Wagnney Silva Fabiano-Santos (born July 14, 1975) is a Brazilian

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, incorpo ...

. He is best known for fighting in the WEC, as well as for the

Toronto Dragons The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA sports league, league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

of the

International Fight League The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

and is the former IFL Featherweight Champion.

Background

''Wagnney's'' mix of his proficient striking ability and solid ground game is helping him grow into a well rounded and accomplished

. ''Wagnney'' has trained in Brazil with teammates under

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (, born 2 June 1976), better known as Minotauro or Big Nog, is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Inter ...

and has been linked to Renzo Gracie's Academy. He is also known to have coached

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor and former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the Ult ...

in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

APEX

On October 14 of 2006, Fabiano stepped in to face off against

Jeff Curran Jeffrey Michael Curran (born September 2, 1977) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1998, Curran has fought at a number of different weight classes for a large number of promotions includin ...

. Both fighters seemed overly tentative on the feet, and the fight largely consisted of grappling. Fabiano landed a few takedowns but offered little offence on the ground, being unable to improve his position. Curran came out firing in the third as he landed some good shots before they hit the canvas again. Even with Curran's third round, it appeared Fabiano would be ahead on takedowns on the scorecards. However the decision was announced, contentiously, in favor of Jeff Curran by split decision.

International Fight League

After losing for the first time in his career via controversial split decision to Jeff Curran, Fabiano ventured into the International Fight League. In his career there, he enjoyed four straight wins showcasing notable submission offence by ending each fight via submission in the first round. He then fought

LC Davis La Carvas Rashad Davis (born October 28, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Davis has also formerly competed for the Quad Cities ...

and became IFL Featherweight Champion with a submission victory by

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 ...

near the close of the first round. This was after dropping down to 145-pounds after defeating

John Gunderson John Edward Gunderson (born May 1, 1980) is a retired American mixed martial artist. He used to fight with the UFC and SCC also numerous other organizations being a champion or fighting for the championship in many of them. Once he was a top ...

at 155-pounds in his previous IFL World Grand Prix fight. The victory over Gunderson was supposed to set up Fabiano for a match with the previously unbeaten

Chris Horodecki Christopher Horodecki (born September 24, 1987) is a Polish-Canadian mixed martial artist. He has competed for the WEC, the IFL, Bellator, TKO Major League MMA, and Palace Fighting Championship. Background Horodecki was born in London, Ontari ...

, but Fabiano dropped down to 145-pounds in order to fight for the Featherweight Championship. ''Wagnney Fabiano's'' next bout, and first IFL Featherweight title defense, came against Shad Lierley on April 4, 2008 at; IFL - New Blood, New Battles 2. In what was dubbed as an archetypal fight between

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 ...

and Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert, Fabiano won by knocking out Lierly at 0:37 of the first round. Fabiano displayed impressive standup skills, utilizing good leg kicks and bodyshots. Near the end of the round he threw a left jab which Lierly parried partially, but connected a flush

right hook A hook is a punch in boxing. It is performed by turning the core muscles and back, thereby swinging the arm, which is bent at an angle near or at 90 degrees, in a horizontal arc into the opponent. A hook is usually aimed at the jaw, but it can ...

to knock out the challenger convincingly and conclude his first title defence. It also become his last and only defence of the IFL Featherweight championship as the company ceased operations on July 31, 2008.

World Extreme Cagefighting

On August 22 of 2008, the WEC announced that it had signed Fabiano. He was the last remaining champion from the International Fight League. Fabiano was scheduled to fight undefeated WEC newcomer

Erik Koch Erik Jon Koch (born October 4, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, he formerly competed for the WEC. Background Koch wa ...

on October 10, 2009 at

WEC 43 ''WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on October 10, 2009 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event was scheduled to take place on September 2, 2009 at the Covel ...

., but Koch was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury while training, he was replaced by

Mackens Semerzier Mackens Semerzier (born November 3, 1980) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor from 2008 until 2012, he competed for the UFC and WEC. Background In ...

. Fabiano was defeated by Semerzier by submission via triangle choke in the first round, ending his eight-fight win streak. Fabiano found himself on the wrong end of the Sherdog.com Upset of the Year as a result of that submission los

Fabiano was expected to face

Frank Gomez Frank Gomez (born March 31, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist. He formally fought in the WEC's bantamweight division. Gomez is from Albuquerque, New Mexico where he trains full-time with Jackson's Submission Fighting. He got into MMA f ...

on January 10, 2010 at WEC 46. However, Gomez had been forced out of the bout with an injury. Fabiano instead faced Clint Godfrey, winning his bantamweight debut via unanimous decision. Fabiano/Gomez eventually took place on June 20, 2010 at

WEC 49 ''WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 20, 2010 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background WEC 49 was the only event the organization had held outsi ...

. Fabiano won the fight via unanimous decision. Fabiano was expected to face former WEC Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles at

WEC 52 ''WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on November 11, 2010 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. Background Urijah Faber made his bantamweight debut against Japanese striker Takeya Mi ...

. However, Bowles was forced off the card with an injury, and replaced by

Joseph Benavidez Joseph Rolando Benavidez (born July 31, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Benavidez was born on July 31, 1984, in San An ...

. Fabiano was defeated by Benavidez via second round submission. Despite going 4-2 in the WEC, Fabiano was cut by Zuffa after his WEC 52 loss and the WEC/UFC merger. Following his release, Fabiano tried out for

The Ultimate Fighter 14 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller'' is the fourteenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The UFC and Spike held open tryouts on March 21, 2011, ...

at the open tryouts in Newark, N.J. on March 21, 2011.

Bellator MMA

After almost 2 years away from the sport, ''Fabiano'' returned to MMA to compete in the Bellator Season Seven Featherweight tournament, He faced

Akop Stepanyan Akop Stepanyan (russian: Акоп Степанян, hy, Հակոբ Ստեփանյան; born May 6, 1986) is a Russian mixed martial artist of Armenian heritage who competed in the featherweight and lightweight divisions of Bellator Fighting Cham ...

in the Quarterfinals at

Bellator 76 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

and won the bout via first round armbar submission. On November 9, 2012 Fabiano took on

Rad Martinez Radley Martinez (born March 12, 1978) is retired American mixed martial artist. He was signed with Bellator Fighting Championships, where he competed in their featherweight division. Amateur Wrestling Career Martinez was a standout wrestler in ...

Bellator 80 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

in the Semifinals losing via unanimous decision.

Personal life

''Wagnney Fabiano'' is married to Rachel Alves Romero dos Santos since 1998 and the couple has two daughters. The oldest, Joy Melody Romero dos Santos, and their youngest, Faith Melody Romero dos Santos.

Championships and accomplishments

** IFL Featherweight Championship (One time; First; Last) ** IFL 2007 Featherweight Grand Prix Champion *TKO Major League MMA **UCC/TKO World Super-Lightweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 16–4 , Edinelson Cordeiro , Submission (armbar) , Shooto Brazil 52 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:50 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

, United States , Bellator Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Semifinal , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 ,

, Submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:24 ,

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

, Canada , Bellator Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal , - , Loss , align=center, 14–3 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:45 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Clint Godfrey , Decision (unanimous) , WEC 46 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, United States , Bantamweight debut , - , Loss , align=center, 12–2 ,

, Submission (triangle choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 ,

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, United States , 2010 Sherdog upset of the year , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

Fredson Paixão Fredson Paixão Melo (; born May 13, 1979) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor. He has competed as a featherweight in the United States with the UFC and WEC, in Japan with Deep, and in Brazil with Jungle Fig ...

, Decision (unanimous) ,

WEC 40 ''WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on April 5, 2009 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The event aired live on the Versus Network. Background This was the first WEC event to ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Chicago, Illinois, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 ,

Akitoshi Tamura Akitoshi Tamura (born May 31, 1980) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed almost exclusively in the Shooto organization, before making his debut in 2008 at the WEC 37. In 2007, he was the lightweight champion of Shooto. He was once ran ...

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:48 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Shad Lierley , KO (punch) , IFL: New Blood, New Battles 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 , East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States , Defended IFL Featherweight Championship , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, Submission (armbar) , IFL - World Grand Prix Finals , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:38 ,

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ea ...

, United States , Became First IFL Featherweight Champion , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , IFL - World Grand Prix Semifinals , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:53 , Chicago, Illinois, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Erik Owings , Submission (armbar) , IFL - Las Vegas , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:58 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Cam Ward , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , IFL - Connecticut , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:24 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 ,

Ian Loveland Ian Loveland (born September 7, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. Loveland has fought for promotions such as King of the Cage, International Fight League, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed Martial Arts Car ...

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , IFL - Atlanta , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 , Atlanta, Georgia, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 ,

, Decision (split) , APEX: A Night Of Champions , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Gatineau, Quebec Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,

Bao Quach Bao Quach (born September 4, 1979) is an American featherweight professional mixed martial artist who has fought for Bellator, Affliction, M-1 Global, EliteXC, Strikeforce, World Extreme Cagefighting, King of the Cage, and Shooto promotions ...

, KO (head kick) , APEX: Evolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:50 , Gatineau, Quebec, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Matt Fiordirosa , Decision (unanimous) , Freedom Fights: Canada vs. USA , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadia ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Tommy Lee , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , TKO 16: Infernal , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:46 ,

Quebec City, Quebec Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is th ...

, Canada , Won TKO World Super-Lightweight Championship , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Ali Nestor Charles , Decision (unanimous) , UCC 1: The New Beginning , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 10:00 ,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada , Won UCC Lightweight MMA World Championship

Awards

*fifth-Degree Black Belt in

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 ...

under Wendell Alexander and

André Pederneiras Carlos André Pederneiras de Castro (born March 22, 1967) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and Mixed martial arts (MMA) coach and promoter. A former BJJ competitor, holding today a Red and Black 7th Degree Coral belt, Pederneiras is a 6 x Brazili ...

. *Has also trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Renzo Gracie and Carlos Gracie (Jr.). *Member of 1997 BJJ World Champions team Nova Uniao. *Won five (5) state titles. *Three-time Brazilian National Champion. *Brazilian National Teams Champion. *Won Pan-Am '95. *Third Place in the world in Mundials '98. *2004 Arnold Gracie Worlds Pro Division 2nd Place. *2005 ADCC Quarter Finalist. *Won the NAGA, Grapplers Quest, and the Brazilian Abu Dhabi trials.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabiano, Wagnney Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Bantamweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Rio de Janeiro (city) 1975 births People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu