Gabriel Gonzaga Santos Nogueira is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist, submission grappler and 5th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
41 Facts About Gabriel Gonzaga
2.
Gabriel Gonzaga is perhaps best known for his upset head-kick knockout of Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 70, which earned him a heavyweight title shot.
3.
Gabriel Gonzaga was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and began training in judo when he was 14 years old.
4.
Gabriel Gonzaga would go on to achieve many accomplishments in the sport before transitioning into a career in MMA.
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Gabriel Gonzaga made his professional MMA debut on 4 April 2003 in Santos, Brazil against Cicero Costa, winning via submission due to punches in the first round.
6.
Gabriel Gonzaga made his UFC debut at UFC 56, knocking out Kevin Jordan with a superman punch at 4:39 of the third round.
7.
At UFC 70, Gabriel Gonzaga knocked out Mirko Cro Cop with a head kick, Cro Cop's own signature move.
8.
Gabriel Gonzaga faced Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 74.
9.
Gabriel Gonzaga lost the fight via TKO due to punches from the mount at the 1:37 mark of the third round.
10.
Gabriel Gonzaga returned to the Octagon to face the only man that had beaten him prior to the Couture fight, Fabricio Werdum, at UFC 80, losing via TKO in the second round.
11.
Gabriel Gonzaga took to McCully's half guard, quickly passing to the mount position and winning by first round submission with an americana from the mount.
12.
At UFC 91 Gabriel Gonzaga knocked out UFC newcomer Josh Hendricks with a right hand at 1:01 of the first round.
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Gabriel Gonzaga then faced undefeated heavyweight prospect Shane Carwin at UFC 96.
14.
Gabriel Gonzaga took the fight to the floor, but Carwin quickly fought back to his feet.
15.
At UFC 102 Gabriel Gonzaga defeated Chris Tuchscherer via TKO at 2:27 of the first round.
16.
Gabriel Gonzaga was set to fight Junior dos Santos at UFC 108; however, it was reported that he had pulled out of the fight due to a staph infection.
17.
Gabriel Gonzaga was defeated by Brendan Schaub on 23 October 2010 at UFC 121 by unanimous decision.
18.
Gabriel Gonzaga returned to action against Reality Fighting Heavyweight Champion Parker Porter.
19.
Gabriel Gonzaga won the fight via submission in the first round.
20.
Gabriel Gonzaga was expected to face Shane del Rosario at UFC 146 on 26 May 2012.
21.
Gabriel Gonzaga was pulled from the bout against Shane Del Rosario to replace Antonio Silva against Roy Nelson, after Silva was switched to meet Cain Velasquez.
22.
Gabriel Gonzaga later was forced out of the bout against Roy Nelson because of an injury, being replaced by Dave Herman.
23.
Gabriel Gonzaga was expected to face promotional newcomer and fellow Brazilian Geronimo dos Santos on 13 October 2012 at UFC 153 but dos Santos dropped off the card for an undisclosed reason.
24.
Gabriel Gonzaga faced Ben Rothwell on 19 January 2013 at UFC on FX: Belfort vs Bisping He won the fight via submission in the second round.
25.
Gabriel Gonzaga lost via first-round knockout to Travis Browne on 13 April 2013 at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale.
26.
Gabriel Gonzaga faced Dave Herman on 6 July 2013 at UFC 162, replacing Shane del Rosario who had to withdraw from the bout due to an injury.
27.
Gabriel Gonzaga won via KO 17 seconds into the first round.
28.
Gabriel Gonzaga next faced Shawn Jordan on 19 October 2013 at UFC 166.
29.
Gabriel Gonzaga won the fight via knockout at 1:13 of round one.
30.
Gabriel Gonzaga faced Stipe Miocic on 25 January 2014 at UFC on Fox 10.
31.
Post-fight, Gabriel Gonzaga stated online that he broke his hand in the first round.
32.
Gabriel Gonzaga faced Matt Mitrione on 13 December 2014 at UFC on Fox 13.
33.
Gabriel Gonzaga lost the bout in the first round via TKO.
34.
Gabriel Gonzaga faced returning veteran Mirko Cro Cop in a rematch on 11 April 2015 at UFC Fight Night 64.
35.
Gabriel Gonzaga later stated that he wasn't ready for all 5 rounds, and that he was surprised by Cro Cop's strength and improved elbows.
36.
Gabriel Gonzaga faced Konstantin Erokhin on 11 December 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale.
37.
Gabriel Gonzaga won the fight by unanimous decision.
38.
Gabriel Gonzaga was expected to face Ruslan Magomedov on 10 April 2016 at UFC Fight Night 86.
39.
On 30 September 2016 it was announced that Gabriel Gonzaga would be retiring from the sport unless offered a 6-figure contract from the UFC.
40.
On 14 September 2017, it was announced that Gabriel Gonzaga would be making his pro boxing debut for the Rivera Promotions Entertainment boxing promotion on 26 October against Alejandro Esquilin Santiago.
41.
Gabriel Gonzaga won the fight via knockout in the second round.