Win a million dollars but at what cost? Bruno Henrique Cappelozza had that actualization a bit too late. At the onset of the decade, the São Paulo native became quite the profound mix-rule martial artist. An ex-Jungle Fight cruiserweight, light-heavyweight, and heavyweight titleholder, the 2021 Professional Fighters League season saw him make quite a run; it came at the cost of personal loss.
Bruno Cappelozza made his pro-MMA debut in the 2010s. He fought for an MMA team that the Brazilian soccer team Sport Club Corinthians Paulista owned. During his frame at the Corinithians, the Brazilian trained under the tutelage of then-middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Profound in the disciplines of karate, judo, and the Brazilian capoeira, Cappelozza was also a Muay Thai standout. His global foray incurred a first-frame KO to future UFC light heavyweight Jiri Prochazka at Rizin 11. Cappelozza scored a 46-second KO of Ante Delija in his PFL 3 debut. At PFL 6, he KOed Muhammed DeReese and secured the #1 seed for the PFL Playoffs. In the semifinals (PFL 8), he won to earn a spot in the finals with Delija again.
He did become the heavyweight Champion. But immediately after, he noted the absence of father Joao Cappelozza. He learned in a phone call of his passing three days prior. His friends and spar mates withheld the information to let him focus on camp. The victory was bittersweet to no end. At the behest of MMA media outlet Haymakers (@haymakers) and PFL (@pflmma), the matter is going viral again. Goes to show that sometimes, there’s more to life than the goal ahead.
Bruno Cappelozza out of 2024 PFL 1 seasonal lineup, awaits opportunities
The road ahead is not always a smooth one. Bruno Cappelozza locked horns with former Bellator MMA 205-pound champion Vadim Nemkov on Feb. 24, 2024. It was at the spectacular PFL vs. Bellator: Champions pay-per-view event. He lost out on the opportunity due to an R2 arm-triangle submission.
PFL’s Bruno Cappelozza has had a turbulent running recently (Source: agfight.com/ge.globo.com)Ever since Cappelozza has been meaning to bounce back stronger. At a stout 15-7-0, 1 NC record, his career note has been a sort of mixed bag. The 35-year-old spectacularly went 2-0 in the 2021 PFL Season. He even went on to win the PFL heavyweight World Championship. However, he went 1-1 and 1-0 in the next seasons.
Even stepping into 2023, he faced sanctions from the Nevada Athletic Commission after failing the testing pool for their first regular season bouts of the season. Due to the discovery of “Drostanolone” in his stream, the NAC overturned his win over Matheus Scheffel as a no-contest. Additionally, he was suspended for nine months until Jan. 7, and fined $11,451.
The 2024 season hasn’t kicked off any better. Reeling from his recent loss, Bruno Cappelozza had to withdraw from the regular season matchups. 2024 PFL 1 (ESPN2, ESPN+) happened on April 4 at Boeing Center, San Antonio. WSOF champion and UFC veteran Blagoy Ivanov subbed in his place. Bellator’s llara Joanne also faced UFC WMMA flyweight Taila Santos on the card. Cappelozza awaits to see where his trajectory takes him next.
