Cristiano Marcello

Cristiano Marcello da Silva, born in 1977, is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist who also worked as head coach of Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the Chute Boxe academy. He competed in the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 1998, 1999 and 2001 before moving into professional fighting, appearing for PRIDE Fighting Championships at PRIDE Bushido 12 in 2006. In 2012 he was chosen as a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Live, where he beat Jared Carlsten to enter the house, and he went on to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, winning a split decision over Reza Madadi at UFC 153 and losing to Sam Sicilia, Kazuki Tokudome and Joe Proctor. He retired in 2014 to concentrate on coaching at his own academy, CM System, and returned in 2018 with a three-fight contract at Brave CF. He held the Nitrix lightweight championship once.