Cristiano Souza (born August 2, 1982) is a Brazilian

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 currently competes for the

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from '' bellātor'', the Latin word for "warrior". Bellato ...

in the Welterweight Division. He was a fighter on the first season of Fight Master: Bellator MMA

Mixed martial arts career

Bellator Fighting Championships

On September 17, 2011, Souza made his

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

debut defeating John Kelly at Bellator 50 via unanimous decision. On November 9, 2012, Souza defeated Robert Otani at

Bellator 80 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 ...

via knockout due to punches in round one.

Fight Master: Bellator MMA

On May 6, 2013, it was announced that Souza would be featured as a participant on

reality TV show Fight Master: Bellator MMA, competing as a Welterweight. In his elimination fight to get on the show, Souza defeated Steve Montgomery via knockout in the first round. During the team selection, Souza chose

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American mixed martial arts commentator, actor, former United States Army sergeant, former professional mixed martial artist, and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestlin ...

to be his coach. In his preliminary fight, Souza faced Evan Cutts. Despite controlling a majority of the fight, Souza lost to Cutts via triangle choke submission in the second round.

Bellator Return

Souza came back at Bellator 106 and was scheduled to fight Karo Parisyan but Parisyan withdrew due to injury and was replaced with Alejandro Gracia. Souza controlled the first two rounds before taking down and submitting Gracia via rear naked choke in the third round. In March 2014, Souza entered the Bellator Season 10 Welterweight tournament as a replacement. He faced

Sam Oropeza Sam Oropeza (born June 17, 1985) is a former American Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, coach, manager, boxer, and politician who most notably competed in Bellator MMA, Bellator's Middleweight (MMA), middleweight and welterweight divi ...

in the opening round at Bellator 112 and lost via TKO in the first round.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 , Jose Caceres , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fight Time 35 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:45 ,

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , Bellator 112 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:07 ,

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...

, United States , Bellator Season 10 Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinals , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Alejandro Gracia , Submission (rear naked choke) , Bellator 106 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:06 ,

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Robert Otani , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:46 ,

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , John Kelly , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 50 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Alex Rojas , Submission (guillotine choke) , CFA 1: The Title , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:19 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Rory Shallcross , KO (punches) , AFO 11: Fusion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:37 ,

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Andrew Flickenger , Submission (rear naked choke) , AOF 8: Fury , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:12 ,

Estero, Florida Estero (Spanish for "estuary") is an incorporated village in Lee County, Florida, United States, located directly beside the first aquatic nature preserve established in Florida: The Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, otherwise referred to as Estero B ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Pedro Rubio , KO (punches) , AOF 5: Rumble at Robarts 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:39 ,

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

, United States ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Cristiano Living people Welterweight mixed martial artists Brazilian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists utilizing capoeira 1982 births Brazilian capoeira practitioners Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen