José Mário Sperry (born 28 September 1966) is a Brazilian heavyweight

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 ...

. His specialty is Brazilian jiu-jitsu,

grappling Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Shou ...

and

ground fighting Ground fighting (also called ground work or ground game) is hand-to-hand combat which takes place while the combatants are on the ground. The term is commonly used in mixed martial arts and other combat sports, as well as various forms of martia ...

. He is also one of the founders of the Brazilian Top Team, where he trained fighters such as Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Antônio Rogério Nogueira,

Ricardo Arona Ricardo Arona (; born 17 July 1978) is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist, submission grappler and 4th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt practitioner. A two-time World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu champion in the lower belts ...

, and

Paulo Filho Paulo Filho (; born May 24, 1978), is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist who last competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor from 2000 until 2014, Filho was the last WEC Middleweight Champion, and also comp ...

, among others.

Career

Born into a wealthy family, he attended military college where he practised sports like Waterpolo,

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, Sperry started his martial arts career learning

Kodokan Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nippo ...

under master Georges Mehdi. At brown belt level, he expanded his training to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Carlson Gracie, becoming one of his main apprentices. Mario earned his black belt in this art at the 1995 World BJJ Championships, where he entered to win the heavyweight black belt division, and it was popularly said that until that point he had not lost a single point in his earlier competition career. He gained the nickname "Zé Maquina" ("José Machine") for his relentless performance, which later changed to "

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

Machine" in his introduction to United States. Having had his

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

debut in 1995, Sperry debuted in United States as part of the Extreme Fighting event, where he was billed as having a 272-0 fight record. The first round of the tournament saw him face Ecuadorian fighter and Rudyard Moncayo, whom Sperry defeated by

ground and pound Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the solid terrestrial surface of the Earth * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical circ ...

, but the second one would see a different outcome i
Igor Zinoviev vs Mario Sperry
Although Sperry was able to take him down and assume dominant position in several occasions, Zinoviev kept escaping to his feet every time. After ten minutes, Sperry tried to leap into a

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

while Zinoviev was giving his back and holding the fence, but he slipped and fell in front of the Russian, receiving a kick to the face. Sperry took Zinoviev down anyway, but the kick had opened a deep cut and Sperry tapped, so the match was stopped to give the win to Igor.

ADCC

At the first edition of the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships in 1998, Sperry won the -99 kg division by beating

Ricardo Almeida Ricardo Alves Almeida (; born November 29, 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist and current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Bordentown, New Jersey. Almeida is a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRID ...

, and the absolute division by beating Ricardo Morais. The following year Sperry beat Enson Inoue to become the first Superfight Champion, and successfully defended against Roberto Traven at the 2000 edition, before being beaten by Mark Kerr for the championship in 2001. In January 2022, Sperry was announced as a member of the inaugural class of the ADCC Hall of Fame.

PRIDE

In 2001, Sperry debuted in

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

, where the Brazilian Top Team was competing. His first match would be an important victory against

Igor Vovchanchyn Igor Yaroslavovych Vovchanchyn (, ; born August 6, 1973) is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer, who competed in early Mixed martial arts, no holds barred MMA contests. After making his professional MMA debut in 1995, he won nin ...

, who was taken down and submitted by

arm triangle choke Arm triangle choke, side choke, or head and arm choke are generic terms describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between their own shoulder and the practitioner's arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, whic ...

by Sperry. He then went to fought Murilo Rua from Chute Boxe, a team that would get in a rivalry with BTT after this match. Beginning the fight, Rua landed multiple hits in Sperry both standing and on the ground, but Sperry countered with a triangle armbar attempt and tried to get position; however, Rua escaped and landed more strikes, including a soccer kick to the face. At the second round, Sperry came near of the finish with a rolling kneebar and a

Kimura lock 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 tha ...

, but Murilo was able to avoid them and threw several knees to the head. Finally, Rua punished Sperry for most of the third round for a unanimous decision. Mario rebounded back from his loss by defeating Russian Top Team's counterpart Andrei Kopylov, a former world sambo champion. As Kopylov played defensive on the mat, Sperry threw kicks and strikes, cutting him in the mouth for a doctor stoppage while Kopylov was trying a kneebar. Later, in PRIDE Shockwave 2003, Mario faced

Pancrase is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the An ...

