Cristiano Souza (born August 2, 1982) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes for the Bellator Fighting Championships in the Welterweight Division. He was a fighter on the first season of
On September 17, 2011, Souza made his Bellator debut defeating John Kelly at via unanimous decision.
On November 9, 2012, Souza defeated Robert Otani at via knockout due to punches in round one.
On May 6, 2013, it was announced that Souza would be featured as a participant on Bellator Fighting Championships reality TV show , competing as a Welterweight.
In his elimination fight to get on the show, Souza defeated Steve Montgomery via knockout in the first round. During the team selection, Souza chose Randy Couture to be his coach. In his preliminary fight, Souza faced Evan Cutts. Despite controlling a majority of the fight, Souza lost to Cutts via triangle choke submission in the second round.
Souza came back at Bellator 106 and was scheduled to fight Karo Parisyan but Parisyan withdrew due to injury and was replaced with Alejandro Gracia. Souza controlled the first two rounds before taking down and submitting Gracia via rear naked choke in the third round.
In March 2014, Souza entered the Bellator Season 10 Welterweight tournament as a replacement. He faced Sam Oropeza in the opening round at Bellator 112 and lost via TKO in the first round.
|- |Loss |align=center|7âÂÂ2 |Jose Caceres |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Fight Time 35 | |align=center|2 |align=center|2:45 |Miami, Florida, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|7âÂÂ1 |Sam Oropeza |TKO (punches) |Bellator 112 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:07 |Hammond, Indiana, United States |<small>Bellator Season 10 Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinals</small> |- |Win |align=center|7âÂÂ0 |Alejandro Gracia |Submission (rear naked choke) | | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 3:06 |Long Beach, California, United States | |- |Win |align=center|6âÂÂ0 |Robert Otani |TKO (punches) | | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:46 |Hollywood, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|5âÂÂ0 |John Kelly |Decision (unanimous) | | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Hollywood, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|4âÂÂ0 |Alex Rojas |Submission (guillotine choke) |CFA 1: The Title | |align=center|2 |align=center|3:19 |Miami, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|3âÂÂ0 |Rory Shallcross |KO (punches) |AFO 11: Fusion | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:37 |Tampa, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|2âÂÂ0 |Andrew Flickenger |Submission (rear naked choke) |AOF 8: Fury | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:12 |Estero, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|1âÂÂ0 |Pedro Rubio |KO (punches) |AOF 5: Rumble at Robarts 5 | |align=center|1 |align=center|1:39 |Sarasota, Florida, United States |