Gesias Cavalcante (born July 6, 1983) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. He was the 2006 and 2007 K-1 HERO Middleweight Champion, and has also fought for Strikeforce, DREAM, Shooto, World Series of Fighting, and Cage Rage. Cavalcante also participated in the Dynamite!! USA event.

Gesias Cavalcante
Born (1983-07-06) July 6, 1983 (age 41)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Other namesJZ
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
DivisionLightweight
StyleLuta Livre, BJJ, Kickboxing
Fighting out ofDeerfield Beach, Florida, United States
TeamFight Sports Deerfield Beach
RankBlack Belt in Luta Livre
Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Years active2003–present
Kickboxing record
Total2
Losses2
Mixed martial arts record
Total37
Wins22
By knockout7
By submission10
By decision5
Losses12
By knockout6
By submission1
By decision5
Draws1
No contests2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Mixed martial arts career

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While Cavalcante is primarily an MMA fighter, he made his K-1 debut fighting against Masato in the 2007 World Max tournament, losing via decision.[1]

On September 17, 2007, Cavalcante won the K-1 HERO'S' 2007 Middleweight (70 kg) tournament by defeating Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Vítor Ribeiro by TKO in the first round and Andre Amade by submission via armbar in the finals.

Cavalcante had agreed to fight former PRIDE Fighting Championship Lightweight standout Shinya Aoki at Yarennoka! but withdrew from the fight due to a knee ligament injury. The match was rescheduled for March 15, 2008, at Dream 1 to kick off the new DREAM promotion at the Saitama Super Arena.

Early in the first round, the referee stopped the action when Cavalcante apparently landed illegal elbow strikes to the back of Aoki's neck. The ringside doctor announced that Aoki was unable to continue due to the injury and Cavalcante apologized for the incident.[2] The fight resulted in a no contest. Elbow strikes to the neck and spine area are illegal under DREAM rules. Aoki was later found to have sustained concussion of the cervical vertebra.[3]

They had their rematch on April 29, 2008, at Dream 2. Cavalcante was defeated by Aoki by unanimous decision.[4] However, he sustained a severely bruised rib and tore cartilage in his costal area during the match.[3]

Cavalcante's next fight was set to be against Joachim Hansen at Dynamite!! 2008 on December 31, 2008, but the bout was canceled the day of the event due to Hansen not passing pre-fight medicals and subsequently being hospitalized for a "head injury".[5]

Strikeforce

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Cavalcante signed a 4-fight deal with Strikeforce in June 2010. He made his debut against former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson, losing by a controversial unanimous decision.[6]

Cavalcante's next fight was against lightweight prospect Justin Wilcox at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum. The fight ended in a no contest after Cavalcante poked Wilcox's eye.

Cavalcante fought Bobby Green on July 30, 2011, at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson.[7] He won the fight via split decision.

On the 19th of May 2012, he lost a split decision to Isaac Vallie-Flagg at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier and was subsequently released from Strikeforce.

On June 30, 2012, Cavalcante was knocked out for the first time in his seven-year career by Luis Palomino at CFA 07 in Coral Gables, Florida.

Kickboxing

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He competed at the Shoot Boxing World Tournament 2012 in Tokyo, Japan on November 17, 2012.[8] The Shoot Boxing World Tournament, or "S-Cup", is an eight-man, 70 kg/154 lb standing vale tudo tournament that combines striking, throws and submissions held by the Shoot Boxing Association once every two years. Cavalcante was drawn against Hiroki Shishido at the quarter-final stage and lost by majority decision.[9][10][11]

He signed with the Glory kickboxing promotion in August 2013.[12][13] Cavalcante was set to face Steve Moxon at Glory 11: Chicago - Heavyweight World Championship Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, US on October 12, 2013[14] but withdrew due to a lingering hand injury and was replaced by Reece McAllister.[15]

World Series of Fighting

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Cavalcante faced off against UFC veteran TJ O'Brien at WSOF 1: Arlovski vs. Cole. He won by submission due to an Achilles lock only 63 seconds into the fight.

JZ next fought undefeated Justin Gaethje at WSOF 2. Cavalcante suffered a deep cut on the hairline due to a knee from Gaethje that forced the referee to stop the fight at 2:27 of the opening round.

