On September 26, 1991 Alliance leader Fabio Gurgel fought his first MMA fight almost twenty-two years to the date. Now an eight-time black belt world champion and co-leader of a dominating Jiu-Jitsu team, at the time he had been a black belt for almost two years after becoming the first to receive such promotion from Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti. Perhaps the only reason he wasn’t a world champion in that time was because the first IBJJF World Championship was in 1996.
Despite being one of the best Jiu-Jitsu competitors at the time and even the head instructor of his own academy, his win didn’t come from a submission. At 9:55 of the first round he defeated his opponent Denilson Maia TKO.
Check out the match below and see a pre-Alliance Gurgel fight his first luta livre challenge:
