Carmelo Marrero (born January 26, 1981) is an American former professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

and

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

divisions. He has competed for the UFC, WEC, Bellator Fighting Championships, the IFL, and the XFC.

Background

Marrero was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and raised in Douglassville, Pennsylvania. He was diagnosed with cancer at a young age and eventually was able to overcome the illness. Marrero began

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

for Daniel Boone High School in

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the coun ...

and placed sixth in the state tournament as a Heavyweight. Marrero had originally wanted to attend

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, United States. It consists of three academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which includes Westminster Choir Coll ...

after graduating from high school, decided to attend Gloucester County College for two and a half years where he set multiple records. 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. Marrero later transferred to

where he became the team captain and was a two-time national qualifier. After college, Marrero began venturing into mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Marrero's first five professional bouts were against local opponents in small fight promotions along the New Jersey shore. Marrero would go on to win and dominate all five bouts before being signed by the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Marrero made his UFC debut against a much larger and more experienced opponent in Cheick Kongo who already had two wins for the organization. Marrero used his superior grappling skills to control the bout and won via a split decision. In his next fight he faced Gabriel Gonzaga, with the winner to get a shot to fight Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović for the #1 contender spot; Marrero lost this fight in the first round via submission due to an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...

submission. He dropped down to the

division to face Wilson Gouveia at UFC 71, but was again defeated via first-round submission and was then released from the UFC.

International Fight League

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. The fight was ruled a no-contest after an accidental

headbutt A headbutt or butt is a targeted strike (attack), strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's Skull#Humans, cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of ...

in the first round.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Marrero made his WEC debut on November 5, 2008 at WEC 36 against Steve Steinbeiss and won via split decision.

Return to the UFC

Following his win against Steinbeiss, Marrero returned to the UFC on April 1, 2009 facing Ryan Bader at UFC Fight Night 18. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, and was released from the promotion once again.

Bellator

Carmelo was set to make his promotional debut with Bellator at

Bellator 69 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

against Seth Petruzelli, however the bout was canceled the day of the event due to Petruzelli not being medically cleared to fight. Marrero made his Bellator debut on October 19, 2012 at Bellator 77 against Lew Polley and lost via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

* Cage Fury Fighting Championships **CFFC Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, , Shelton Graves , Submission (leglock) , XFE 28: Atiyeh vs. Gratalo 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:33 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 (1) , Antwain Britt , Decision (unanimous) , Vendetta Fighting Championship: A Night of Vengeance , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Oranjestad, Aruba , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 (1) , Ryan Bader , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Gabriel Gonzaga , Submission (armbar) , UFC 66 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:22 ,

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References

External links

Carmelo's Official Website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marrero, Carmelo American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Pennsylvania Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling 1981 births Living people Rider Broncs athletes Sportspeople from Coconut Creek, Florida Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Sportspeople from Berks County, Pennsylvania Martial artists from Philadelphia College wrestlers in the United States People from Douglassville, Pennsylvania