In his third fight for the promotion, Cavalcante took on Strikeforce and 14 time UFC veteran Tyson Griffin at WSOF 4. After a back and forth fight, early in the third round Cavalcante took down an exhausted Griffin and proceeded to land a barrage of undefended punches from the back mount thus winning the fight via TKO.

Cavalcante was scheduled to rematch Justin Gaethje for the inaugural WSOF Lightweight Championship at WSOF 8 on January 18, 2014, in Hollywood, Florida, but pulled out due to an undisclosed injury.

Cavalcante faced Melvin Guillard on July 5, 2014, at WSOF 11.[16] He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

Hawn came out of retirement to face Rick Hawn on October 21, 2022, at Combat FC 2. He won the bout via guillotine choke in the second round.[17]

Grappling career

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Cavalcante competed at the IBJJF Miami Open on April 29 and 30, 2023 where he won a silver medal in the absolute division.[18]

He competed against Leonardo Silva in a superfight at Blue Collar FC: American Dream Conference on September 1, 2023 and won the match by submission.[19]

Cavalcante competed at the IBJJF Miami Fall Open on November 5, 2023, winning a gold medal in the master 2 middleweight division.[20]

Cavalcante competed against Gregor Gracie at Pit Submission Series 3 on March 23, 2024.[21] He lost the match by submission.[22] He then won a bronze medal in the no gi middleweight division of the IBJJF Fort Lauderdale Open 2024 on October 20th, 2024.[23]

Cavalcante competed against Piter Frank in the co-main event of ADXC 7 on November 17, 2024.[24] He won the match by decision.[25]

Championships and accomplishments

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Kickboxing record

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Kickboxing record
0 wins (0 KOs), 2 losses, 0 draws
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record
2012-11-17 Loss   Hiroki Shishido Shoot Boxing World Tournament 2012, Quarter Finals Tokyo, Japan Decision (majority) 3 3:00 0-2
2007-06-28 Loss   Masato K-1 World MAX 2007 World Tournament Final Elimination, First Round Tokyo, Japan Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00 0-1
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
37 matches 22 wins 12 losses
By knockout 7 6
By submission 10 1
By decision 5 5
Draws 1
No contests 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 22–12–1 (2) Rick Hawn Submission (guillotine choke) Combat FC 2 October 21, 2022 2 3:41 Wilmington, Massachusetts, United States Return to Welterweight.
Loss 21–12–1 (2) Erivan Pereira TKO (punches) Brave CF 11 April 13, 2018 2 2:21 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Loss 21–11–1 (2) Alan Omer TKO (punches) Brave CF 9: The Kingdom of Champions November 17, 2017 3 3:30 Isa Town, Bahrain
Loss 21–10–1 (2) Kurt Holobaugh TKO (punches) Titan FC 44 May 19, 2017 4 2:45 Pembroke Pines, Florida For the interim Titan FC Lightweight Championship
Win 21–9–1 (2) Robert Turnquest Decision (unanimous) Titan FC 42 December 2, 2016 3 5:00 Coral Gables, Florida Catchweight (160 lb) bout.
Loss 20–9–1 (2) Freddy Assuncao Technical Submission (guillotine choke) Titan FC 40: Cavalcante vs. Assuncao August 5, 2016 4 0:24 Coral Gables, Florida Lost Titan FC Lightweight Championship
Win 20–8–1 (2) Pat Healy KO (punches) Titan FC 39: Cavalcante vs. Healy June 10, 2016 1 2:07 Coral Gables, Florida Won Titan FC Lightweight Championship
Win 19–8–1 (2) Gele Qing Submission (unknown) KFU: Kungfu Union September 21, 2014 1 N/A Dalian, China Catchweight (175 lb) bout.
Loss 18–8–1 (2) Melvin Guillard TKO (punches and elbows) WSOF 11 July 5, 2014 2 2:36 Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Win 18–7–1 (2) Tyson Griffin TKO (punches) WSOF 4 August 10, 2013 3 1:37 Ontario, California, United States
Loss 17–7–1 (2) Justin Gaethje TKO (doctor stoppage) WSOF 2 March 23, 2013 1 2:27 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Due to a cut.
Win 17–6–1 (2) TJ O'Brien Submission (Achilles lock) WSOF 1 November 3, 2012 1 1:03 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 16–6–1 (2) Luis Palomino KO (punches) CFA 07: Never Give Up June 30, 2012 3 1:41 Coral Gables, Florida, United States
Loss 16–5–1 (2) Isaac Vallie-Flagg Decision (split) Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier May 19, 2012 3 5:00 San Jose, California, United States
Win 16–4–1 (2) Bobby Green Decision (split) Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson July 30, 2011 3 5:00 Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States
NC 15–4–1 (2) Justin Wilcox NC (accidental eye poke) Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum June 18, 2011 2 0:31 Dallas, Texas, United States Cavalcante poked Wilcox in the eye.
Loss 15–4–1 (1) Josh Thomson Decision (unanimous) Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II October 9, 2010 3 5:00 San Jose, California, United States
Win 15–3–1 (1) Katsunori Kikuno Decision (split) Dream 15 July 10, 2010 2 5:00 Saitama, Japan
Loss 14–3–1 (1) Tatsuya Kawajiri Decision (unanimous) Dream 9 May 26, 2009 2 5:00 Yokohama, Japan
Loss 14–2–1 (1) Shinya Aoki Decision (unanimous) Dream 2: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 First Round April 29, 2008 2 5:00 Saitama, Japan
NC 14–1–1 (1) Shinya Aoki NC (illegal elbows) Dream 1: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 First Round March 15, 2008 1 3:46 Saitama, Japan Lightweight GP Opening Round; Aoki injured via illegal downward elbows to the back of the head.
Win 14–1–1 Andre Amade Submission (armbar) Hero's 10 September 17, 2007 1 4:48 Yokohama, Japan Hero's 2007 Lightweight Grand Prix final.
Win 13–1–1 Vítor Ribeiro TKO (punches) 1 0:35 Hero's 2007 Lightweight Grand Prix semi-final.
Win 12–1–1 Nam Phan TKO (punches) Dynamite!! USA June 2, 2007 1 0:26 Los Angeles, California, United States Return to Lightweight.
Win 11–1–1 Caol Uno Decision (majority) Hero's 7 October 9, 2006 2 5:00 Yokohama, Japan Hero's 2006 Welterweight (165 lb) Grand Prix final.
Win 10–1–1 Rani Yahya Submission (guillotine choke) 1 0:39 Hero's 2006 Welterweight (165 lb) Grand Prix semi-final.
Win 9–1–1 Hiroyuki Takaya KO (flying knee) Hero's 6 August 5, 2006 1 0:30 Tokyo, Japan Hero's 2006 Welterweight (165 lb) Grand Prix quarter-final.
Win 8–1–1 Hidetaka Monma TKO (punches) Hero's 5 May 3, 2006 1 2:08 Tokyo, Japan Hero's 2006 Welterweight (165 lb) Grand Prix opening round.
Win 7–1–1 Michihiro Omigawa KO (punches) Cage Rage 14 December 3, 2005 1 0:49 London, England, United Kingdom
Draw 6–1–1 Ryan Schultz Draw SF 11: Rumble at the Rose Garden July 9, 2005 3 5:00 Portland, Oregon, United States
Win 6–1 Henry Matamoros Decision (unanimous) HOOKnSHOOT: The Return April 2, 2005 3 5:00 Evansville, Indiana, United States Won Shooto Americas Welterweight Championship[26]
Win 5–1 Cengiz Dana Submission (guillotine choke) Cage Warriors 9: Xtreme Xmas December 18, 2004 3 4:55 Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Win 4–1 Bart Palaszewski Submission (guillotine choke) IHC 8: Ethereal November 20, 2004 1 1:03 Hammond, Indiana, United States
Win 3–1 Sebastian Korschilgen Submission (kimura) Shooto: Switzerland 2 September 4, 2004 1 N/A Zurich, Switzerland
Loss 2–1 Joachim Hansen Decision (majority) Shooto: 7/16 in Korakuen Hall July 16, 2004 3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 2–0 Brad Mohler Submission (achilles lock) HOOKnSHOOT: Live March 27, 2004 1 1:32 Evansville, Indiana, United States
Win 1–0 Justin Wiesniewski Submission (guillotine choke) AFC 7 February 27, 2004 1 1:53 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

Submission grappling record

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 ? Matches, ? Wins, ? Losses, ? Draws
Result Rec. Opponent Method Event Date Location
Win 6–3–2   Vinicius de Jesus Rear Naked Choke Combat Jiu-Jitsu Worlds June 6, 2021 Cancún, Mexico
Win 5–3–2   Tom Gallicchio Arm Triangle Choke Combat Jiu-Jitsu Worlds June 6, 2021 Cancún, Mexico
Win 4–3–2   Saul Viayra Heel Hook Subversiv 5 May 1, 2021 Miami, United States
Loss 3–3–2   Jason Rau Decision Fight 2 Win 161 January 21, 2021 Miami, United States
Win 3–2–2   Justin Renick Decision Fight 2 Win 160 January 16, 2021 Miami, United States
Win 2–2–2   Nick Ronan Decision Fight 2 Win 157 November 14, 2020 Philadelphia, United States
Loss 1–2–2   Nicky Ryan Inside Heel Hook SubStars: Poirier vs. Tonon February 21, 2020 Miami, United States
Draw 1–1–2   Anthony Smith Decision Quintet Ultra December 12, 2019 Las Vegas, United States
Draw 1–1–1   Chad Mendes Decision Quintet Ultra December 12, 2019 Las Vegas, United States
Win 1–1–0   Jorge Patino Guillotine Choke Kasai Super Series Orlando July 4, 2019 Orlando, United States
Loss 0–1–0   Alireza Noei Decision · Points SFT 9 January 19, 2019 São Paulo, Brazil

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Yu, Al (June 2, 2007). "Cavalcante Looks To Impress In L.A." MMAWeekly.com.
  2. ^ "- DREAM.1 REVIEW: JZ VS. AOKI a NO CONTEST - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more". Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Latest UFC, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) News and Results". Sherdog.
  4. ^ "DREAM.2 Results". Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  5. ^ "K-1 'Dynamite 2008' Play-by-Play". Sherdog.
  6. ^ "Report: "JZ" Cavalcante Signs 4 Fight Deal With Strikeforce". ifight365.com. 13 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Gesias Cavalcante vs. Lyle Beerbohm slated for "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson"". mmajunkie.com. 2011-07-07. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  8. ^ Dave Walsh (5 February 2020). "Gesias Cavalcante Completes 2012 S-Cup Field". liverkick.com.
  9. ^ Dave Walsh (5 February 2020). "S-Cup Update: Tournament Field Settled, Quarterfinal Matchups Announced". liverkick.com.
  10. ^ Dave Walsh (4 July 2018). "Hinata vs. Ristie Rematch, Imada vs. Abdollahi Complete S-Cup Fight Card". liverkick.com.
  11. ^ Dave Walsh (4 November 2018). "S-Cup 2012: Andy Souwer Wins 4th S-Cup". liverkick.com.
  12. ^ Dave Walsh (5 February 2020). "GLORY Announces the Signing of Hesdy Gerges, Ben Edwards and JZ Cavalcante". liverkick.com.
  13. ^ "Glory signs Hesdy Gerges, Ben Edwards, and Gesias Cavalcante - Muay Thai Authority". muaythaiauthority.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2013-08-06.
  14. ^ "GLORY 11 CHICAGO - New Fights Confirmed". gloryworldseries.com.
  15. ^ "Three New Fights Confirmed for GLORY 11 CHICAGO". gloryworldseries.com.
  16. ^ Henderson, Jason (3 May 2014). "Melvin Guillard Vs JZ Cavalcante Set For WSOF 11". Fight of the Night. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  17. ^ Cowboy, Combat (2022-10-29). "Combat FC 2 - Recapping all the action". New England MMA. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  18. ^ "Action All Round At The IBJJF Miami Open 2023". JitsMagazine. May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Blue Collar FC: American Dream Conference Full Results And Review". Jitsmagazine. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  20. ^ "BJJ And MMA Legends Compete At IBJJF Miami Fall Open 2023". Jitsmagazine. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  21. ^ de Souza, Diogo (20 March 2024). "Lineup Announced For Pit Submission Series 3". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Pit Submission Series 3 Full Results And Review". Jits Magazine. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  23. ^ "IBJJF Brings Action Around The World In Fort Lauderdale And Rio Spring Opens 2024". Jits Magazine. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  24. ^ "ADXC 7 Full Card Preview". Jits Magazine. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  25. ^ "ADXC 7 Full Results And Highlights". Jits Magazine. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  26. ^ a b Saalbach, Axel. "Shooto Americas Welterweight Title @ Wrestlingdata.com". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
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