's rising star

Yuki Kondo is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. He has officially 112 professional fights, making him one of the most experienced mixed martial artists ever. He has also competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Sengo ...

in a back and forth match. They exchanged leglocks on the mat, and later Sperry scored a spectacular takedown, but damage to his eye caused by earlier punches forced the referee to stop the bout. In 2004, Sperry returned to PRIDE as part of the PRIDE Bushido series, where he knocked out Mike Bencic with a single punch. The next year, he fought

Judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

Hirotaka Yokoi (born June 8, 1978) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 2000 until 2007, Yokoi fought for PRIDE, Shooto, RINGS, and DEEP, while in professional wrestling he wrestled mainly ...

in a one-sided affair, with Sperry punishing a turtled up Yokoi with knees and soccer kicks for the win. Mario's last fight in the promotion would be against Yokoi's trainer, the renowned Tsuyoshi "TK" Kohsaka, in 2006. The bout was short, with the two fighters trading punches before Kohsaka landed a right hand for the KO.

Personal life

Mario has a daughter who was born in March 2005. Sperry is also an avid competitive surfer.Surf de Stand Up na Indonésia com Zé Mário Sperry, lenda do Jiu-Jitsu brasileiro
"Lenda viva do Jiu-Jitsu brasileiro, o carioca Zé Mário Sperry é também um ávido surfista, que embarcou em sua quarta temporada para a Indonésia no final de abril deste ano, e registrou todos os momentos da trip." Aside from his fighting career, he has a degree in economics.Snowden, Jonathan. ''MMA Encyclopedia'', ECW Press, 2010

Championships and accomplishments

Grappling

* ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships ** 2022:

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

(inaugural class) ** 2000: Superfight championship: defeated Roberto Traven ** 1999: Superfight championship: defeated Enson Inoue ** 1998: -99 kg: 1st place, Absolute: 1st place * CBJJ World Championships ** 1999: Black Belt Absolute: =3rd place, Black Belt Super Pesado = 2nd place ** 1998: Black Belt Absolute: =1st place ** 1997: Black Belt Super-Pesado: 1st place, Black Belt Absolute: =3rd place ** 1996: Black Belt Pesadissimo: 1st place ** Voted Best Brown Belt in Brazil in 1992. ** Voted Best Purple Belt in Brazil in 1990. * IBJJF World Championships ** 2017: Black Best Master 5 Super Heavy Weight: 1st place ** 2017: Black Belt Master 5 Absolute: 2nd place * Other ** Black Belt World Mundial Champion 1996, 1997, and 1998. ** Brazilian National Black Belt Heavyweight Champion 1994 and 1995.

Mixed Martial Arts

* Coliseum 2000 ** Coliseum 2000 Heavyweight Championship (One time) * Extreme Fighting ** Extreme Fighting Middleweight Tournament Runner Up * Martial Arts Reality Super Fight ** Martial Arts Reality Super Fight Championship (One time) * Ultimate Caged Combat ** 1997 Ultimate Caged Combat Overall Championship Tournament Winner * Other ** 1995 Vale Tudo Super Fight Champion at the Titanic Duel in Brazil

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 13–4 ,

Lee Hasdell Lee Hasdell (born 13 December 1966)Sherdog profile
Retrieved 4 April 2019Cage Rage 22 A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayi ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:39 ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 , Tsuyoshi Kohsaka , TKO (punches) , PRIDE 31: Dreamers , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:20 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 ,

, TKO (knees) , PRIDE 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:08 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Mike Bencic , KO (punch) , PRIDE Bushido 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:11 , Yokohama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , PRIDE Shockwave 2003 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:27 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Andrei Kopylov , TKO (cut) , PRIDE 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:02 , Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 ,

Wataru Sakata is a Japanese people, Japanese retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 until 2016, Sakata fought for Fighting Network RINGS, Pride FC, Deep (mixed martial arts), Deep a ...

, Decision (unanimous) , UFO: Legend , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Murilo Rua , Decision (unanimous) , PRIDE 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) ,

PRIDE 17 The year 2001 was the 5th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2001 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 13 - Collision Course''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters T ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:52 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Hiromitsu Kanehara , Decision (majority) , C2K Colosseum 2000 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Japan , Won Coliseum 2000 Heavyweight Championship , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Chris Haseman , TKO (submission to punches) , Caged Combat 1: Australian Ultimate Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:12 , Sydney, Australia , Won Caged Combat 1 Tournament , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Neil Bodycote , TKO (submission to punches) , Caged Combat 1: Australian Ultimate Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:47 , Sydney, Australia , Caged Combat 1 Semifinals , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Vernon White , Decision (unanimous) , Caged Combat 1: Australian Ultimate Fighting , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Sydney, Australia , Caged Combat 1 First Round , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Andrey Dudko , Submission(kimura) , MARS: Martial Arts Reality Superfighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:15 ,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States , Won MARS Superfight Championship , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Igor Zinoviev , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Extreme Fighting 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 11:39 ,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States , EDC Middleweight Tournament finals , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Rudyard Moncayo , TKO (submission to punches) , Extreme Fighting 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, United States , EFC Middleweight Tournament Semifinal , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jose Balduino , TKO (submission to strikes) , Duelo de Titas 1 , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A , Brazil ,

Submission grappling record

, - style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Method , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Event , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - , Loss, , Ricardo Liborio , , Decision , , ADCC 2015 Superfight , , 2015, , , , , , , - , Win, , Fabio Gurgel , , Decision , , ADCC 2013 Absolute , , 2013, , , , , , , - , Win, ,

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A third generation member of the Gracie family, he is the grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder C ...

, , Points , , ADCC 2011 Absolute , , 2011, , , , , , , - , Loss, , Roger Gracie , , Points , , ADCC 2003 –99 kg , , 2003, , , , , , , - , Loss, , Mark Kerr , , Penalty , , ADCC 1999 Absolute , , 2001, , , , , , , - , Win, , Enson Inoue , , Points , , ADCC 1999 Absolute , , 1999, , , , , , , - , Loss, , Rodrigo Comprido , , Advantage , , World Championship, , 1999, , , , , , , - , Loss, , Leonardo Leite , , Points , , World Championship, , 1999, , , , , , , - , Win, , Roberto Roleta , , Advantage , , World Championship, , 1998, , , , , , , - , Win, ,

Royler Gracie Royler Gracie (born December 6, 1965) is a Brazilian-American retired mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. Gracie ran the Gracie Humaitá school in Rio de Janeiro for many years under his father Helio's d ...

, , Submission (clock choke) , , World Championship, , 1998, , , , , , , - , Loss, , Roberto Roleta , , Points , , World Championship, , 1998, , , , , , , - , Win, , Simon Siasi , , Submission (kneebar) , , ADCC 1998 Absolute, , 1998, , , , , , , - , Win, ,

Oleg Taktarov Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov (; born 26 August 1967) is a Russian actor and retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He was a practitioner of Sambo (martial art), Sambo and Judo and competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride ...

, , Points , , ADCC 1998 Absolute, , 1998, , , , , , , - , Win, , Ricardo Alves , , Submission (choke) , , ADCC 1998 –99 kg, , 1998, , , , , , , - , Win, , Renato Verissimo , , Submission (choke) , , ADCC 1998 –99 kg, , 1998, , , , , , , - , Win, , Larry Parker , , Submission (armbar) , , ADCC 1998 –99 kg, , 1998, , , , , , , - , Win, , Muhammad Saleh , , Points , , ADCC 1998 –99 kg, , 1998, , , , , , , - , Win, , Roberto Correa , , Submission (wrist lock) , , World Championship, , 1997, , , , , , , - , Win, , Saulo Ribeiro , , Points , , World Championship, , 1997, , , , , , , - , Win, , Francisco Bueno , , Submission (wrist lock) , , Atlantico Sul, , 1994, , , , , , , -

Notable students

* Carlão Santos * Marcello Salazar

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sperry, Mario 1966 births Brazilian male mixed martial artists Brazilian people of English descent Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male judoka Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Porto Alegre World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists ADCC Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen