Australian Submission Wizard Gustavo Faliciroli Talks ONE Fighting Championship

Gustavo Falciroli is an unusual name for an Australian but the Brazilian born fighter has been living, training and teaching there since 2007 and is on the verge of being awarded citizenship.

His professional fighting career began in Perth five years ago and since then Falciroli has gone on to establish himself as the number one bantamweight in the country by winning the Cage Fighting Championships 135 lbs title.

He has also represented his adopted country on the international stage, fighting for the Shooto organization in Japan on a number of occasions and even challenging unsuccessfully for their bantamweight belt, dropping a decision to Taiki Tsuchiya.

He got introduced to BJJ in 1996 by a friend who would go on to become one of his students after he was awarded his black belt by Roberto Tozi and Roberto Godoi in 2003. In 16 fights Falciroli has never been stopped and his only losses have been decisions, including a fight with UFC bound lightweight Bernardo Magalhaes which one of the judges felt he had done enough to draw.

On 11th February he will get a chance to represent Australia at ONE Fighting Championships ‘Battle of Heroes’ at the BritAma Arena in Jakarta after successfully defending his title against American Nick Honstein at CFC 19, in a fight which was effectively an eliminator for a shot at Asia’s biggest MMA organization.

He will be the first Australian to ever fight for ONE FC, a surprising accomplishment for a fighter who was born and raised in Brazil,

"I was born in Indaiatuba but I came to Australia in March 2007 to teach BJJ. In two months time I will receive my Australian citizenship, I have been representing Australia ever since my MMA career began but I am looking forward to making it official!"

Falciroli is a second degree BJJ black belt who always fights in a pair of tights in order to give himself more traction for his trademark body triangles. He has made the transition from BJJ to MMA seamlessly and his submission skills are deadly and have enabled him to dominate some tough opponents,

"I am still a student of BJJ as well as a teacher and my ground game is far from perfect but I'm always training hard to be a better fighter. I was in Perth for five years and learned a lot from guys like Habby Heske but now I am in Melbourne and I am working with a lot of different people and representing my original gym in Brazil, the Godoi Jiu-Jitsu Club."

Gustavo Falciroli Highlight Reel (via PerthMMAEvents)

His opponent in Jakarta will be Korean prodigy Soo Chul Kim, who is only 20 years old but is rated as one of the best prospects in the bantamweight division. He is less experienced than Falciroli but is constantly evolving and improving and put in a very impressive performance against Leandro Issa at ONE FC 1, going three rounds against the BJJ world champion.

Last June Kim suffered the first loss of his career when he was choked out in less than 30 seconds by another young fighter who is making waves in Asia, American flyweight Andrew Leone. In September his submission defence had improved to the point where he could survive three rounds with a second degree BJJ black belt and Falciroli is weary that the 20 year old might be a totally different fighter from the one he saw lose to Issa last year,

"I always respect my opponents and Soo Chul Kim is no different. If he wasn’t a good fighter he wouldn’t have been signed by such a famous MMA organization, he must have earned his shot and he will also have the advantage because he has already fought for ONE FC once before. I always prepare properly, regardless of my opponent, because people are paying to watch me fight and I want to put in a performance which the crowd can enjoy."

It is not just Falciroli's submissions which Kim will have to be wary of, he also holds three KO wins including one against Hideki Kadowaki, an experienced Japanese fighter who has beaten the likes of Adrian Pang and Bao Quach.

At 29 years old the Brazilian born Australian still has plenty of potential to improve and Falciroli is sure to be an early contender for the ONE Fighting Championship Bantamweight Belt.