Gastón Reyno

Gastón Reyno (born November 11, 1986) is a Uruguayan mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division. A professional fighter since 2013, he currently competes for Bellator MMA. As Uruguay's most prominent fighter, he is seen as "a driving factor in the sport's growing popularity" in his home country.[1][2]

Gastón Reyno
Born	Gastón Reyno (1986-11-11) November 11, 1986 Montevideo, Uruguay
Other names	Tonga
Nationality	Uruguayan
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st)
Division	Featherweight Lightweight (formerly)
Style	Taekwondo, Muay Thai, BJJ
Fighting out of	Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Team	Glory MMA and Fitness
Years active	2013–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	12
Wins	8
By knockout	4
By submission	4
By decision	0
Losses	2
By knockout	0
By submission	1
By decision	1
No contests	2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Early life and professional career

Born into a family of truckers in Montevideo, Reyno dealt with intestinal and digestive problems the first few years of his life, constantly going back and forth from his home and the hospital.[3] Despite his weak state, his mother, Zully took him to taekwondo classes at the age of seven because she saw how he idolized the martial artists from the American movies (namely Jean-Claude Van Damme). He subsequently began training in kickboxing at 16, and muay thai at 17. He also practiced jiu jitsu.[4] Reyno gave taekwondo classes in his garage with his friend until they gathered enough money to eventually travel around the world for competitions.[5]

I went to fight in the main event, I felt like Georges St. Pierre. It's a night of fights and they have two pairs of gloves. Here, every fighter has six or seven pairs of gloves. I used to work extra hours as a bus boy and now I get free gloves from sponsors. It's a huge switch.

—Reyno discussing his first pro MMA fight during a 2014 Vice interview.[1]

He made his professional MMA debut at a local event on August 3, 2013, facing compatriot Maximiliano Maykol Alfonzo. Although broadcast on national television, there were no ringside doctors or medical inspections, as Uruguay has no MMA commission. Additionally, only two pairs of gloves were available for the fighters on that night's card.[1] The fight, which was the main event, ended in a no contest.

He was invited to GrindHouse MMA in Kansas City, Missouri by then-owner Brian Davidson, and left his family in Uruguay to live and train in the States.[6] As of 2016, he co-owns the gym with UFC fighter James Krause, renaming it Glory MMA and Fitness. He plans to recruit other Uruguayan fighters to his gym in the future.[1]

He fought five amateur bouts in Missouri in preparation for his American pro debut, winning each one by KO.[2] On May 12, 2014, he defeated David Nelson at Titan FC 28 in Newkirk, Oklahoma with a second-round submission. However, his win was overturned and the fight was declared a no contest because of an illegal knee to the head of a grounded opponent.[7]

Following the decision, Reyno went on to win three consecutive bouts on the Missouri indie circuit, all in the first round. This caught the attention of Bellator MMA, who signed him to their roster in early 2015.[6][8] He made his debut for the promotion at Bellator 139 on June 26, 2015. He submitted his opponent, Greg Scott, in one minute and 17 seconds, making it the third fastest submission in Bellator featherweight history.[9]

After another first round win in the indies, he returned for Bellator 150 to face Chuka Willis on February 26, 2016. Reyno secured a guillotine choke in the first round, but Willis somehow escaped. He locked in a second one with five seconds left in the third round, but Willis waited it out until the bell and handed Reyno his first career loss by way of unanimous decision.[10][11] It was the first time Reyno had fought out of the first round.

On July 22, 2016, Reyno defeated L.J. Hermreck by TKO at Bellator 159 in Mulvane, Kansas for his sixth pro win.[12] Mounted on Hermreck's back, Reyno threw down vicious punches until he referee finally stopped the fight late in the third round.[13]

The Uruguayan lost to Chuka Willis in Bellator 150, defeated L.J. Hermreck in Bellator 159, and fell to Justin Overton in Bellator 171. He was scheduled to fight at Bellator 184, but pulled out due to injury.

In late 2016, Reyno left Kansas City to San Diego, as he joined The Alliance, where he also works as sparring to the top fighters.

