More actions
Junior dos Santos (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒũnjoʁ dus ˈsɐ̃tus]; born 30 January 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and current Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA Heavyweight Champion. As a professional wrestler, dos Santos made appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a member of the American Top Team stable.
Background
Dos Santos and his two siblings were raised by a single mother, Maria, after his alcoholic father, Sebastian, left the family in the mid-1990s.[1] He started to work at the age of ten in order to help his family. He trained in capoeira throughout his teenage years before he began taking martial arts seriously at 21, when he began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Yuri Carlton. After six months of training, Dos Santos won a few jiu-jitsu tournaments in Salvador.[2][3] One year later, Dos Santos was invited to join a boxing practice by a friend, where he met his boxing coach Luiz Carlos Dórea. Dórea also trained mixed martial arts, and roughly a year after he started training in boxing, he had his debut professional fight.[4][5]
Filmography
Dos Santos featured as one of the contestants for Dança dos Famosos, the Brazilian version of Dancing with the Stars, which started on 25 August 2019 at Globo's "Domingão do Faustão".[6][7] Dos Santos was eliminated from the competition on 1 December 2019, placing fifth.[8]
References
- ↑ Loretta Hunt (27 December 2012). "Impoverished youth, mother's struggles fuel dos Santos' stellar career". si.com.
- ↑ "De garçom a lutador: experiência de vida ajuda Cigano a superar derrota". Globoesporte.com. 6 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
- ↑ "Sobre". Cigano - Official Website. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- ↑ Dehò, Maurício (7 November 2011). "Cigano foge do rótulo de celebridade em luta da vida e quer nocaute: '5 rounds é chato'" [Gypsy escapes the label of celebrity in the struggle of life and wants KO: '5 rounds is boring '] (in português). UOL.com. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ↑ Non, Sergio (7 June 2011). "Junior dos Santos: 'I like being the nice guy'". USAToday.com. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- ↑ Cruz, Guilherme (2019-08-18). "Junior dos Santos joins Brazil's 'Dancing with the Stars' cast". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
- ↑ "Junior Dos Santos' debut on 'Dancing With The Stars' was perfect in every way". MMA Junkie. 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
- ↑ Guilherme Cruz (2 December 2019). "Junior dos Santos eliminated from Brazil's Dancing With The Stars". mmafighting.com.