| Mariusz Linke | |
| Other Names: | Manolo |
| Birth Date: | 31 July 1969[1] |
| Birth Place: | Zielona Góra, Poland |
| Death Place: | Poland |
| Residence: | Szczecin-Dąbie, Poland |
| Nationality: | Polish |
| Weight: | 210lb |
| Weight Class: | Lightweight Welterweight Middleweight |
| Reach: | 72.5 in |
| Style: | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Stance: | Southpaw |
| Fighting Out Of: | Szczecin, Poland |
| Team: | Linke Gold Team (2005–2022) Gracie Barra Łódź (2006–2022) Chute Boxe Academy (2001–2003, 2005)[2] Beserkers Team (1999–2004) Macaco Gold Team Singpatong Impacts (2014) |
| Trainer: | Jorge Patino Cristiano Marcello Marcin Rogowski[3] Singpatong Sitnumnoi |
| Students: | Maciej Jewtuszko, Przemysław Saleta, Tomasz Narkun, Felipe Arantes, Francisco Treviño |
| Rank: | 4th dan black belt in Judo 4th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years Active: | 1999–2022 |
| Mma Kowin: | 1 |
| Mma Subwin: | 10 |
| Mma Koloss: | 3 |
| Mma Subloss: | 2 |
| Mma Decloss: | 0 |
| University: | Academia Wychowania Fitzycznego i Sportu (class of 2004) |
| Children: | 2 |
| Sherdog: | 8439 |
Mariusz Ryszard Linke (31 July 1969 – 30 May 2022)[4] was a Polish professional mixed martial artist and grappler.
He was most notable for being the first Polish born black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the highest ranking active Polish judoka and BJJ practitioner in both mixed martial arts and grappling, and one of the most decorated grapplers in Poland. He was also the first Polish grappler to travel to Brazil and receive training under a Gracie trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.[3] Linke notably competed in the European Championship, NAGA, Grapplers Quest, ADCC, and the Pan American Games. Linke was in talks with top Polish promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki to negotiate a two-fight contract to close out his mixed martial arts career by the end of 2015, Linke stated despite retiring from fighting he would still continue his grappling career.
On May 30, 2022 Linke died after contracting a staphylococcal infection earlier in the year, the bacterial infection later spread into his bloodstream and attached to his heart valves causing Linke to develop infective endocarditis.[5]
Mariusz received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under former Strikeforce fighter, coach and fight promoter Jorge Patino, Linke also had two training stints with current UFC fighter Cristiano Marcello during his stay in Brazil between 2001 and 2003 and again in 2005. Linke's nickname "Manolo" was taken from the movie Scarface, his personal friends said that Linke was really laid back and looked and acted like the character Manolo Ribera, played by Steven Bauer.[2]
Linke was part of the BJJ lineage that began with the creator Mitsuyo Maeda and was later passed on to one of the founding instructors of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil, Carlos Gracie.
Linke was one of very few BJJ practitioners to start at white belt and skip blue to purple, his instructors Jorge Patino and Cristiano Marcello mutually decided to skip Linke from white to purple in late 2002 due to his extensive Judo background, this skip in rank is a very rare occurrence and was the first person under Jorge Patino and first BJJ practitioner to join Chute Boxe Academy to do so.
Linke was also known for his outlandish appearance, covered in numerous tattoos and coloring his nails and hair to distract other fighters.
Maruisz produced the most black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Poland, as of 2017 he promoted 43 black belts in BJJ, 77 brown belts and over 200 purple belts.
After winning his gold medal at the Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship in 2015 Linke became the unofficial record breaking holder for most medals won in professional grappling and contact sports as a Polish competitor.
|-|Win|align=center|11-5|
Marcin Grzeskowiak| TKO (shoulder injury)| IFC: Winner's Punch||align=center|1|align=center|1:40|Bydgoszcz, Poland||-|Loss|align=center|10-4|
Gregor Gracie| Submission (rear naked choke)| BCFC: Gracie vs Linke||align=center|1|align=center|2:13|Newark, New Jersey, United States|Return to Welterweight|-|Win|align=center|10-3| Lukasz Baran| TKO (punches)| IFC - Tsunami Tournament 1||align=center|1|align=center|1:25|Debrzno, Poland|Fought at Lightweight|-|Win|align=center|9-3| Lukasz Baran| Submission (standing arm-triangle choke)| Bushido 6||align=center|1|align=center|0:20|Szczecin, Poland|Fought at Lightweight|-|Loss|align=center|8-3| Piotr Sulecki| TKO (corner stoppage)| Iron Fist||align=center|1|align=center|1:30|Szczecin, Poland|Catchweight bout (166 lbs)|-|Win|align=center|8-2| Tomasz Macior| Submission (arm-triangle choke)| Warriors Extreme Fighting||align=center|1|align=center|2:09|Pila, Poland|Lightweight debut|-|Win|align=center|7-2| Lukasz Ptaszynski| Submission (arm-triangle choke)| Bushido 5||align=center|1|align=center|3:32|Szczecin, Poland||-|Win|align=center|6-2| Slawomir Zakrzewski| Submission (arm-triangle choke)| Bushido 3||align=center|1|align=center|1:43|Szczecin, Poland||-|Win|align=center|5-2| Donat Ignatowicz | Submission (kimura)| Bushido 2||align=center|1|align=center|1:18|Szczecin, Poland||-|Win|align=center|4-2| Donat Ignatowicz | Submission (rear naked choke)| Bushido 1||align=center|1|align=center|2:34|Szczecin, Poland||-|Loss|align=center|3-2| Andrzej Kulik | KO (stomp and punches) | Berserkers Arena 2||align=center|1|align=center|0:15|Szczecin, Poland||-|Loss|align=center|3-1| Rodrigo Durok Asmus | Submission (guillotine choke)| Brazil Super Fight||align=center|1|align=center|4:35|Alegre, Brazil||-|Win|align=center|3-0| Damian Grabowski| Submission (rear naked choke) | Berserkers Arena 1||align=center|1|align=center|1:36|Szczecin, Poland||-|Win|align=center|2-0| Dariusz Bres| Submission (keylock) | Polish All-Style Karate Organization - Japanese Gala| |align=center|1|align=center|1:23|Siemiatycze, Poland||-|Win|align=center|1-0| Slawomir Zakrzewski | Submission (triangle choke) | 13 International Boxing Tournament - Pomeranian Griffin Cup||align=center|1|align=center|24:00|Szczecin, Poland|