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 Casemiro Nascimento Martins ("Rei Zulu").[1] 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 Ricardo "Ricardinho Bulldog" Candido Gomes, who also serves as his MMA coach.[2]
| Zuluzinho | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wágner da Conceição Martins May 19, 1978 São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil |
| Height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) |
| Weight | 390 lb (177 kg; 27 st 12 lb) |
| Division | Super Heavyweight |
| Style | Vale Tudo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Team | B-Tough |
| Rank | Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2004–2010, 2018–present (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 26 |
| Wins | 14 |
| By knockout | 12 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 11 |
| By knockout | 8 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Record controversy
editZuluzinho 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 five of those fights are unconfirmed.[3] In the December 2005 issue of Full-Contact Fighter, Marcelo Alonso wrote that Zuluzinho started his MMA career in 2000 in the town of Teresina, near the city of Sao Luis, Brazil.[2]
Career highlights
editZuluzinho 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 Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.
His next fight was a loss against Eric 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.[4]
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.[5]
On Nov. 30, 2010, Zuluzinho lost in his second bout against Geronimo dos Santos via first-round KO at Mr. Cage 4.
On June 2, 2018, Zuluzinho lost to Edvaldo de Oliveira via TKO at Imortal FC 9.
On February 23, 2021, Zuluzinho faced undefeated Russian Yusup Shuaev at AMC Fight Nights: Sochi. Despite dropping his opponent at the very end of a round and celebrating prematurely his win, Zuluzinho would go on to lose the bout via majority decision.[6]
Mixed martial arts record
edit| 27 matches | 14 wins | 12 losses |
| By knockout | 12 | 9 |
| By submission | 1 | 2 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 14–12 (1) | Serigne Ousmane Dia | TKO (punches) | MMA Attack 4: #Comback | September 24, 2022 | 1 | 0:42 | Będzin, Poland | |
| Loss | 14–11 (1) | Petr Romankevich | KO (knee) | AMC Fight Nights 114 | September 3, 2022 | 1 | 4:53 | Minsk, Belarus | |
| Loss | 14–10 (1) | Yusup Shuaev | Decision (majority) | AMC Fight Nights: Sochi | February 23, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Sochi, Russia | |
| Win | 14–9 (1) | Aleksandar Aleksic | TKO (punches) | Megdan Fighting 6 | December 9, 2019 | 1 | 3:18 | Belgrade, Serbia | |
| Win | 13–9 (1) | Marko Djordevic | TKO (punches) | Megdan Fighting 5 | June 27, 2019 | 1 | 0:53 | Sremska Mitrovica | [7] |
| Win | 12–9 (1) | Aleksandar Aleksic | TKO (punches) | Megdan Fighting 4 | March 15, 2019 | 1 | 0:23 | Novi Sad, Serbia | |
| Loss | 11–9 (1) | Edvaldo de Oliveira | TKO (retirement) | Imortal FC 9 | June 2, 2018 | 1 | 5:00 | Sao Luis, Brazil | [8] |
| Loss | 11–8 (1) | Geronimo dos Santos | KO (punches) | Mr. Cage 4 | November 30, 2010 | 1 | N/A | Manaus, Brazil | |
| Win | 11–7 (1) | Douglas Humberto | Decision (split) | Ilha Combat 3: Confrontation of Giants | April 9, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Sao Luis, Brazil | |
| Win | 10–7 (1) | Angelo Araujo | TKO (retirement) | Ilha Combat 2: Araujo vs. Zuluzinho | December 19, 2009 | 2 | 5:00 | Sao Luis, Brazil | |
| Loss | 9–7 (1) | Geronimo dos Santos | KO (punch) | Fusion Combat | December 14, 2008 | 2 | 0:22 | Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil | |
| Loss | 9–6 (1) | Guilherme dos Anjos | TKO (submission to punches) | Desafio de Gigantes 10 | July 6, 2008 | 1 | 3:52 | Macapa, Brazil | |
| Loss | 9–5 (1) | Ibragim Magomedov | TKO (punches) | fightFORCE: Russia vs. The World | April 19, 2008 | 1 | N/A | St. Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 9–4 (1) | Ikuhisa Minowa | TKO (corner stoppage) | K-1 Premium 2007 Dynamite!! | December 31, 2007 | 3 | 2:13 | Osaka, Japan | |
| Win | 8–4 (1) | Vladimir Kuchenko | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Bodog Fight: USA vs. Russia | November 30, 2007 | 1 | 2:14 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Loss | 7–4 (1) | Guilherme dos Anjos | TKO (retirement) | Desafio de Gigantes 8 | November 1, 2007 | 2 | 3:50 | Macapa, Brazil | |
| Loss | 7–3 (1) | Butterbean | Submission (americana) | PRIDE 34 | April 8, 2007 | 1 | 2:35 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 7–2 (1) | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | Submission (armbar) | Pride FC - Total Elimination Absolute | May 5, 2006 | 1 | 2:17 | Osaka, Japan | 2006 Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix Opening Round. |
| Loss | 7–1 (1) | Fedor Emelianenko | TKO (submission to punches) | Pride FC: Shockwave 2005 | December 31, 2005 | 1 | 0:26 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 7–0 (1) | Henry Miller | TKO (knees) | Pride 30: Fully Loaded | October 23, 2005 | 1 | 1:31 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 6–0 (1) | Rafal Dabrowski | KO (punch) | CWFC: Strike Force 2 | July 16, 2005 | 2 | 2:04 | Coventry, England | |
| NC | 5–0 (1) | Kleber Ranieri Jansen | NC (both fighters fell from ring) | Desafio de Gigantes 4 | May 20, 2005 | 1 | N/A | Macapa, Brazil | |
| Win | 5–0 | Fabio Black | KO (strikes) | World Combat 3 | May 13, 2005 | 1 | 1:20 | Sao Luis, Brazil | |
| Win | 4–0 | Junior Pitbull | TKO (punches) | Desafio de Gigantes 2 | March 13, 2004 | 1 | 0:37 | Macapa, Brazil | |
| Win | 3–0 | James Adler | KO (punches) | Main Event Vale Tudo | 2004 | 1 | N/A | Itapeua, Brazil | Vale Tudo. |
| Win | 2–0 | James Adler | KO (punches) | Main Event Vale Tudo | 2004 | 1 | N/A | Itapeua, Brazil | Vale Tudo. |
| Win | 1–0 | Carlos Andino | KO (punches) | Main Event Vale Tudo | November 4, 2003 | 1 | N/A | Itapeua, Brazil | Vale Tudo. |
References
edit- ^ Cruz, Guilherme (6 September 2022). "Zuluzinho 'shocked' by standup rule that led to brutal knockout, still plans to fight in late-September". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ a b Alonso, Marcelo. ""I Can Beat the Champion Fedor," Says Zuluzinho; Brazilian Behemoth Prepares for Fight of His Life". Full Contact Fighter. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
- ^ "AGNER DA CONCEICAO MARTINS : "ZULUZINHO"". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
- ^ Monty DiPietro (January 1, 2008). "Sakuraba Still Dynamite!!". Onthemat. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ^ "Zuluzinho uses his 440 pounds to beat Angelo". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ^ Newswire, MMA Fighting (23 February 2021). "Video: Zuluzinho celebrates prematurely after early knockdown, ends up losing decision". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Zuluzinho vs. Marko Djordevic Megdan 5 youtube.com retrieved July 11, 2019
- ^ "Video: Referee can't stop wild brawl in Brazil; Zuluzinho returns". 3 June 2018.