Zuluzinho
| Zuluzinho | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wágner da Conceição Martins May 19, 1978 São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Weight | 390 lb (176.9 kg; 27.9 st) |
| Division | Super Heavyweight |
| Style | Vale Tudo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Team | B-Tough |
| Rank | purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2004 - present (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 15 |
| Wins | 8 |
| By knockout | 6 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 4 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Wágner da Conceição Martins (born May 19, 1978), better known as Zuluzinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [zuluˈziɲu]), is a Brazilian vale tudo fighter and mixed martial artist. He is the son of Vale Tudo legend Rei Zulu. Wagner was raised by his grandmother and works as a security guard in a number of reggae clubs in northern Brazil. Following in his father's footsteps, he trained in both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and vale tudo. Zuluzinho holds a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under black belt Cássio Façanha. He trained for over seven years with Vale Tudo fighter Richardinho.
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[edit] Record controversy
Zuluzinho reportedly compiled an undefeated Vale Tudo record of 38-0 (38 knockouts) in Brazil prior to his fight at Cage Warriors Strike Force 2 in England. However, all but two of those fights are unconfirmed.[1] In the December 2005 issue of Full-Contact Fighter, Marcelo Alfonso wrote that Zuluzinho started his MMA career in 2000 in the town of Teresina, near the city of Sao Luis, Brazil.[1]
[edit] Career highlights
Prior to fighting at Cage Warriors Strike Force 2 in England, Zuluzinhho knocked out Brazilian fighter James Adler in one round in an unsanctioned Vale Tudo match in Brazil. A video of the fight is available on the internet.
Zuluzihno was beaten after only 26 seconds of the first round in PRIDE Fighting Championships Shockwave 2005 event at the hands of world champion Fedor Emelianenko.
In the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix on May 5, 2006, he was defeated via armbar in the first round by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
His next fight was a loss against Eric "Butterbean" Esch at PRIDE 34 by Submission (kimura).
On December 31, 2007, Zuluzinho scored the biggest win of his career by stopping Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa in 3 rounds at K-1 in Japan.
He saw his winning streak snapped when he lost by 1st round TKO to Ibragim Magomedov at FightForce - Russia vs. The World on April 19, 2008.
On July 7, 2008, Zuluzinho was knocked out by fellow super heavyweight Guigao Guigao at DDG-Desafio de Gigantes 10. In the semi-final match, Zuluzinho's 63 year old father, Rei Zulu, lost by a disqualification to Santos Samurai.
Zulu faced rising star Geronimo "Mondragon" dos Santos on December 14, 2008. In this bout he landed a flurry of strikes early in the first round but was unable to finish dos Santos, and subsequently was knocked out in round 2.
One year later he returned to action with a win against Brazilian Top Team veteran Angelo Araujo [2].
In his most recent fight on Nov. 30, 2010, Zuluzinho lost in his second bout against Geronimo dos Santos via first round KO at Mr. Cage 4.
[edit] Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 15 matches | 8 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 3 |
| By submission | 1 | 4 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 13-7 |  Geronimo dos Santos |
KO (punches) | Mr. Cage 4 | November 30, 2010 | 1 | N/A | Manaus, Brazil | |
| Win | 13-6 | Douglas Humberto |
Decision (split) | Ilha Combat 3: Confrontation of Giants | April 9, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Sao Luis, Brazil | |
| Win | 12-6 | Angelo Araujo |
TKO (retirement) | Ilha Combat 2: Araujo vs. Zuluzinho | December 19, 2009 | 2 | 5:00 | Sao Luis, Brazil | |
| Loss | 11-6 | Geronimo dos Santos |
KO (punch) | Fusion Combat | December 14, 2008 | 2 | 0:22 | Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil | |
| Loss | 11-5 | Guilherme dos Anjos |
Submission (punches) | Desafio de Gigantes 10 | July 6, 2008 | 1 | 3:52 | Macapa, Brazil | |
| Loss | 11-4 |  Ibragim Magomedov |
TKO | fightFORCE: Russia vs. The World | April 19, 2008 | 1 | N/A | St. Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 11-3 |  Ikuhisa Minowa |
TKO (corner stoppage) | K-1 Premium 2007 Dynamite!! | December 31, 2007 | 3 | 2:13 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Win | 10-3 | Vladimir Kuchenko |
Submission (rear naked choke) | Bodog Fight: USA vs. Russia | November 30, 2007 | 1 | 2:14 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Loss | 9-3 |  Eric Esch |
Submission (keylock) | PRIDE 34 | April 8, 2007 | 1 | 2:35 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 9-2 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira |
Submission (armbar) | PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute | May 5, 2006 | 1 | 2:17 | Osaka, Japan | Opening Round of Pride 2006 Openweight Grand Prix |
| Loss | 9-1 | Fedor Emelianenko |
Submission (strikes) | PRIDE Shockwave 2005 | December 31, 2005 | 1 | 0:26 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 9-0 | Henry Miller |
TKO (knees) | PRIDE 30 | October 23, 2005 | 1 | 1:31 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 8-0 |  Rafal Dabrowski |
KO (punch) | Cage Warriors: Strike Force 2 | July 16, 2005 | 2 | 2:04 | Coventry, England | |
| Win | 7-0 | Fabio Black |
KO | World Combat 3 | May 13, 2005 | 1 | 1:20 | Sao Luis, Brazil | |
| Win | 6-0 | Junior Pitbull |
TKO (punches) | Desafio de Gigantes 2 | March 13, 2004 | 1 | 0:37 | Macapa, Brazil |
