Brian Gassaway
American mixed martial artist (1972–2021)
ブライアン・ガサウェイ
- Born
- 7 August 1972, Urbana
- Died
- 16 October 2021, Chicago
- Citizenship
- United States
- Sport
- mixed martial arts
- Discipline
- welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight
- Occupation
- mixed martial arts fighter, mixed martial arts trainer, kickboxer
- Height
- 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
- Weight
- 78 kg (171 lb)
- Nickname
- Mandingo
Brian Gassaway (August 7, 1972 – October 16, 2021) was an American mixed martial artist who competed professionally from 1996 to 2010, taking roughly 52 professional bouts in weight classes ranging from lightweight to heavyweight. Based in Chicago, he fought for the UFC, Bellator, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), King of the Cage, Shooto, and Pancrase, facing opponents including Diego Sanchez, Yuki Kondo, Ikuhisa Minowa, John Alessio, Mike Pyle, and Jose Landi-Jons. Obituaries described him as a pioneer of the Midwestern mixed martial arts scene.
After retiring, Gassaway became a founding partner and coach at the Chicago Mixed Martial Arts gym, and he was inducted into the Illinois Martial Arts Hall of Fame in March 2018. He died in October 2021 at the age of 49; following his death, the Thai Boxing Association-Sanctioning Authority created the Brian Gassaway Award in recognition of his contributions to American Muay Thai.
Competitions
| Competition | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| UFC 54 | ||
| WEC 14 | ||
| WEC 25 |
Awards and honours
- Illinois Martial Arts Hall of Fame 2018
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q4963824 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.