Haim Gozali ( he, חיים גוזלי; born May 6, 1973), also known by the nickname The Israeli Batman, is an Israeli mixed martial artist who competed in the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division. He is best known for his tenure in

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

. Gozali is also a 5th degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family of Brazil, Renzo is a 7th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Gracie Jr. He is the ...

. He is also the first Israeli to compete in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

Background

Gozali served at the Israel Border Police in the Israeli army. Later, Gozali was stabbed six times while working as a bouncer in an Israeli night club. Gozali's nickname, "The Israeli Batman", was given to him by Bellator's announcer Mike Goldberg, and is related to his obsession with the legendary superhero. He has "collected enough Batman comics and paraphernalia to fill up most of a room in his house in

Bat Yam Bat Yam ( he, בַּת יָם or ) is a city located on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the Central Coastal Plain just south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area and the Tel Aviv District. In 2020, it had a populat ...

" and he "has enough Batman tattoos to cover a good part of his skin, with the bat-sign prominently carried across his chest." Gozali has one son and a daughter. His son, Aviv, is also a mixed martial artist and is currently signed to Bellator.

Mixed martial arts career

In 2010, Gozali produced the MMA event Israel FC: Genesis in Israel, that featured multiple UFC veterans. Following the event's success, he later signed with

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

to work as a promoter and produced 4 events in Israel with the promotion - Bellator 164, Bellator 188 and Bellator 209, Bellator 234, which took place at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv. Gozali is the president of ADCC Israel and the first Israeli to compete in an ADCC event. Gozali is also the head of Renzo Gracie Israel Academy in Bat Yam. Gozali is the first Israeli MMA fighter to compete in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

. On November 16, 2017, Gozali scored the second fastest submission in Bellator's Welterweight division, ending the fight 45 seconds into the first round.

Bellator MMA

Gozali faced Ryan Couture in a welterweight bout at Bellator 180 on June 24, 2017. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. After racking three straight victories, Gozali was scheduled to appear on the same event, Bellator 234, with his son Aviv in their native Israel. Haim faced Artur Pronin and won the fight via first-round submission. Haim retired after the fight.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 15–6 , Ilya Lupinov , Submission (triangle choke) , RFP 86 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, Ukraine , Middleweight bout; won the vacant RFP Middleweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 14–6 , Andrey Savchuck , Submission (heel hook) , TDT 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:05 , Dubno, Ukraine ,

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruis ...

debut; won the TDT Light Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 13–6 , Dmitriy Makhotskiy , Submission (triangle choke) , RFP 80 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:56 ,

, Ukraine , Return to Middleweight; won the RFP Middleweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 12–6 , Artur Pronin , Submission (heel hook) , Bellator 234 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:12 ,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel , , - , Win , align=center, 11–6 , Gustavo Wurlitzer , Submission (triangle choke) , Bellator 222 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:02 ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States , Catchweight (175 lb) bout. , - , Win , align=center, 10–6 , Dmitriy Makhotskiy , Submission (heel hook) , RFP: International MFC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:57 ,

, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 9–6 , Alexey Kolesnikov , Submission (armbar) , RFP: International MFC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:37 ,

, Ukraine , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–6 , Ryan Couture , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 209 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 8–5 , Jose Campos , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 192 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4 , Arsen Faitovich , Technical Submission (triangle choke) , Bellator 188 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 ,

, Israel , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–4 , Ryan Couture , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 180 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Zane Clerk , Submission (heel hook) , Bellator 164 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:41 ,

, Israel , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3 , Zdravko Zdravkov , Submission (armbar) , AFN 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:33 , Sliven, Bulgaria , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–3 , Rustam Bogatyrev , TKO (retirement) , MFP: Mayor Cup 2012 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of th ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 , Ronaldo Souza , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Jungle Fight 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:33 ,

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the a ...

, Slovenia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Alcs Plotkin , Submission (triangle choke) , WPKL 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:22 , Israel , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Yakov Mazer , KO (punch) , WPKL 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 , Israel , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Dan Koan , Submission (punches) , IVTC 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:55 , Israel , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Guy Micali , Submission (punches) , IFFC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:34 , Israel , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Maer Cobi Coen , Submission (triangle choke) , IVTC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 , Israel , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Carlos Newton , Submission (armbar) , IFC: Israel vs. Canada , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 , Israel ,

Bareknuckle boxing record

, - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , John McAllister , TKO (punch) , BKFC: KnuckleMania , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:08 ,

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

, United States , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gozali, Haim 1973 births People from Bat Yam Living people Israeli male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing ninjutsu Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Israeli practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Israeli male boxers Bare-knuckle boxers Israeli soldiers