Gustavo “El Gladiador” Balart

Three-time Pan-American Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion Gustavo Balart grew up in humble surroundings in Cuba, and he was enamored with combat sports from a young age. He started wrestling as a child and would go on to dominate at the sport’s highest levels.

Balart took three consecutive Gold medals at the Pan American Games, as well as a silver medal at the World Cup, and made it to the quarter-finals of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. After his Olympic run, he decided to switch his focus to mixed martial arts. After all, Balart had dreamed of competing in the cage for many years, and he quickly added boxing, kickboxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to his regimen.

The Cuban made his professional MMA debut in 2015 before moving to the United States to develop his career, where he trains at American Top Team. 

“El Gladiador” signed with ONE Championship in 2019, where he has gone on to establish himself as one of the best strawweights in the world. Now all that’s left on his bucket list is his dream of becoming the ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion.