Salvatore "Sam" Greco (born 3 May 1967) is an Australian retired full contact

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

ka,

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 ...

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

kickboxer, and

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 ...

. He was the 1994 Karate World Cup champion and holds notable kickboxing victories over Branko Cikatic, Ernesto Hoost, Mike Bernardo, Stefan Leko, and Ray Sefo, as well as MMA victories over Heath Herring and Shungo Oyama.

Biography and career

Salvatore Greco was born on 3 May 1967, in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria, Australia and grew up in the suburb of Brunswick. In 2015, Greco stated that he considered the part of Brunswick that he grew up in was 'rough' at the time, and ultimately contributed to his fitness and mental development from a young age. His Italian-born father of greek origins, Vittorio, encouraged him to get involved with

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 ...

from an early age and joined the local Italian backed club,

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

Soccer

Greco joined Juventus (later Brunswick United Juventus) at the age of six, playing as a junior for nine years where in 1983 he would win the club's best-and-fairest for their under-sixteen squad. Prior to the 1984 National Soccer League season, Greco signed a one-year semi-professional contract with the senior squad, who had just been promoted from the Victorian State Premier League to the former national league, making him the club's youngest player to sign for the senior squad. Greco made his national debut in the fifth round of the season on 1 April 1984, two days before his seventeenth birthday. Greco started and played the whole home match against

Footscray JUST Footscray Jugoslav United Soccer Team, commonly referred to as J.U.S.T, Footscray or simply JUST, was an association football club from Melbourne, Australia, Melbourne, Australia. The club was established by Yugoslavs, Yugoslav migrants in 1950, ...

at Gillon oval that finished in a 0–2 loss. At the conclusion of the season and after ten years playing for his local club, Greco decided to focus solely on karate and discontinued his soccer career at the age of seventeen.

Karate

Greco started training in

Kyokushin is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a full-contact style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 ...

karate at the age of 11 and commenced tournament fighting at the age of 18 establishing himself as one of Australia's best Kyokushin fighters in the late 1980s and early 1990s winning the heavyweight division of the Australian championships five times in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. In 1988, he fought in the heavyweight division of the 1st Commonwealth Karate Championships held in Sydney placing 3rd with English champion Michael Thompson winning. In 1991, he competed in the 5th World Open Tournament in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

losing to Michael Thompson in the first round on decision due to accidentally punching him in the face. In 1992, he competed in the heavyweight division of the Oyama Cup Singapore International Open in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

placing 3rd with

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

n Walter Schnaubelt winning. After the Singapore tournament in October 1992, Sam left Kyokushin fighting as an amateur to join

Seidokaikan is a traditional full contact karate derived from Kyokushin by Kazuyoshi Ishii. Seidokaikan organized the first professional full contact karate tournament named the Karate World Cup. The Karate World Cup had special extension rounds; if the ju ...

karate to become a professional karate fighter. Fellow Kyokushin champion Andy Hug had recently joined Seidokaikan and won the 2nd Karate World Cup in October and then in 1993 Michael Thompson also joined Seidokaikan. In June 1993, Sam had his first karate fight at the K-1 Sanctuary III a kickboxing tournament promoted by Seidokaikan karate founder Kazuyoshi Ishii. Sam fought Keisuke Nakagawa who had placed 6th in the 2nd Karate World Cup. In October 1993, Sam competed in the 3rd Karate World Cup defeating Minoru Fujita to make the quarter finals to fight Toshiyuki Atokawa with the judges decision a draw after the first round, and again in the second round, with the fight awarded to Toshiyuki Atokawa on weight difference, who went on to place 3rd. In October 1994, Sam competed in the 4th Karate World Cup making the final after winning four fights. In the final he fought Michael Thompson winning in the first round with a left low kick followed by a straight right body shot to become the Karate World Cup Champion.

K-1

Sam had his K-1 debut in 1995 at K-1 Hercules. Following year he appeared in his first K-1 World Grand Prix tournament where he suffered his first loss in semifinals against Musashi. After retiring in 2005 from professional competition, Sam Greco worked as trainer for other fighters, including

Bob Sapp Robert Malcolm Sapp (born September 22, 1973) is an American mixed martial artist, kickboxing, kickboxer, professional wrestler, actor, and former American football, football player. He is currently under contract with Rizin Fighting Federatio ...

Professional wrestling

Greco was originally signed to

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

company

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

, but never wrestled for them, as it folded before he could debut beyond a backstage vignette. He made his pro wrestling debut in December 2000, when he was working in WCW's developmental territory NWA Wildside. In November 2002, he was signed up by

Wrestle-1 was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, founded in July 2013 by Keiji Mutoh following his resignation from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The core of the promotion's roster was formed b ...

, then a co-promotion between K-1 and

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

. In the first Wrestle-1 event, Greco teamed up with masked

lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

exponent Dos Caras Jr. against Kaz Hayashi and Taiyo Kea, all while wearing his own mask and playing a Dos Caras body double named "Sam Grecaras". They won, with Greco receiving good reviews in the process. He wrestled again in December 2003, appearing in AJPW to team up with

Keiji Mutoh is a Japanese professional wrestling executive, actor and retired professional wrestler. He is known for his work under his real name and as his alter ego in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and duri ...

and Abdullah the Butcher against Taka Michinoku,

Jamal Jamaal ( ''/'') is an Arabic given name and surname meaning "beauty."Jamaal
at BehindTheName.com It is popular in th ...

and D'lo Brown from the villainous faction

RO&D Roughly Obsess & Destroy (abbreviated in writing as RO&D, spoken as R.O.D.) was a professional wrestling stable founded in 2003 in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) by Taka Michinoku, disbanding in 2006, and later briefly reforming in Pro Wrestli ...

. His third and last venture in professional wrestling would be two years later, as part of the briefly revived Wrestle-1 concept. This time he formed a team with fellow K-1 fighter Jan Nortje against Giant Bernard and The Predator, who defeated them when Bernard pinned Nortje.

Acting career

In 1995 Greco had a small part as an enforcer in the Richard Norton movie '' Under the Gun'', also known as ''Iron Fist'', which was filmed in Victoria. He played the stunt double for retired professional wrestler

Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...

in the 2007 action thriller '' The Condemned'' and also had a small part in the 2008 Australian boxing drama film, '' Two Fists One Heart'' which was shot in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. He has also appeared occasionally in movies as a fight consultant and martial arts advisor. He had a small part in the fourth episode of the Australian mini-series '' Underbelly'', playing nightclub bouncer Bruno Bolotzi. The episode was first broadcast in February 2008. He had a small part in an episode of the Australian comedy ''

Pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

'', playing the Roman soldier Glutious Maximus. He made another appearance for Pizza this time in a two-part episode ''Holiday Pizza'', playing Pauly's Italian cousin Luigi. The last appearance he made in Pizza was in the ''Cracker Pizza'' episode, playing Crackerus in the last season of the series. He also had a part in the Australian comedy '' Swift and Shift Couriers'' as Louie "Luigi" Marietti. Both Pizza and Swift and Shift Couriers were created by Greco's good friend

Paul Fenech Paul Fenech (born 21 November 1972) is an Australian filmmaker, film and television actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for writing, directing, producing and starring in the television series ''Pizza'', '' Swift and Shift Co ...

. He played the Masked Wrestler Zarkos in ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...

''. In the movie Zarkos appears as one of N'Goo Tuana's henchmen, but later he sneaks up on Daphne and captures her and steals the Daemon Ritus from her. Later in the movie he tries to sneak up on Daphne and capture her again but instead they end up fighting; near the end of the fight, he grabs Daphne and throws her onto his back and puts her in a hold but she escapes and defeats him.

