Matthew Christopher Gonzalez (born July 29, 1991) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and former Greco–Roman wrestler who currently competes in the lightweight division of

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

. As a

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

, Gonzalez won the 2016 senior Greco-Roman World Team Trials and went on to represent the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the 2016 World Championships at 71 kilograms and placed second at the 2017 US Open.

Background

Gonzalez was born and raised in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he attended

Bloom Trail High School Bloom Trail High School is a public high school in Steger, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago, in the United States. It is part of Bloom Township High School District 206. Originally the Bloom Township Freshman-Sophomore Division, in 1976 it be ...

. As a high schooler, he was a multi–sport athlete, competing in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. Despite never qualifying for the state championships as he was sidetracked by injuries as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

and

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

and being a late starter in the sport, Gonzalez decided to pursue

college wrestling Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the form of wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States. This style of wrestling, with some slight modifications, is also practiced at high school and mi ...

. After bouncing from

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

Harper College William Rainey Harper College is a public community college in Palatine, Illinois. It was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college movement in the ...

, Gonzalez became an

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

All–American in 2012. Gonzalez then accepted a scholarship to wrestle at the

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...

, which offered a

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

program. Throughout his international career, Gonzalez, who represented the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Travers ...

, went on to make the 2016 US World Team, placing 8th at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, placed multiple times at the US Open and claimed medals from tournaments such as the Dave Schultz and Bill Farrell Memorial Internationals.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After his performance at the 2016 US Olympic Team Trials, Gonzalez considered transitioning over to

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

, however, it was not until 2018 when he made his professional debut in the sport, winning by submission at the Gladiator Challenge.

Bellator MMA

In December 2018, it was announced that Gonzalez had signed with

. In January 2019 it was announced that he was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Henry Mendez at Bellator 214 on January 26, 2019. After Mendez withdrew from the bout, Gonzalez eventually made his promotional debut at Bellator 221 on May 11, 2019, defeating Charles Radtke by unanimous decision. Gonzalez had his third professional fight at Bellator 226 when he faced Luis Vargas on September 7, 2019. He dominated the bout, heavily utilizing his wrestling to claim the win by unanimous decision. To start off 2020, Gonzalez competed at Bellator 239 in February 21, defeating Aaron McKenzie by split decision. He then continued his win streak when he defeated Vladimir Tokov by the same method in August 21 at Bellator 244. His first finish in the promotion came when he knocked out former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

veteran

Roger Huerta Roger Huerta (born May 20, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the lightweight division. He initially gained exposure by competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator Fighting Cha ...

on April 2, 2021, at

Bellator 255 Bellator 255: Pitbull vs. Sanchez 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 2, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event was Bellator's first of the year following a four-month break ...

. Gonzalez faced

Goiti Yamauchi is a Japanese-born Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division for Bellator MMA. As of December 13, 2022, he is #5 in the Bellator Welterweight Rankings. Background Yamauchi was born in Anjō, Aichi to ...

on July 31, 2021, at

Bellator 263 Bellator 263: Pitbull vs. McKee was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on July 31, 2021, at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The event marked Bellator's first outside of the Mohegan Sun bubble and the first B ...

. He lost the bout via TKO in the first round. Gonzalez faced

Saad Awad Saad Awad ( ar, سعد عوض , born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist competing in Bellator's lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Awad has formerly competed for Strikeforce and King of the Cage. Backgr ...

on January 29, 2022, at

Bellator 273 Bellator 273: Bader vs. Moldavsky was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA, it took place on January 29, 2022 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Background A winner in eight of his last 11 bouts, Bader will be making ...

. He won the bout via knockout 36 seconds into the first round. Gonzalez faced

Usman Nurmagomedov Usman Nurmagomedov (born April 17, 1998), is a Russian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA, where he is the current Bellator Lightweight World Champion. He has previously competed in the UAE Warri ...

on July 22, 2022, at

Bellator 283 ''Bellator 283: Lima vs. Jackson'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on July 22, 2022 at Emerald Queen Casino and Hotel in Tacoma, Washington, United States. Background Visiting the state of Washington fo ...

. He lost the bout via guillotine choke in the first round. Gonzalez was scheduled to face Shamil Nikaev on December 9, 2022, at

Bellator 289 ''Bellator 289: Stots vs. Sabatello'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on December 9, 2022, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, United States. Background The semi-finals of the $1-mill ...

. However, the bout was scrapped due to unknown reasons. Gonzalez faced Max Rohskopf on February 4, 2023, at

Bellator 290 ''Bellator 290: Bader vs. Fedor 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on February 4, 2023, at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, United States. The card aired live on CBS and Paramount Plus, the first ti ...

. He won the bout via TKO in the second round. Gonzalez faced Tim Wilde on May 12, 2023, at

Bellator 296 ''Bellator 296: Mousasi vs. Edwards'' (also known as ''Bellator Paris'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that will take place on May 12, 2023, at Accor Arena in Paris, France. Background A middleweight title el ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Personal life

Christopher's father, Gaspar Gonzalez, was born and raised in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

and immigrated to the United States in 1961.

Mixed martial arts record

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Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

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Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma. It is located in South Central Oklahoma. The population was 445 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Thackerville is located at (33. ...

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San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Chris 1991 births Living people American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling Bellator male fighters