJJ lessons in his four parts in DVD with instructions for passing a difficult guard. Whatever your passing style is, you’ll benefit from the DVS instructions of Passing Difficult Guard. Well, at least those covering guards that work in both, like the half guard and closed guard. The DVD is divided into four volumes that contain more details,

Part 1: Giving lessons about passing opening with closed guard.

Part 2: He adds leg looks of the lasso pass is the perfect way of making everyone think twice about using an ankle lock.

Part 3: From straightforward passing to wrist locking and Omo Plata along the way, to passing to the back, everything is in here.

Part 4: There are more attacks with the ankle locks and rolling takes than complicated multi-stage passes.

11. Gabriel Gonzaga Top Videos Link

Photo credit: @gonzagabjj