Personal life

On 23 March 2018, Greco suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

prior to and during his fighter Jimmy Crute competing in the Hex Fight Series and had

triple bypass Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage"), is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve Angina ...

surgery.

Titles and accomplishments

* 1999 K-1 World Grand Prix 3rd Place * 1999 W.A.K.O. Pro World Muay Thai Super Heavyweight Champion * 1995 The Best of the Best Tournament Champion * 1994 W.K.A. World Muay Thai Super Heavyweight Heavyweight Champion * 1994 Seidokaikan Karate World Cup Champion * 5 time Australian Kyokushin Karate Heavyweight Champion

Kickboxing record

, - bgcolor=#FFBBBB , 2003-10-11 , , Loss , , align=left, Peter Graham , , K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final Elimination , ,

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a populatio ...

, , TKO (Leg injury) , , 2 , , 0:30 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor=#FFBBBB , 2000-04-23 , , Loss , , align=left, Ernesto Hoost , , K-1 The Millennium , ,

, , TKO (corner stoppage) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor=#FFBBBB , 1999-12-05 , , Loss , , align=left,

Mirko Cro Cop Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a Croatian former professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro ...

, , K-1 Grand Prix '99 final round semi-finals , ,

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, , TKO (left low kick/two knockdowns) , , 2 , , 2:50 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1999-12-05 , , Win , , align=left, Ray Sefo , , K-1 Grand Prix '99 final round quarter-finals , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1999-10-05 , , Win , , align=left, Stefan Leko , , K-1 World Grand Prix '99 opening round , ,

, , Decision (majority) , , 3 , , 2:35 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor=#FFBBBB , 1999-07-18 , , Loss , , align=left, Peter Aerts , , K-1 Dream '99 , ,

Nagoya, Japan is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, , KO (right high kick) , , 2 , , 1:38 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1999-06-20 , , Win , , align=left, Mike Bernardo , , K-1 Braves '99 , , Fukuoka, Japan , , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#c5d2ea" , 1999-03-22 , , NC , , align=left, Samir Benazzouz , , K-1 The Challenge '99 , ,

, , No contest (Greco right leg injury) , , 2 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor=#FFBBBB , 1998-12-13 , , Loss , , align=left, Andy Hug , , K-1 Grand Prix '98 Final Round semi-finals , ,

, , Decision (majority) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1998-12-13 , , Win , , align=left, Ernesto Hoost , , K-1 Grand Prix '98 Final Round quarter-finals , ,

, , TKO (corner stoppage/cut) , , 2 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1998-09-27 , , Win , , align=left, Matt Skelton , , K-1 World Grand Prix '98 opening round , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1998-05-24 , , Win , , align=left, Carl Bernardo , , Crash at the Crown , ,

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

, , TKO , , 5 , , , - bgcolor=#FFBBBB , 1998-07-18 , , Loss , , align=left,

Jérôme Le Banner Jérôme Philippe Le Banner (; born December 26, 1972) is a French kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler. Le Banner fought for most of his career in K-1 and became known for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power. ...

, , K-1 Dream '98 , ,

, , KO (punch) , , 2 , , 2:07 , - bgcolor=#FFBBBB , 1997-11-09 , , Loss , , align=left, Francisco Filho , , K-1 Grand Prix '97 Final quarter final , ,

, , KO (right hook) , , 1 , , 0:15 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1997-09-07 , , Win , , align=left, Jean-Claude Leuyer , , K-1 Grand Prix '97 1st round , ,

, , KO (right hook) , , 2 , , 1:55 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1997-07-20 , , Win , , align=left,

Branko Cikatić Branko Cikatić (4 October 1955 – 22 March 2020) was a Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, the first Croatian-born fighter to achieve international success. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time. He ...

, , K-1 Dream '97 , ,

, , KO (right hooks) , , 1 , , 2:58 , - bgcolor=#c5d2ea , 1997-04-29 , , Draw , , align=left, Andy Hug , , K-1 Braves '97 , , Fukuoka, Japan , , Decision draw , , 5 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor=#c5d2ea , 1996-12-08 , , Draw , , align=left,

, ,

K-1 Hercules '96 This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a Japanese kickboxing promotion. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993, at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Since its inception, K-1 events were organized by the Fi ...

, ,

, , Decision draw , , 5 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1996-10-18 , , Win , , align=left, Gerry Harris , , K-1 Star Wars '96 , ,

Yokohama, Japan is the second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a population of 3.7 million in 2023. It lies on Tokyo B ...

, , TKO , , 1 , , 2:38 , - bgcolor=#c5d2ea , 1996-09-01 , , NC , , align=left, Musashi , ,

K-1 Revenge '96 This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a Japanese kickboxing promotion. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993, at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Since its inception, K-1 events were organized by the F ...

, ,

, , No contest , , 3 , , 0:22 , - bgcolor=#FFBBBB , 1996-05-06 , , Loss , , align=left, Musashi , , K-1 Grand Prix '96 quarter-finals , ,

, , TKO (doctor stoppage/broken toe) , , 1 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1996-03-10 , , Win , , align=left, Perry Telgt , , K-1 Grand Prix '96 Opening Battle , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1995-12-09 , , Win , , align=left, Duane Van Der Merwe , , K-1 Hercules , ,

, , KO (kick) , , 1 , , 1:24 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1995-10-22 , , Win , , align=left, Stan Longinidis , , The Best of the Best Tournament, Final , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1995-10-22 , , Win , , align=left, Ben Hamilton , , The Best of the Best Tournament, semi-finals , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1995-10-22 , , Win , , align=left, Sam Sweet , , The Best of the Best Tournament, quarter-finals , ,

, , KO , , 1 , , , - bgcolor=#FFBBBB , 1995-09-03 , , Loss , , align=left, Peter Aerts , , K-1 Revenge II , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1995-03-03 , , Win , , align=left, Vjatcheslav Soukhanov , , K-1 Grand Prix '95 Opening Battle , ,

, , KO (punch) , , 3 , , 1:33 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1994-12-10 , , Win , , align=left, Masaaki Satake , , K-1 Legend , ,

, , KO (right punch) , , 2 , , 1:27 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - , - bgcolor=#CCFFCC , 1994-05-22 , , Win , , align=left, Zennie Reynolds , , ISKA - The Showdown , ,

, , KO (high kick) , , 1 , , 1:43 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 3–1–1 , Shungo Oyama , KO (knees and punches) , Hero's 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:37 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1–1 , Heath Herring , TKO (knee injury) , Hero's 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:41 ,

Saitama, Saitama is the capital and largest Cities of Japan, city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Saitama, Urawa, Ōmiya, Saitama, Ōmiya, Yono, Saitama, Yono and Iwatsuki, Saitama, Iwatsuki. It is a Cities desig ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1–1 , Lyoto Machida , Decision (split) ,

K-1 MMA ROMANEX This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a Japanese kickboxing promotion. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993, at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Since its inception, K-1 events were organized by the ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0–1 , Stefan Gamlin , Submission (rear-naked choke) , K-1 Beast 2004 in Niigata , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:25 ,

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 0–0–1 , Masaaki Satake , Draw , Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan ,

References

External links

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Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greco, Sam Living people Martial artists from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Australian male karateka Australian male kickboxers Heavyweight kickboxers Australian male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Male actors from Melbourne Australian people of Italian descent Sportspeople of Italian descent 1967 births Mixed martial artists utilizing Kyokushin kaikan Mixed martial artists utilizing Seidokaikan Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Australian male professional wrestlers Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Melbourne Professional wrestlers who competed in MMA Australian men's soccer players National Soccer League (Australia) players Brunswick Zebras Football Club players People from Brunswick, Victoria 20th-century Australian sportsmen