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
10 matches	8 wins	2 losses
By knockout	4	0
By submission	4	1
By decision	0	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	8–2 (2)	Carlos Ochoa	Submission (Rear-naked choke)	Combate Americas - Road to Copa Combate	September 28, 2018	1	2:21	Long Beach, California, United States
Win	7–2 (2)	Henri Kakiuchi	TKO (punches)	MMA International 2018	February 13, 2018	1	2:30	Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay
Loss	6–2 (2)	Justin Overton	Technical submission (Rear-naked choke)	Bellator 171	January 27, 2017	2	0:34	Mulvane, Kansas, United States
Win	6–1 (2)	L.J. Hermreck	TKO (punches)	Bellator 159	July 22, 2016	3	3:57	Mulvane, Kansas, United States
Loss	5–1 (2)	Chuka Willis	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 150	February 26, 2016	3	5:00	Mulvane, Kansas, United States
Win	5–0 (2)	Yohance Flager	Submission (Rear-naked choke)	Kansas City Fighting Alliance - Fight for a Cure	October 2015	1	3:35	Independence, Missouri, United States
Win	4–0 (2)	Greg Scott	Submission (guillotine choke)	Bellator 139	June 26, 2015	1	1:17	Mulvane, Kansas, United States
Win	3–0 (2)	Jason Russell	TKO (punches)	Blackout Fighting Championship 27	January 24, 2015	1	1:54	Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Win	2–0 (2)	Eric Coward	TKO (punches)	Kansas City Fighting Alliance 12	October 4, 2014	1	0:55	Independence, Missouri, United States
Win	1–0 (2)	Wes Miller	Submission (kicks)	Kansas City Fighting Alliance 11	July 19, 2014	1	1:46	Independence, Missouri, United States
NC	0–0 (2)	David Nelson	No contest	Titan FC 28	May 16, 2014	1	1:02	Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States	Originally a win for Reyno. Contest overturned due to illegal knee to head of a grounded opponent.
NC	0–0 (1)	Maximiliano Maykol Alfonzo	No contest	Gladiators 1 - Uruguay vs. Brazil	August 3, 2013	0	0:00	Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay	Pro debut.

References

1. Smith, Shawn (December 10, 2014). "Gaston Reyno Wants to Bring MMA to Uruguay". Fightland. Vice. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
2. Hammond, Mick (May 16, 2014). "Beyond Winning at Titan FC, Gaston Reyno Wants to be an Inspiration to Other Uruguayans". MMA Weekly. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
3. Solomita, Mariángel (June 20, 2015). "Un sueño en los puños" (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
4. "When Opportunity Knocks, Gaston Reyno Answers". MMA Madhouse. May 12, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
5. Nagel, Kyle (May 15, 2014). "Fight Path: Titan FC 28's Gaston Reyno just wanted to be a ninja, not a truck driver". MMA Junkie. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
6. "El Uruguayo Gastón Reyno se entrena en Bellator". Fightland (in Spanish). Vice. June 26, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
7. Holland, Jesse (May 18, 2014). "UFC veterans Dave Herman, Jason Brilz and Walt Harris, among others, pick up wins at Titan FC 28 on CBS". MMA Mania. SB Nation. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
8. Duncan, Steve (March 31, 2015). "El Uruguayo Gaston Reyno firma con Bellator MMA, debuta frente a Greg Scott en Bellator 139" (in Spanish). MMA.uno. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
9. "Notable debut de Reyno en Bellator" (in Spanish). Referi.uy. June 27, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
10. Genia, Jim (February 26, 2016). "Bellator 150 Results: Chuka Willis Decisions Gaston Reyno". Caged Insider. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
11. "¡Dejó todo! Gastón Reyno perdió ante Chuka Willis" (in Spanish). Fox Sports. February 26, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
12. "¡Volvió a la victoria! Gastón Reyno se impuso por nocaut" (in Spanish). Fox Sports. July 22, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
13. "Gastón Reyno y otro triunfo" (in Spanish). Ovación Digital. July 23, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2016.

External links

• Professional MMA record for Gastón Reyno from Sherdog
• Bellator MMA profile
• Tapology profile