Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli

Mauro Cerilli has the power to become Italy’s greatest mixed martial artist in history.

Cerilli began his martial arts journey with judo at the age of 6, and he proved talented enough to win a national youth championship in his native Italy. However, he didn’t pursue his passion for martial arts immediately, as trade school and starting a family soon took up all of his time.

However, he could not stay away from the dojo for long and later rededicated himself to his training, this time adding Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to his regimen. On a whim, he stepped into the cage for an amateur MMA bout and soon realized that he had real potential to make it a successful career. He made his professional debut in 2012, and has since put together an excellent competitive record, even capturing the Cage Warriors Heavyweight Championship in the process.

In 2018, Cerilli signed with ONE Championship and brought an impressive five-bout winning streak into his promotional debut. Now he aims to become the first-ever Italian ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion.