Gabriel Santos dreamed of being a cowboy, and he now gets to travel the world punching people in the face for a living.
Chute Boxe featherweight “Mosquitinho” reenters the octagon Saturday to face Australia’s own Jack Jenkins in enemy territory at UFC 312 in Sydney, but looks back at daily battles he’s fought since his childhood as a testament of his heart and determination.
Born in Beberibe, a small town located just outside state capital Fortaleza, the Brazilian talent was raised by his mother in a small farm, where she worked as a housekeeper.
“I was a very handful child, and I loved my animals,” Santos told MMA Fighting. “My dream was to be a cowboy, but my mom didn’t have money for such thing. We couldn’t buy anything, imagine buying bulls and cows. One day she managed to buy me a little horse and that was the world for me.”
His life took a turn when a cousin started taking jiu-jitsu classes and showed up to the farm looking to teach him some moves. Santos’ only connection to fighting at the time were through movies and cartoons, especially Bloodsport and Dragon Ball Z. They got a large canvas on the ground to use as mat, and began practicing. Santos was taught one single move in those improvised grappling classes, which proved useful when his mother’s bosses decided to sell the farm, leaving them no alternative but to move to the city.
“He taught me to pass the guard, knee on belly and Americana,” Santos said. “When I moved to the city, I decided to join a jiu-jitsu gym and tapped everybody with that same move [laughs]. I wanted to compete in a tournament right away, but the coach said it was too soon. Months later I got to compete, though, and I never stopped since.”
Santos added more techniques to his arsenal and started collecting medals in the local circuit because falling in love with a different sport: mixed martial arts. The year was 2013 and the UFC was landing in Fortaleza for the very first time for a card headlined by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum that also featured a trio of local talents, Rony Jason, Godofredo Pepey and Caio Magalhaes. For a 16-year-old grappler, that was a sign that he could have a future in the sport.
“I still love competing in jiu-jitsu, but it wasn’t paying good money back then, so I started focusing on doing MMA instead,” said Santos, who made his MMA debut 2014. “It’s crazy to look back and see that in 2014 I was walking out to the same walkout song Charles ‘do Bronx’ [Oliveira] did, and now we’re on the same team.”
Santos won 10 in a row in the Brazilian circuit to earn a shot in the UFC, claiming titles at LFA and Future MMA with wins over the likes of Jose Delano and future UFC fighter—and now teammate—Elves Brener. His first octagon appearance came as a replacement for Nathaniel Wood, losing to Lerone Murphy in London. Santos had his back against the wall after a stoppage defeat to David Onama, but rebounded with a decision win against Yizha a year later.
Santos’ first son is due five weeks after UFC 312, and the Chute Boxe athlete joked he’s expecting a perfect night in Australia “to end the hardest camp of my life and then start a new one.” Jenkins is 3-1 under the UFC banner and victorious in 10 of his last 11, and Santos knows he’s in for a war.
“I found out I was going to become a father right before my last fight and that gave me more fire. It’s more motivation, You’re fighting for more now,” Santos said. “It’s a dream for me to fight in Australia, so I’m going with everything I can for this fight. We have to be ready for everything in a fight. You just can’t plan one thing, really, but I do believe I’ll tap him.”
