Quick Facts
Biography
Murilo Bustamante (Portuguese pronunciation: [muˈɾilu buʃtɐˈmɐ̃tʃi]; born July 30, 1966 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion. He is one of the founders of the Brazilian Top Team and is the current leader. In addition to competing for the UFC, he has also fought in PRIDE, making it to the Pride Shockwave 2005 Final, and also fought in Yarennoka!
Background
Bustamante was born in coastal Rio de Janeiro and originally had dreams of professional surfing, but began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu soon after having his first fight when he was 10 years old. Bustamante began officially competing when he was 15 years old, before adding judo, and then began boxing when he was 18. Bustamante is a black belt under the renowned Carlson Gracie. He has won numerous world titles in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which includes the World Championships of Jiu-Jitsu.
Instructor lineage
Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Carlson Gracie → Murilo Bustamante
Sports accomplishments
Murilo's grappling accomplishments include Championships at the World Class level, as well as appearances at the ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he has won The Mundials World Championships in 1999 and has won the Brazilian National Championship 4 times.
In ADCC, he competed at the 88–98 kg in both 1999 and 2000, and the Absolute tournament in 1999. He managed a record of 3–2 with his losses coming by way of points over submission.
He was the reigning and undisputed UFC middleweight champion after defeating Dave Menne at UFC 35. He made one title defense, defeating Matt Lindland, before leaving the UFC due to financial reasons and signing with PRIDE in 2003.
He was a finalist of the PRIDE Welterweight Tournament 2005 on December 31. After two impressive victories via an armbar and a TKO, defeating Ikuhisa Minowa and Masanori Suda respectively, Bustamante entered the finals against Dan Henderson. In the finals Busta dropped an extremely close split decision to the two-time Pride champion.
Murilo dedicates his time to teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Submission Grappling and MMA to his students for all levels at Brazilian Top Team training camps, as well as seminars all over the world.
Murilo was scheduled to fight at Superior Challenge 6 and would have faced Tor Troeng.
Bustamante was scheduled to face Yuya Shirai at Clube da Luta on July 20, 2011 but had to pull out of the fight due to an unspecified injury.
Grappling credentials
ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships
ADCC 2000 88–98 kg: 1st round
ADCC 1999 88–98 kg: Semi finals. (Note: Murilo defeated Ricardo Almeida by points, but was unable to continue the tournament.) Absolute: Quarter finals.
Record of opponents:
- Won:, Dexter Casey (sub), Ivan Salverry (pts), Ricardo Almeida (pts),
- Lost: Mike Van Arsdale (pts), Ricco Rodriguez (pts)
CBJJ World Championships
1999 Black Belt Pesado: 1st Place
1998 Black Belt Pesado: 3rd Place Black Belt Absolute: 3rd Place
1996 Black Belt Pesado: 2nd Place
Championships and accomplishments
- MMAFighting
- 2002 Middleweight Fighter of the Year
- PRIDE Fighting Championships
- 2005 PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Runner Up
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Middleweight Championship (1 Time)
- One successful title defense
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 24 matches | 15 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 2 |
| By submission | 5 | 0 |
| By decision | 4 | 6 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 15–8–1 | Dave Menne | Decision (Unanimous) | AFC - Amazon Forest Combat 2 | March 31, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Manaus, Brazil | |
| Loss | 14–8–1 | Jesse Taylor | TKO (Retirement) | Impact FC 2 - The Uprising: Sydney | July 18, 2010 | 2 | 2:10 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Loss | 14–7–1 | Makoto Takimoto | Decision (split) | Yarennoka - New Year's Eve 2007 | December 31, 2007 | 2 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 14–6–1 | Ryuta Sakurai | KO (punch) | Deep: 29 Impact | April 13, 2007 | 1 | 3:50 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 13–6–1 | Dong Sik Yoon | Decision (unanimous) | Pride - Bushido 13 | November 5, 2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Loss | 12–6–1 | Amar Suloev | Decision (unanimous) | Pride - Bushido 11 | June 4, 2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 12–5–1 | Dan Henderson | Decision (split) | Pride Shockwave 2005 | December 31, 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Final. |
| Win | 12–4–1 | Ikuhisa Minowa | TKO (punches and soccer kicks) | Pride Bushido 9 | September 25, 2005 | 1 | 9:51 | Tokyo, Japan | PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Semi-Final |
| Win | 11–4–1 | Masanori Suda | Submission (armbar) | Pride Bushido 9 | September 25, 2005 | 1 | 3:20 | Tokyo, Japan | PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Opening round. |
| Win | 10–4–1 | Ryuta Sakurai | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Bushido 6 | April 3, 2005 | 2 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Loss | 9–4–1 | Kazuhiro Nakamura | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Final Conflict 2004 | August 15, 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 9–3–1 | Dan Henderson | TKO (punches) | Pride Final Conflict 2003 | November 9, 2003 | 1 | 0:53 | Tokyo, Japan | PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout. |
| Loss | 9–2–1 | Quinton Jackson | Decision (split) | Pride Total Elimination 2003 | August 10, 2003 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | Took fight on 5 days notice, filling in for injured teammate Ricardo Arona. PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 9–1–1 | Matt Lindland | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 37 | May 10, 2002 | 3 | 1:33 | Bossier City, Louisiana, United States | Defended UFC Middleweight Championship. Vacates title after signing with PRIDE [1]. |
| Win | 8–1–1 | Dave Menne | TKO (punches) | UFC 35 | January 11, 2002 | 2 | 0:44 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | Won UFC Middleweight Championship. |
| Loss | 7–1–1 | Chuck Liddell | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 33 | September 28, 2001 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 7–0–1 | Sanae Kikuta | Decision (unanimous) | Pancrase - Trans 6 | October 31, 2000 | 1 | 15:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 6–0–1 | Yoji Anjo | Submission (arm triangle choke) | UFC 25 | April 14, 2000 | 2 | 0:31 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 5–0–1 | Jerry Bohlander | KO (upkick) | Pentagon Combat | September 27, 1997 | 1 | 5:38 | Brazil | |
| Draw | 4–0–1 | Tom Erikson | Draw | Martial Arts Reality Superfighting | November 22, 1996 | 1 | 40:00 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Juan Mott | Submission (punches) | Martial Arts Reality Superfighting | November 22, 1996 | 1 | 1:08 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Chris Haseman | TKO (corner stoppage) | Martial Arts Reality Superfighting | November 22, 1996 | 1 | 1:01 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Joe Charles | Submission (arm triangle choke) | Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 2 | June 24, 1996 | 1 | 3:08 | Brazil | |
| Win | 1–0 | Marcelo Mendes | TKO (injury) | Desafio-Jiu-Jitsu vs. Luta Livre | September 26, 1991 | 1 | 4:42 | Brazil |