Jorge Santiago
Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter
Jorge Santiago Rodrigues (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒɔʁʒi sɐ̃tʃiˈaɡu] mixed martial artist . He was the first Sengoku Middleweight Champion and is the former Strikeforce Middleweight Grand Prix Champion . He has also competed for the UFC , King of the Cage , Titan FC , It's Showtime , and BodogFIGHT.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Santiago started his mixed martial arts career at Reality Fighting 2 in 2002 with a win over Jose Rodriguez. In the following years Santago fought for Absolute Fighting Championships, King of the Cage , and a few other small organizations earning an 11–5 record.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In 2006 he signed with Ultimate Fighting Championships, where he competed three times. He won his UFC debut at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5 against Justin Levens by first round KO . He returned at UFC Fight Night 6 and UFC Fight Night 7 , losing by KO to former WEC Middleweight Champion , Chris Leben in the second round and to Alan Belcher by KO in the third round. He then left the UFC.
Strikeforce
In his first fight after leaving the UFC, Santiago was victorious against Andrei Semenov at the Bodog Fight: Clash of the Nations show in Russia. In his next fight he had to deal with longtime veteran Jeremy Horn and submitted Horn in the first round.
The next challenge for Santiago was the Strikeforce Middleweight tournament on November 16, 2007. Competing in the tournament as the underdog, Santiago won the Grand Prix by defeating Sean Salmon and Trevor Prangley on the same night.
Sengoku
Continuing on his path of success, Santiago became Middleweight Champion , by defeating Yuki Sasaki , Logan Clark , Siyar Bahadurzada , and Kazuhiro Nakamura . The last two fights were on the same night.
Santiago was then crowned World Victory Road 's first Middleweight Champion by defeating the acclaimed Kazuo Misaki at World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku no Ran 2009 .
He was set to face former UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Champion and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion , Vitor Belfort at Affliction: Trilogy , but the match was scrapped after the cancellation of the event.
Santiago then fought at World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 11 against current KSW Middleweight Champion , Mamed Khalidov in a non-title bout. Khalidov won by first round knockout; Santiago's first loss since 2006.[ 2]
Santiago defended his title for a second time when he defeated Kazuo Misaki via TKO at Sengoku 14 in August 2010.
Return to UFC
On February 8, 2011, Santiago requested and was granted his release from World Victory Road . On February 16, he signed a multi-fight contract to return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship .[ 3]
Santiago lost in his UFC return to former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann at UFC 130 via TKO in the second round.
Santiago then lost by unanimous decision to Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Demian Maia at UFC 136 .[ 4]
Following the loss to Maia, Santiago was released from the promotion.[ 5]
Post-UFC
On March 2, 2012, Santiago won his return fight, knocking out Leonardo Pecanha with a straight right at 1:48 in the first round at Titan Fighting Championships 21 [ 6]
Strikeforce
Santiago was re-signed by Strikeforce (now owned by the UFC 's parent company Zuffa, LLC ) in August 2012, where he was expected to drop to Welterweight for a bout with former King of the Cage Welterweight Champion Quinn Mulhern at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy on September 29, 2012.[ 7] Gilbert Melendez , and the Santiago/Mulhern bout was not rescheduled before Strikeforce's closure and absorption into the UFC in January 2013.
Third UFC Stint
Already signed with Strikeforce, and following his own back-to-back wins outside the organization, Santiago was called back to the UFC to take on Gunnar Nelson in a welterweight bout on February 16, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald , replacing an injured Justin Edwards .[ 8] [ 9]
World Series of Fighting
Santiago signed with World Series of Fighting in 2013 and made his promotional debut on August 10, 2013 against Gerald Harris at WSOF 4 . The bout had a confusing first round where Harris slammed Santiago and Harris believed he had tapped. However, the referee was stopping the action to deduct a point from Santiago for blatantly grabbing the cage during Harris' slam. Following the confusion, the fight continued and Santiago would go on to lose via unanimous decision.
Jorge Santiago announced on Dec. 14, 2013 to Ariel Helwani that he has retired from MMA competition.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu lineage
Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Carlson Gracie → Ricardo Liborio → Jorge Santiago
Personal life
Santiago is married. He has a daughter from a previous relationship.[ 10]
Championships and achievements
Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
37 matches
25 wins
12 losses
By knockout
10
6
By submission
13
0
By decision
2
6
Res.
Record
Opponent
Method
Event
Date
Round
Time
Location
Notes
Loss
25–12
Gerald Harris
Decision (unanimous)
WSOF 4
August 10, 2013
3
5:00
Ontario, California , United States
Loss
25–11
Gunnar Nelson
Decision (unanimous)
UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald
February 16, 2013
3
5:00
London, England , United Kingdom
Win
25–10
Justin Guthrie
Submission (inverted heel hook)
TFC 23
June 15, 2012
1
1:34
Fort Riley, Kansas , United States
Win
24–10
Leonardo Pecanha
KO (punches)
TFC 21
March 2, 2012
1
1:48
Kansas City, Kansas , United States
Loss
23–10
Demian Maia
Decision (unanimous)
UFC 136
October 8, 2011
3
5:00
Houston, Texas , United States
Loss
23–9
Brian Stann
KO (punches)
UFC 130
May 28, 2011
2
4:29
Las Vegas, Nevada , United States
Fight of the Night
Win
23–8
Kazuo Misaki
TKO (corner stoppage)
World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 14
August 22, 2010
5
4:31
Tokyo , Japan
Defended Sengoku Middleweight Championship; Fight of the Year
Win
22–8
Mamed Khalidov
Decision (split)
World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 12
March 7, 2010
5
5:00
Tokyo , Japan
Defended Sengoku Middleweight Championship
Loss
21–8
Mamed Khalidov
KO (punches)
World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 11
November 7, 2009
1
2:45
Tokyo , Japan
Non title fight
Win
21–7
Kazuo Misaki
Technical Submission (rear-naked choke)
World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku no Ran 2009
January 4, 2009
5
3:26
Saitama , Japan
Won Sengoku Middleweight Championship
Win
20–7
Kazuhiro Nakamura
KO (punches)
World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 6
November 1, 2008
3
0:49
Saitama , Japan
Sengoku Middleweight Grandprix 2008 Final Round
Win
19–7
Siyar Bahadurzada
Submission (heel hook)
World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 6
November 1, 2008
1
1:10
Saitama , Japan
Sengoku Middleweight Grandprix 2008 Semifinal Round
Win
18–7
Logan Clark
Submission (arm-triangle choke)
World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 5
September 28, 2008
2
3:55
Tokyo , Japan
Sengoku Middleweight Grandprix 2008 Opening Round
Win
17–7
Yuki Sasaki
Submission (armbar)
World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 2
May 18, 2008
3
2:10
Tokyo , Japan
Win
16–7
Trevor Prangley
TKO (knee to the body)
Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives
November 16, 2007
1
2:31
San Jose, California , United States
Won Strikeforce Middleweight Grand Prix Final
Win
15–7
Sean Salmon
KO (flying knee)
Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives
November 16, 2007
1
0:24
San Jose, California , United States
Strikeforce Middleweight Grand Prix Semifinal
Win
14–7
Jeremy Horn
Submission (triangle choke)
Art of War 3: Monson vs. Rizzo
September 1, 2007
1
3:02
Dallas, Texas , United States
Win
13–7
Andrei Semenov
TKO (punches)
Bodog Fight: Clash of the Nations
April 14, 2007
2
4:48
St. Petersburg , Russia
Loss
12–7
Alan Belcher
KO (head kick)
UFC Fight Night: Sanchez vs. Riggs
December 13, 2006
3
2:45
San Diego, California , United States
Loss
12–6
Chris Leben
KO (punch)
UFC Fight Night 6
August 17, 2006
2
0:35
Las Vegas, Nevada , United States
Win
12–5
Justin Levens
KO (knee and punches)
UFC Fight Night 5
June 28, 2006
1
2:13
Las Vegas, Nevada , United States
Win
11–5
Thomas Russell
Submission (armbar)
Fightfest 3
May 6, 2006
1
1:59
Youngstown, Ohio , United States
Win
10–5
Sydney Machado
TKO (punches)
Costa Rica: Fights 3
December 2, 2005
2
0:49
Costa Rica
Win
9–5
Leopoldo Serao
TKO (punches)
Full Throttle 5
November 4, 2005
1
0:43
Georgia , United States
Loss
8–5
Joey Villaseñor
Decision (unanimous)
KOTC 58: Prime Time
August 5, 2005
3
5:00
San Jacinto, California , United States
For King of the Cage Middleweight Championship
Loss
8–4
Jordan Radev
Decision (unanimous)
It's Showtime: Amsterdam Arena
June 12, 2005
2
5:00
Amsterdam , Holland
Debut at Middleweight
Win
8–3
Chris Liguori
Submission (rear-naked choke)
Euphoria: USA vs World
February 26, 2005
1
3:27
Atlantic City, New Jersey , United States
Loss
7–3
Diego Sanchez
Decision (unanimous)
KOTC 37: Unfinished Business
June 12, 2004
3
5:00
San Jacinto, California , United States
For King of the Cage Welterweight Championship
Win
7–2
Takuya Wada
Submission (armbar)
Absolute Fighting Championships 7
February 27, 2004
1
1:52
Fort Lauderdale, Florida , United States
Win
6–2
John Cronk
Submission (armbar)
KOTC 32: Bringing Heat
January 24, 2004
2
0:54
Miami, Florida , United States
Loss
5–2
Keith Wisniewski
KO (punches)
Absolute Fighting Championships 6
December 6, 2003
3
2:14
Fort Lauderdale, Florida , United States
Win
5–1
LaVerne Clark
Submission (triangle choke)
Hardcore Fighting Championships 2
October 18, 2003
1
2:17
Revere, Massachusetts , United States
Win
4–1
Derrick Noble
Decision (unanimous)
Absolute Fighting Championships 5
September 5, 2003
2
5:00
Fort Lauderdale, Florida , United States
Loss
3–1
Manny Gamburyan
KO (punch)
KOTC 27: Aftermath
August 10, 2003
1
0:21
San Jacinto, California , United States
Win
3–0
Justin Wieman
Submission (triangle choke)
Absolute Fighting Championships 4
July 19, 2003
1
4:11
Fort Lauderdale, Florida , United States
Win
2–0
Jay Martin
KO (punches)
HOOKnSHOOT: Boot Camp 1.1
March 8, 2003
1
0:14
Evansville, Indiana , United States
Win
1–0
Jose Rodriguez
Submission (knees)
Reality Fighting 2
November 2, 2002
1
1:16
Wildwood, New Jersey , United States
References
^ T.P. Grant (June 19, 2012). "Judo Chop: Jorge Santiago's Inverted Heel Hook From Open Guard" . bloodyelbow.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019 . ^ "Jorge Santiago to face Mamed Khalidov in "Sengoku 11th Battle" non-title affair" . MMAjunkie. Archived from the original on 2009-10-16.^ Ken Pishna (2011-02-16). "Jorge Santiago Signs Multi-Fight Contract For UFC Return" . MMAWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-08-12 . ^ "Demian Maia meets Jorge Santiago at UFC 136" . mmajunkie.com. July 15, 2011. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013.^ "Jorge Santiago Released by the UFC" . 18 October 2011.^ "Jorge Santiago Vs Leonardo Pecanha set to headline TFC 21 | MMA Matrix" . www.mmamatrix.net . Archived from the original on 2012-03-20.^ Mike Whitman (August 23, 2012). "Thomson-Fodor, Santiago-Mulhern, Two Other Bouts Added to Strikeforce 'Melendez vs. Healy' . sherdog.com. ^ Staff (January 23, 2013). "Justin Edwards out, Jorge Santiago in against Gunnar Nelson at UFC on FUEL TV 7" . mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. ^ MMAjunkie.com Staff (February 20, 2013). "UFC releases Jon Fitch, Vladimir Matyushenko, 14 others" . mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. ^ "Jorge Santiago on life in the USA and getting back to the UFC" . Fightersonlymagazine.com. August 9, 2010. Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2011 .
External links
