Daniel Alfonso Castillo (born August 25, 1979) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. A professional from 2007 until 2015, he competed in 22 bouts with both the UFC and WEC.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Castillo began training MMA when he joined the wrestling team at his high school in suburban Sacramento. His vice principal, who was also the wrestling coach, told Castillo that if he joined the team, he would not call his mother after seeing Castillo constantly in trouble. Castillo claims he was scared his first day at practice, "I got the xpletivekicked out of me that day, but after that, I wasn't nervous at wrestling practice ever." After leaving private school, Castillo graduated from Laguna Creek High School (Elk Grove, CA) and attended

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California. Campus Menlo College is situated on 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles nort ...

; becoming an NAIA All American in 2004. His nickname "Last Call" was given to him in college due to his ability perform very decently in his team's offseason morning runs albeit having been consuming massive amounts of alcohol until the last call. He made his professional debut in November 2007, fighting twice in the month, winning both fights via first round submission. After going 3-0, Castillo signed to fight on the Palace Fighting Championship's seventh card. He fought Andy Salazar winning via submission due to his tough ground and pound. He won his fifth straight fight after defeating Strikeforce veteran, Isaiah Hill. With the win, Castillo was signed with the WEC.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Castillo made his debut against

Donald Cerrone Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ult ...

WEC 34 ''WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 1, 2008, at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. The main event, announced on WEC 33, was a bout between Jens Pulver and ...

, replacing an injured

Rich Crunkilton Richard Allan Crunkilton Jr (born November 25, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist. Crunkilton is perhaps best known for his 8–2 stint with the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. He currently competes in the Lightweight division. Earl ...

. Cerrone defeated Castillo via first round armbar submission. Castillo then fought Rafael Dias at

WEC 36 ''WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on November 5, 2008 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The event aired live on the Versus Network. Bac ...

, winning via TKO in the second round. Four months later Castillo fought Phil Cardella at WEC 39. Castillo won the fight via split decision. Castillo then defeated Ricardo Lamas, winning his third straight WEC fight. Castillo was defeated by

Shane Roller Shane Derrick Roller (born July 14, 1979) is a retired American mixed martial artist who is perhaps best known in his career for competing as a Lightweight for the UFC and WEC. Background Roller was born and raised in Bixby, Oklahoma along wit ...

via third round submission at WEC 44. Castillo looked to rebound from his loss to Roller when he fought

Anthony Pettis Anthony Paul Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of th ...

WEC 47 ''WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on March 6, 2010. It was held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio Background The only WEC event held in Ohio, WEC 47 coincided with the Arnold S ...

, but lost via KO after getting caught flush with a head kick. Castillo defeated WEC newcomer Dustin Poirier via unanimous decision on August 18, 2010 at

WEC 50 ''WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on August 18, 2010 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. Background This event marked WEC's first visit to Las Vegas since WEC 4 ...

. Castillo next faced Will Kerr on December 16, 2010 at WEC 53. He won the fight via KO in the first round. In 2016 Castillo defeated Curtis Brown by rear naked choke in Cancun, Mexico at the ME resort.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In October 2010,

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

merged with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. On December 31, 2010, Castillo officially became a contracted UFC fighter, signing a four-fight deal with the promotion. In his UFC debut, Castillo fought Joe Stevenson on March 3, 2011 at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann. Castillo controlled the entirety of the fight and won via unanimous decision. Castillo faced Jacob Volkmann on August 14, 2011 at UFC on Versus 5. He lost the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Castillo faced

Shamar Bailey Shamar Bailey is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Bailey has formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, M-1 Global, and was a competitor on ...

on November 19, 2011 at

UFC 139 ''UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 2011 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. It was the first UFC event in San Jose, the longtime home and base a ...

. Bailey came in 3 pounds over, which resulted being fined 20 percent of his earnings, and the bout took place at a catchweight of 158 lb. Castillo won the fight via TKO in the first round. Castillo faced

Anthony Njokuani Anthony Obinna Njokuani (born March 1, 1980) is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor since 2001, Njokuani has also formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, and ONE Championship. Background ...

on December 30, 2011 at UFC 141 on five weeks notice, replacing an injured Ramsey Nijem. Throughout the fight Castillo scored several suplex takedowns and looked to smother his opponent on the ground. He won the fight via split decision. Castillo faced John Cholish on May 5, 2012 at UFC on Fox 3. He defeated Cholish via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Castillo was expected to face Michael Johnson on September 1, 2012 at UFC 151. However, after UFC 151 was cancelled, Castillo/Johnson was rescheduled and took place on October 5, 2012 at UFC on FX 5. After a dominant first round put in by Castillo, where he nearly finished Johnson via strikes and then with a submission attempt, he was knocked out cold with a counter left at 1:06 of the second round. Castillo faced Paul Sass on February 16, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald. Castillo used a superior top game and ground and pound en route to a unanimous decision victory. Castillo was expected to face Bobby Green on July 27, 2013 at

UFC on Fox 8 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 8'') was a mixed martial arts event held on July 27, 2013, at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. The event was broadcast live on FX and Fox. Background The main event was a UFC ...

. However, in mid-July, Green pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by

Tim Means Timothy Carl Means (born February 20, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist from Moriarty, New Mexico currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2004, ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Castillo faced Edson Barboza on December 14, 2013 at UFC on Fox 9. After a dominant first round by Castillo, Barboza was able to rally over rounds two and three, and defeated Castillo via majority decision in a bout that earned both participants ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Castillo was briefly linked to a bout with Isaac Vallie-Flagg on April 26, 2014 at UFC 172. However, the UFC removed Vallie-Flagg from the bout in favor of a match up with Takanori Gomi, while Castillo instead fought against Charlie Brenneman. Castillo won the fight via knockout in the second round. Castillo was expected to face Tony Ferguson on August 2, 2014 at UFC 176. However, after UFC 176 was cancelled, Castillo/Ferguson was rescheduled and took place on August 30, 2014 at UFC 177. Castillo lost the back and forth fight via split decision. Castillo was expected to face

Rustam Khabilov Rustam Khabilov (born 4 November 1986) is a Russian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. He is a Combat Sambo World Champion and a former member of the Legion Sport Club fight team in Rostov-on-D ...

on January 3, 2015 at UFC 182. However, Khabilov pulled out of the bout due to alleged visa issues and was replaced by Paul Felder. Castillo lost the bout via knockout due to a spinning backfist in the second round. A rescheduled bout with

was expected to take place on July 25, 2015 at UFC on Fox 16. However, for a second time, Khabilov was removed from the pairing due to alleged visa issues. Castillo faced Jim Miller at the event. He lost the fight by split decision. Castillo faced

Nik Lentz Nik Lentz (born August 13, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in the lightweight division. Background Lentz was born in El Paso, Texas but grew up in Twin C ...

on December 19, 2015 at UFC on Fox 17. He lost the fight by split decision. On January 29, 2016, Castillo was released from the UFC.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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WEC 42 ''WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on August 9, 2009 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada Background Kenji Osawa was originally scheduled to face Rani Yahya at this e ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Danny Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Sacramento, California 1979 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu