Authentic Sports Management

Jorge Santiago

Brazilian star Jorge Santiago is a top-ten ranked middleweight mixed martial artist renowned for his reputation as a fighter who brings it every time. A strong finisher, he has knocked out or submitted twenty-one of his twenty-three victims. Training in South Florida, this Authentic Sports Management fighter is considered one of the most exciting in the world today. A big star in his home country of Brazil, as well as Japan, he recently decided to return to fighting in the United States, as he signed a multi-fight UFC contract. Santiago is now poised to show the fight world that he is the best 185-pound competitor in the world.

Santiago began his fighting career in 2002. He built up an 11-5 record while fighting in the United States, Costa Rica, and Holland before earning the chance to prove his abilities in the UFC against some of the world’s best middleweights in 2006. Utilizing brutal punches and knees, Santiago knocked out his first opponent, Justin Levens, in the first round. However, he suffered back-to-back knockout defeats to UFC contenders Chris Leben and Alan Belcher in his next couple bouts, and was released from the promotion. The resilient Santiago headed back to the drawing board in order to put the pieces of his career back together.

Many fighters released from the world’s top MMA promotion find the road back difficult to navigate. Yet, for Santiago, many would say it was the best thing that happened to his career. He made some changes, and strung together an impressive streak of wins, gaining victory in eleven of his last twelve fights. In his first two fights after leaving the UFC, Santiago knocked out and submitted UFC veterans in Andrei Semenov and Jeremy Horn, respectively. From there, he entered the 2007 Strikeforce middleweight tournament, where he defeated two more UFC veterans in Sean Salmon and Trevor Prangley in the same night to win the tournament.

Continuing his success, Santiago joined Japan-based promotion World Victory Road. The Brazilian stud ran through the competition, reeling off four straight victories over talented competition such as Japanese fight legend Yuki Sasaki, WEC veteran Logan Clark, rising middleweight contender Siyar Bahadurzada, and UFC veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura to become WVR’s Sengoku Middleweight Grand Prix Champion. After submitting highly-regarded Japanese star Kazuo Misaki in 2009, Santiago was declared the first-ever middleweight champion of the organization.

Later that year, Santiago suffered his first defeat since 2006, losing to Mamed Khalidov at Sengoku 11 in a non-title fight, which ended his nine-fight win streak. He quickly regrouped, however, and avenged the loss in his next fight at Sengoku 12 in a 5-round decision victory.

In 2010, Santiago defended his title once again, defeating Kazuo Misaki for the second time in an electrifying back-and-forth battle. The fight was named Fight of the Year by both Sherdog.com and HDNet’s “Inside MMA.” With his stock very high, Santiago requested a release from World Victory Road to seek competition back in the United States. His release was granted, and the 30-year-old Santiago signed a multi-fight pact to return to the UFC. Ranked in the top ten in his weight class by Sherdog.com, MMAWeekly.com, and USA Today/SB Nation, he re-enters the promotion as a more mature and well-rounded fighter. His electrifying style and finishing abilities continues to bring excitement to the fans around the world.