Gil Philip Castillo (born October 21, 1965) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

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 ...

. A professional from 1998 until 2006, he fought in the

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 ...

, WEC and

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

. Castillo is the former King of the Cage Middleweight Superfight Champion.

Background

Castillo excelled 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 ...

Antioch High School Antioch High School is a public high school located in Antioch, California, United States. It is located at 700 West 18th Street between G and L streets. It is a comprehensive high school for grades 9-12. There are about 120 teachers, and 20 mai ...

and after competing for California State University at Long Beach, he entered the trials for the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

team. He went 2–2, and needed to win his fourth match to get on the squad that trains for the alternate team, but lost on points. After becoming a licensed

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...

, Castillo found

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

in 1995, and was trained by Cesar Gracie and

Ralph Gracie Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

before they introduced him 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 ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Castillo made his professional debut in early 1997 in a tournament. He won his debut via

rear-naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

submission only 40 seconds into the first round. He won his next fight after his opponent broke his wrist during the fight, and in the tournament final, Castillo faced veteran Vernon White and won via

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

submission in just three minutes. Castillo fought for the King of the Cage Middleweight Superfight Championship on April 29, 2001 against then-champion Joe Hurley. In a back-and-forth fight, Castillo scored seven takedowns on the Lion's Den fighter, and won via unanimous decision. Castillo then fought future Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nate Marquardt for the IFC Welterweight Championship and won via unanimous decision before being invited to compete in the

UFC

UFC 33 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 ...

on September 28, 2001, Castillo made his

debut, fighting a much-larger Dave Menne for the first-ever

UFC Middleweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

. Castillo lost via unanimous decision and was handed his first professional loss. After picking up a unanimous decision win over Chris Brennan at UFC 35, Castillo fought for the UFC Welterweight Championship against then-champion Matt Hughes at UFC 40 on November 22, 2002. Castillo lost via doctor stoppage due to a cut received in the first round.

WEC

Castillo then began fighting for the WEC, making his debut for the organization on March 27, 2003 at WEC 6 against Chris Williams. Castillo won via TKO. Castillo fought on May 21, 2004 at WEC 10 against future IFL Lightweight Champion Ryan Schultz and lost via TKO. His last appearance for the organization was on October 14, 2005 at

WEC 17 WEC 17: Halloween Fury 4 was a mixed martial arts event promoted by World Extreme Cagefighting on October 14, 2005 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. A light heavyweight tournament was held with the winner being crowned t ...

against Steve Ramirez. Castillo won via TKO. Castillo's fought last on April 1, 2006 in an IFC event against current

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

Jake Ellenberger. Castillo lost via TKO in the first round.

Mixed martial arts record

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Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 2 ...

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Renato Verissimo Renato Verissimo de Oliveira (born August 3, 1973) is a Brazilian 5th degree Black belt in Brazilian Jiu jitsu under André Pederneiras and also a retired mixed martial artist, who has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Elite Xtre ...

, TKO (corner stoppage) , Rumble on the Rock 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , For the UFC Welterweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Chris Brennan , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 35 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

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California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States , Won the IFC Welterweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Joe Hurley , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC 8: Bombs Away , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Williams, California Williams (formerly Central) is a city in Colusa County, California. The population was 5,643 at the time of the 2010 census, up from 3,670 at the 2000 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of ...

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Friant, California Friant (formerly, Converse Ferry, Jones Ferry, Hamptonville, and Pollasky) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 549 at the 2010 census, down from 778 at the 2000 census. Friant is locat ...

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Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Dennis Muehy , Submission (armbar) , IFC Warriors Challenge 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:17 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Aaron Sampson , Submission (armbar) , Stockton Brawl , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:17 ,

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

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, United States , Won the Stockton Challenge 2 Tournament. , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Allen Fernandez , Submission (rear naked choke) , Stockton Challenge 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

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References

External links

* *
Gil`s myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Gil Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American jujutsuka People from Concord, California 1973 births People from Pleasant Hill, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters