Gustavo Falciroli

Gustavo Falciroli (born 13 December 1982) is an Australian-Brazilian former mixed martial artist, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Falciroli has formerly competed in Australian Fighting Championship, where he was the inaugural bantamweight champion. He also competed in ONE FC, Shooto, and Cage Fighting Championship (CFC), where he was the former bantamweight champion. He is regarded as one of the most decorated mixed martial arts fighters in Australia’s history and he is a fourth degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Gustavo started his training in 1996 with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Paulo Roberto de Miranda Streckert and has also trained with Carlos Alberto Liberi, in 2003 he was awarded his black belt by Roberto Tozi and Roberto Godoi. After placing third at the BJJ World Championships, winning the Brazilian Cup and taking home a slew of state titles in Brazil—all as a black belt—in 2007 he made the move to Australia and the transition into MMA. Since entering the world of mixed martial arts, Gustavo has replicated the success he found in BJJ and is renowned for his ability to apply his grappling and submissions in MMA.

Mixed martial arts career Gustavo made his mixed martial arts debut at Shooto Australia in Perth in May, 2007. Gustavo defeated Richie Vaculik for the inaugural Cage Fighting Championships (CFC) bantamweight title at CFC 12, December 2010, via unanimous decision (5 rounds). He defended for the first time on 9 December 2011, winning by submission against Nick Honstein at Cage Fighting Championship 19. In February 2012 Gustavo attended at ONE Fighting Championship: Battle of Heroes, Jakarta to be the first ever Australian to fight in the Asian show. He submitted Soo Chul Kim via rear naked choke on the first round to become victorious. In August 2012 Gustavo contended in a main event ONE Fighting Championship at ONE Fighting Championship: Pride of a Nation, Philippines. He was defeated by Bibiano Fernandes via unanimous decision. Gustavo is the inaugural Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) bantamweight title holder after defeating New Zealander Kai Kara-France at AFC 9, via submission in round 1 in May 2014. The title fight was a rematch from AFC 7 after France fell out of the ring after being knocked out and struck a ringside table, a controversial No Contest was adjudicated by officials.

Achievements

Mixed martial arts Cage Fighting Championship CFC Bantamweight Championship (Two times) Australian Fighting Championship AFC Bantamweight Championship (One time; current) K-Oz Entertainment K-Oz Entertainment Bantamweight Championship (One time; current) Xtreme Fighting Championship XFC Xtreme Fighting Bantamweight Championship (One time; current)

Main titles Black Belt 2011 – Gold – Pan Pacific Championship (Melbourne, Australia) 2011 – Gold – Australian Cup (Perth, Australia) 2006 – Gold – São Paulo State Championship (São Paulo, Brazil) 2006 – Silver – South American Championship ( Florianópolis, Brazil) 2006 – Silver – Brazilian Cup (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 2005 – Gold – King of the Grappler (Seoul, South Korea) 2004 – Bronze – World Championships (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 2004 – Gold – Brazilian South Cup (Porto Alegre, Brazil) 2004 – Gold -Brazilian Cup (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 2004 – Gold -São Paulo State Championship (São Paulo, Brazil) Brown Belt 2003 – Gold – World Cup (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 2003 – Gold – Brazilian Championship (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 2003 – Gold – São Paulo State Championship (São Paulo, Brazil) Purple Belt 2001 – Bronze – Pan-American Championship (Orlando, USA) 2000 – Gold – São Paulo State Championship (São Paulo, Brazil) 2000 – Bronze – Pan-American Championship (Orlando, USA) Blue Belt 1999 – Gold – Brazilian Championship (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 1999 – Bronze – World Championship (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 1999 – Gold – São Paulo State Championship (São Paulo, Brazil)

Personal life Gustavo immigrated to Australia and has lived in Perth in Western Australia but has since relocated to Melbourne. In December 2012, Falciroli was subject to xenophobia on Melbourne public transport. After hearing him speak in Portuguese, a man approached Falciroli and told him that this was "not his country". He threatened to "cut" and "rape" him, his wife, and his two children. Falciroli got off the train and called the police. "Despite it [being] a bad situation, once again life has showed me that violence just creates more violence and I never should use my skills outside a cage, a ring or a mat," Falciroli said on social media.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Alan Philpott Decision (unanimous) ACB 88: Barnatt vs. Celiński

Brisbane, Australia Win

Julian Wallace Submission (triangle choke) XFC 27

Mansfield, Australia Loss

Darwin Sagurit TKO (punch) Minotaur 3: Carnage

Parkville, Victoria, Australia Win

Hikaru Hasumi Submission (armbar) HFS – Hex Fight Series 4

Melbourne, Australia Win

Mohd Fouzein Mohd Fozi Submission (brabo choke) K-Oz Entertainment – Bragging Rights 7: Resurrection

Perth, Australia Win

Kai Kara-France Submission (brabo choke) Australian Fighting Championship 9

Albury, Australia NC

Kai Kara-France No Contest Australian Fighting Championship 7

Melbourne, Australia Loss

Bibiano Fernandes Decision (unanimous) ONE FC: Pride of a Nation

Manila, Philippines Win

Soo Chul Kim Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE FC: Battle of Heroes

Jakarta, Indonesia Win

Nick Honstein Submission (arm triangle choke) Cage Fighting Championship 19

Sydney, Australia Loss

Taiki Tsuchiya Decision (unanimous) Shooto: The Way of Shooto 6: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon

Tokyo, Japan Win

Hideki Kadowaki KO (punches) Shooto Australia – Superfight Australia 8

Joondalup, Australia Win

Richie Vaculik Decision (unanimous) Cage Fighting Championship 12

Sydney, Australia Loss

Issei Tamura Decision (unanimous) Shooto: Revolutionary Exchanges 3

Tokyo, Japan Win

Daisuke Ishizawa Submission (triangle armbar) Shooto: Revolutionary Exchanges 2

Tokyo, Japan Win

Akiyo Nishiura Decision (majority) Shooto Australia – Superfight Australia 6

Joondalup, Australia Win

Masahiro Oishi TKO (punches) Rize 1 – Rize MMA

Queensland, Australia Win

Kazuhiro Ito Decision (unanimous) Shooto Australia – Superfight Australia 5

Joondalup, Australia Win

Taro Kusano KO (punch) Shooto Australia – Superfight Australia 4

Perth, Australia Win

Ryan Mortimer Submission (armbar) WR 13 – Warriors Realm 13

Southport, Australia Draw

Takumi Ota Draw Shooto Australia – Superfight Australia 3

Perth, Australia Loss

Bernardo Magalhaes Decision (majority) CFC – Cage Fighting Championships 3

Sydney, Australia Win

Michiyuki Ishibashi Submission (rear-naked choke) Shooto Australia – Superfight Australia 2

Perth, Australia Draw

Jai Bradney Draw IC 2 – Inspirit Challenge 2

Australia Win

Sergio Cabral Decision (unanimous) MMAB – MMA Boxing

Perth, Australia Win

Mark Oates Submission (armbar) Shooto Australia – Superfight Australia 1

Perth, Australia