Gil Castillo

Gil Philip Castillo (born October 21, 1965) is an American professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 1998 until 2006, he fought in the UFC, WEC and King of the Cage. Castillo is the former King of the Cage Middleweight Superfight Champion.

Background
Gil Castillo was born in Concord, California. Castillo excelled in wrestling at Antioch High School and after competing for California State University at Long Beach, he entered the trials for the Olympic team. He went 2–2, and needed to win his fourth match to get on the squad that trains for the alternate team, but lost on points. After becoming a licensed stockbroker, Castillo found Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 1995, and was trained by Cesar Gracie and Ralph Gracie before they introduced him to mixed martial arts.

Early career
Castillo made his professional debut in early 1997 in a tournament. He won his debut via rear-naked choke submission only 40 seconds into the first round. He won his next fight after his opponent broke his wrist during the fight, and in the tournament final, Castillo faced veteran Vernon White and won via armbar submission in just three minutes. Castillo fought for the King of the Cage Middleweight Superfight Championship on April 29, 2001, against then-champion Joe Hurley. In a back-and-forth fight, Castillo scored seven takedowns on the Lion's Den fighter, and won via unanimous decision. Castillo then fought future Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nate Marquardt for the IFC Welterweight Championship and won via unanimous decision before being invited to compete in the UFC.

UFC
At UFC 33 on September 28, 2001, Castillo made his UFC debut, fighting a much-larger Dave Menne for the first-ever UFC Middleweight Championship. Castillo lost via unanimous decision and was handed his first professional loss.

After picking up a unanimous decision win over Chris Brennan at UFC 35, Castillo fought for the UFC Welterweight Championship against then-champion Matt Hughes at UFC 40 on November 22, 2002. Castillo lost via doctor stoppage due to a cut received in the first round.

WEC
Castillo then began fighting for the WEC, making his debut for the organization on March 27, 2003, at WEC 6 against Chris Williams. Castillo won via TKO.

Castillo fought on May 21, 2004, at WEC 10 against future IFL Lightweight Champion Ryan Schultz and lost via TKO. His last appearance for the organization was on October 14, 2005, at WEC 17 against Steve Ramirez. Castillo won via TKO. Castillo's fought last on April 1, 2006, in an IFC event against current UFC Welterweight Jake Ellenberger. Castillo lost via TKO in the first round.