Carmelo Marrero was born on January 26,1981 and is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions.
16 Facts About Carmelo Marrero
1.
2.
Carmelo Marrero has competed for the UFC, WEC, Bellator Fighting Championships, the IFL, and the XFC.
3.
Carmelo Marrero was diagnosed with cancer at a young age and eventually was able to overcome the illness.
4.
Carmelo Marrero began wrestling for Daniel Boone High School in Berks County, Pennsylvania and placed sixth in the state tournament as a Heavyweight.
5.
Carmelo Marrero had originally wanted to attend Rider University after graduating from high school, decided to attend Gloucester County College for two and a half years where he set multiple records.
6.
Carmelo Marrero was sidelined by a near-fatal car accident which took him six months to recover, but later came back to win over 40 matches and qualify for the Junior College National Tournament.
7.
Carmelo Marrero later transferred to Rider University where he became the team captain and was a two-time national qualifier.
8.
Carmelo Marrero would go on to win and dominate all five bouts before being signed by the UFC.
9.
Carmelo Marrero made his UFC debut against a much larger and more experienced opponent in Cheick Kongo who already had two wins for the organization.
10.
Carmelo Marrero used his superior grappling skills to control the bout and won via a split decision.
11.
Carmelo Marrero dropped down to the Light Heavyweight division to face Wilson Gouveia at UFC 71, but was again defeated via first-round submission and was then released from the UFC.
12.
Carmelo Marrero competed for American Top Team's camp in the International Fight League and made his debut for the organization on April 4,2008 at IFL: New Jersey where he faced Mike Ciesnolevicz.
13.
Carmelo Marrero made his WEC debut on November 5,2008 at WEC 36 against Steve Steinbeiss and won via split decision.
14.
Carmelo Marrero lost the fight via unanimous decision, and was released from the promotion .
15.
Carmelo Marrero was set to make his promotional debut with Bellator at Bellator 69 against Seth Petruzelli, however the bout was canceled the day of the event due to Petruzelli not being medically cleared to fight.
16.
Carmelo Marrero made his Bellator debut on October 19,2012 at Bellator 77 against Lew Polley and lost via unanimous decision.