Luigi Fioravanti - Roma Gladiatoria

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By Rhett Butler

In Latin, the word Gladiatores literally translates to "swordsmen" or "one who uses a sword" and was used to describe fighters in ancient Rome who fought against each other, wild animals, and condemned criminals, sometimes to the death, for the entertainment of spectators. These fights took place in arenas in many cities from the Roman Republic period through the Roman Empire.

Today, take away the wild animals, condemned criminals, and fighting to the death, and we call these fighters mixed martial artists. And although the sword has also been removed from game play, the ferocity remains. Luigi Fioravanti lives as a gladiator and has been on that path even before his conception. As a career highlight-able match against the “Nightmare” from New Mexico, Diego Sanchez, looms in the distance, the world waits to see the true test of his gladiator spirit.

“This is a really good fight with Diego,” said Fioravanti. “It’s going to project me and showcase my skills, and people are going to know who I am because it’s going to be on TV. Diego’s a really good fighter, a tough fighter, and he’s a highly touted fighter. He also has a lot of experience and a lot of stuff riding on this; with a win over Diego it’s going to shoot me right up the 170 pound ladder.”

Unbeknownst to the casual viewer, March’s UFC 82: Pride of a Champion card set in motion this pairing of two fighters in their prime. Both Luigi and Diego had suffered decision losses in 2007 within three months of each other to Forrest Petz and Jon Fitch, respectively. Their next battles came on the same card in Columbus, Ohio and those fights saw the comeback trails ignite for both men.

Fioravanti cruised past Matt Serra protégé, Luke Cummo to win a unanimous decision victory while Sanchez welcomed Brazilian Top Team’s Swede, David Biekhelden, to the UFC via a first round submission by strikes. Both fights were held on the undercard segment of the show, not guaranteed for television, not guaranteed for continuance if both didn’t find a way to win. Now with matchmaker Joe Silva’s assumed plan A of the two winning having worked out, we get the boys back in primetime action. Luigi was wise enough to count his blessings.

“I don’t take things for granted and I appreciate everything that I have, that people give me and people help me with,” he said. “Once somebody teaches me something or I learn something new I’m real appreciative of it because in the Marines you learn that you have to appreciate everything that you have and in the gym that we’re at we have that same kind of camaraderie between each other like we did in the Marines, you know.”

ROME TO ST. PETERSBURG-NOT RUSSIA

Luigi’s gladiator story has its roots in the actual city where the hallowed clashes occurred, deep into the heart of Rome. The spark would fully aflame in the humid tropics of Florida.

“I grew up in St. Petersburg (Florida),” he recalled. “My parents are from Italy, so when they came here and they didn’t really speak much English, they had to learn English while I was growing up and I would learn English as well so that’s why I don’t speak Italian either (laughs). My dad is from Rome and my mom’s from Naples. I grew up middle class, low to middle class, I guess. My dad was a chef, my mom was a stay at home mom for a little bit, and then as I got into high school she eventually went to work. They moved to Florida thinking that they would have a better life for themselves in the United States. They wanted to be U.S. citizens and eventually that’s what happened, they attained that goal”

It was in high school that Fioravanti started wrestling, which then led to some judo in his senior year of high school. After high school, he entered the Marines during the height of the Gulf War conflict, yet started doing a little bit of jiu jitsu at a local school matched with hand to hand combat, ground fighting techniques, grappling, and striking.

“At first I figured I’d do it for fun,” he said, “I still do it for fun, I love it and it’s just in me to fight. Right now it helps me pay the bills and stuff like that but I just do it because I love it.”

However, fate led him to Florida’s premier MMA team system, American Top Team.

“I was I was up in Orlando and I had fought - it was like my third fight and I actually fought an American Top Team guy. I beat him by decision. He was a really tough guy, a really good fighter and after that I was still training at a gym in Orlando and then I had left the gym that I was training at and I was asked to come down and check it out. I thought it was a good idea because I needed that next level of training, that next level of instruction to help me become a better fighter.”

Indeed, as Fioravanti now gets his chance before a formidable foe in front of the thriving Spike TV audience. Although confident in his chance for a win, he is careful to point out the level of competition is slightly even on this level of play.

“At this level, you know guys don’t really have weaknesses. Everybody knows Diego doesn’t have the greatest stand-up but he has stand up, and he works on his stand up just like I do everyday. He just does what’s best for him and that’s take people down and beat them up on the ground. For me it’s to keep it on my feet but I can also take people down and beat them up on the ground too.”

Having both suffered losses to current welterweight title contender, Jon Fitch, Fioravanti sees the way to the crown atop Georges St. Pierre’s head as a road still a ways ahead of him and others in the division when asked how he would compare against the Canadian.

“It’s hard to say because Georges St. Pierre, he’s a bad mother-he’s a bad mofo, he’s just a bad dude and I can’t really make a comparison with that guy and a lot of people can’t; right now he’s untouchable.”

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