| Haim Gozali | |
| Birth Date: | 1973 5, df=yes[1] |
| Birth Place: | Bat Yam, Israel |
| Weight: | 185lb |
| Weight Class: | Light Heavyweight Middleweight Welterweight |
| Reach In: | 72 |
| Stance: | Southpaw |
| Fighting Out Of: | Bat Yam, Israel |
| Team: | Renzo Gracie Israel[2] |
| Rank: | 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie[3] |
| Years Active: | 1998–present |
| Mma Kowin: | 1 |
| Mma Subwin: | 14 |
| Mma Koloss: | 1 |
| Mma Subloss: | 2 |
| Mma Decloss: | 3 |
| Sherdog: | 20669 |
Haim Gozali (Hebrew: חיים גוזלי; born May 6, 1973) is an Israeli mixed martial artist. He is best known for his tenure in Bellator. Gozali is a 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie.
Gozali served in the Israel Defense Forces.
In 2005, Gozali was stabbed while working as a bouncer in an Israeli night club.[4]
Gozali's nickname, "The Israeli Batman", is related to his obsession with the superhero. He has "collected enough Batman comics and paraphernalia to fill up most of a room in his house in Bat Yam" and he "has enough Batman tattoos to cover a good part of his skin, with the bat-sign prominently carried across his chest."[5]
Gozali's son, Aviv Gozali, is also a mixed martial artist.[6] [7]
Gozali is the president of ADCC Israel and the first Israeli to compete in an ADCC event.[8]
Gozali began his mixed martial arts (MMA) career in 1998, losing to Carlos Newton via armbar. He compiled a 6-3 record before debuting for Bellator MMA in 2016.
In 2010, Gozali produced the MMA event in Israel, featuring multiple UFC veterans.[9] He later signed with Bellator to work as a promoter and produced 4 events in Israel with the promotion - Bellator 164, Bellator 188, Bellator 209, and Bellator 234, which took place at Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv.
On June 24, 2017, Gozali faced Ryan Couture in a welterweight bout on the Bellator 180 preliminary card, becoming the first Israeli MMA fighter to compete in Madison Square Garden.[10] [11] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[12]
At Bellator 188 on November 16, 2017, Gozali fought Mykyta Mikhno, winning via submission. Gozali then fought Jose Campos at Bellator 192, losing via unanimous decision. Gozali fought Ryan Couture in a rematch at Bellator 209, losing again via unanimous decision.
After three straight victories, Gozali competed at Bellator 234 on November 15, 2019, with his son Aviv, in their native Israel. Gozali faced Artur Pronin, winning the fight via first-round submission. Gozali retired after the fight.[13] Gozali and Pronin's performances led to accusations of the bout being fixed. Criticism included no serious head strikes and light striking that resembled a sparring session, Pronin putting himself in inferior positions despite his experience, and the end of the fight where Gozali transitioned from an armbar to a heel hook without proper control of Pronin's leg, with Pronin tapping out immediately instead of trying to defend the submission. It was noted that Pronin was on a seven-win streak at the time with several submission victories, while this was a "hometown" bout for Gozali and his last fight.[14]
Gozali returned to MMA and began bare-knuckle boxing in 2020 after his security company faced financial hardship due to COVID-19. He made his bare-knuckle boxing debut on February 5, 2021 at BKFC: KnuckleMania. Gozali faced John McAllister, who had a win/loss record of 0–4. McAllister controlled the first round, out-striking Gozali. Gozali made a comeback in the second round, knocking McAllister down twice for the ref to stop the bout.[15]
|-| Win| align=center| 15–6| Ilya Lupinov | Submission (triangle choke)| RFP 86| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:35| Kyiv, Ukraine|Middleweight bout; won the vacant RFP Middleweight Championship.|-| Win| align=center| 14–6| Andrey Savchuck | Submission (heel hook)| TDT 1| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:05| Dubno, Ukraine|Light Heavyweight debut; won the TDT Light Heavyweight Championship.|-| Win| align=center| 13–6| Dmitriy Makhotskiy | Submission (triangle choke)| RFP 80| | align=center| 2| align=center| 1:56| Kyiv, Ukraine|Return to Middleweight; won the RFP Middleweight Championship.|-| Win| align=center| 12–6| Artur Pronin | Submission (heel hook)| Bellator 234| | align=center| 1| align=center| 4:12| Tel Aviv, Israel||-| Win| align=center| 11–6| Gustavo Wurlitzer| Submission (triangle choke)| Bellator 222| | align=center| 1| align=center| 4:02| New York, New York, United States|Catchweight (175 lb) bout.|-| Win| align=center| 10–6| Dmitriy Makhotskiy| Submission (heel hook)| RFP: International MFC 1| | align=center| 1| align=center| 2:57| Kyiv, Ukraine||-| Win| align=center| 9–6| Alexey Kolesnikov| Submission (armbar)| RFP: International MFC 1| | align=center| 1| align=center| 2:37| Kyiv, Ukraine||-| Loss| align=center| 8–6| Ryan Couture| Decision (unanimous)| Bellator 209| | align=center| 3| align=center| 5:00| Tel Aviv, Israel||-| Loss| align=center| 8–5| Jose Campos| Decision (unanimous)| Bellator 192| | align=center| 3| align=center| 5:00| Inglewood, California, United States||-| Win| align=center| 8–4| Mykyta Mikhno| Technical Submission (triangle choke)| Bellator 188| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:45| Tel Aviv, Israel| |-| Loss| align=center| 7–4| Ryan Couture| Decision (unanimous)| Bellator 180| | align=center| 3| align=center| 5:00| New York City, New York, United States| |-| Win| align=center| 7–3| Zane Clerk| Submission (heel hook)| Bellator 164| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:41| Tel Aviv, Israel| |-| Win| align=center| 6–3| Zdravko Zdravkov| Submission (armbar)| AFN 1| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:33| Sliven, Bulgaria| |-| Loss| align=center| 5–3| Rustam Bogatyrev| TKO (retirement)| MFP: Mayor Cup 2012| | align=center| 1| align=center| 5:00| Khabarovsk, Russia| |-| Loss| align=center| 5–2| Ronaldo Souza| Submission (rear-naked choke)| Jungle Fight 7| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:33| Ljubljana, Slovenia| |-| Win| align=center| 5–1| Alcs Plotkin| Submission (triangle choke)| WPKL 2| | align=center| 1| align=center| 2:22| Israel| |-| Win| align=center| 4–1| Yakov Mazer| KO (punch)| WPKL 1| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:35| Israel| |-| Win| align=center| 3–1| Dan Koan| Submission (punches)| IVTC 2| | align=center| 1| align=center| 4:55| Israel| |-| Win| align=center| 2–1| Guy Micali| Submission (punches)| IFFC 1| | align=center| 1| align=center| 3:34| Israel| |-| Win| align=center| 1–1| Maer Cobi Coen| Submission (triangle choke)| IVTC 1| | align=center| 1| align=center| 2:34| Israel| |-| Loss| align=center| 0–1| Carlos Newton| Submission (armbar)| IFC: Israel vs. Canada| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:00| Israel| [16]
|-|Win|align=center|2–0|Bogdan Kotlovyanov|TKO (injury)|IWCC 1||align=center|2|align=center|N/A|Tel Aviv, Israel||-|Win|align=center|1–0|John McAllister |TKO (punch)|BKFC: KnuckleMania||align=center|2|align=center|1:08|Lakeland, Florida, United States|Cruiserweight (205 lb.) bout.|-