Francisco Albano Barrio
Francisco Albano Barrio (born 22 June 1989), commonly known as Croata Barrio, is an Argentina-born Croatian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of KSW.
| Francisco Albano Barrio | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Francisco Albano Barrio 22 June 1989 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Other names | El Croata |
| Nationality | Argentine-Croatian |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Weight | 145 lb (66 kg) |
| Division | Lightweight |
| Style | Wrestling |
| Fighting out of | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Team | SBG Ireland American Top Team Zagreb |
| Years active | 1997-present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 10 |
| Wins | 8 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 4 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Argentina | ||
| Greco-Roman Wrestling | ||
| ALBA Games | ||
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon} | 2011 Caracas, Venezuela | 74 kg |
| Pan American Championship | ||
| 2017 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil | 71 kg |
| 2010 Monterrey, Mexico | 74 kg |
| South American Games | ||
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon} | 2010 Medellin, Colombia | 66 kg |
| Pan American Championship | ||
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon} | 2008 Cuenca, Ecuador | 66 kg |
| Pan American Championship | ||
| 2007 Maracaibo, Venezuela | 66 kg |
Background
Barrio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1994, he and his family moved to Zagreb, Croatia. It was here that he began Greco-Roman wrestling, in which he competed for the Argentina national team from 2005 to 2012. Today, he is a professional mixed martial artist and is signed with Final Fight Championship, one of the fastest growing MMA promotions in Europe.[1]
Greco-Roman Wrestling career
At the age of seven, Barrio became interested in the sport, and practiced various disciplines. He began training in Lokomotiva Wrestling Club, Zagreb. He soon started to win tournaments, which led to him participating in national championships, and then in international events. In Croatia he gained experience by competing regularly with wrestlers from all across Europe. He stood out as a wrestler with great potential.
At seventeen he returned with his family to their home country, Argentina, where he continued with the training activities. He has managed several victories both locally and internationally, Multiple Argentine champion in the junior and senior categories, being undefeated in the 66 kg category. He excelled in international competitions such as the Pan American and South American, taking three medals in the first tournament and two in the second.
He competed in various international tournaments in America, Asia and Europe, and later in the Olympic Wrestling trials in Orlando, Florida ahead of the 2012 games in London. He lost on points in a close fight against Wuileixis Rivas, in which the winner qualified directly to the Olympic Games.
Francisco accumulated over 100 wins in all his Greco-Roman Wrestling career.
He competed in Croatian Wrestling League, in -74 kg weight category, on 12 October 2013 while preparing for his Final Fight Championship debut. In 2nd league round he scored victory for Lokomotiva Wrestling Club, the same club where he made his first steps in wrestling.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Francisco Barrio started his mixed martial arts career while training at Nova União and the Pana Wrestling Team in Buenos Aires. His debut was in the lightweight division, on 14 July 2012, at Real Combat Conviction. He won via submission, with a rear-naked choke just 1:14 into the first round.
On October 20, 2012 Francisco win Alexander Ceballos via Submission (keylock).[2] At KIF 2 - Killer Instinct Fight 2, Croata defeated Esteban Zuñiga via TKO in first round.[3]
FFC
On June 27, 2013, Croata signed with the European MMA promotion, Final Fight Championship.[1] Francisco won in his Final Fight Championship debut by unanimous decision against Darko Banović in the Featherweight division.[4] Francisco next defeated Patrick Peresa, after 54 seconds of the third round, by submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at FFC13.[5]
The official public page of Final Fight Championship announced that Francisco will fight Vaso Bakočević in FFC on October 31, 2014, in a featherweight title eliminator. The fight failed to materialize, and Barrio was rescheduled to fight Filip Pejić at FFC 15.[6] Pejić won the fight by a first-round knockout.[7]
After his loss to Pejić, Barrio took a five year break from the sport. He returned in December 2019, when he was scheduled to fight Adi Duraković at FNC 2. The fight ended after 18 seconds, as Duraković collapsed to the floor.[8] Barrio fought again at FNC 3, against Aleksandar Janković.[9] He beat Janković by a third-round submission via neck crank.[10]
KSW
Barrrio signed with KSW on October 31, 2020 and faced Mateusz Legierski at KSW 56: Polska vs. Chorwacja on November 14, 2020. [11] He lost the fight via majority decision.[12] His second fight with KSW came at KSW 58: Kołecki vs. Zawada, when he faced Bartłomiej Kopera.[13] Barrio won the fight by unanimous decision.[14]
Personal life
Francisco is the son of the popular Croatian Brigadier Rodolfo Barrio Saavedra who was actively involved in the Croatian War of Independence.[15]
Rankings
- Barrio was ranked second in division at the 2007 Pan American Championship in Maracaibo, Venezuela[16]
- Barrio was ranked second in the 2008 Pan American Championship in Ecuador.
- Barrio was ranked 20th World Championship held in Beijing, China[16]
- Barrio was ranked third in the 2010 Pan American Championship in Monterrey, Mexico
- Barrio was ranked number one in the 2010 South American Games.
- Argentinian champion: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
- 2014 No. 7 prospect in the world up to 66 kg.
Honors
- Olimpia de plata: 2008.
- Revelacion Clarin: 2010.
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 10 matches | 8 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 1 |
| By submission | 4 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 8–2 | Bartłomiej Kopera | Decision (unanimous) | KSW 58: Kołecki vs. Zawada | January 30, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Łódź, Poland | |
| Loss | 7–2 | Mateusz Legierski | Decision (majority) | KSW 56: Materla vs. Soldić | November 14, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Łódź, Poland | |
| Win | 7–1 | Aleksandar Janković | Submission (neck crank) | Fight Nation Championship 3 | July 31, 2020 | 3 | 2:19 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 6–1 | Adi Duraković | TKO (retirement) | Fight Nation Championship 2: Edge of Tomorrow | December 14, 2019 | 1 | 0:18 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Loss | 5–1 | Filip Pejić | KO (punch) | FFC 15: Poreč | November 21, 2014 | 1 | 4:20 | Poreč, Croatia | FFC Featherweight title eliminator. |
| Win | 5–0 | Patrick Pereša | Submission (rear-naked choke) | FFC 13: Jurković vs. Tavares | June 6, 2014 | 3 | 0:50 | Zadar, Croatia | |
| Win | 4–0 | Darko Banović | Decision (unanimous) | FFC 8: Zelg vs. Rodriguez | October 25, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Esteban Zuñiga | TKO (doctor stoppage) | KIF 2 - Killer Instinct Fight 2 | May 25, 2013 | 1 | 1:05 | Neuquen, Argentina | |
| Win | 2–0 | Alexander Ceballos | Submission (americana) | KIF - Killer Instinct Fight | October 20, 2012 | 1 | 3:35 | Neuquen, Argentina | |
| Win | 1–0 | Santiago Mendez | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Conviction MMA 3 - Argentina vs. Peru | July 14, 2012 | 1 | 0:51 | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
References
- ""Croata" Barrio joins the FFC, set to make his debut in Sarajevo!" (in Croatian). finalfight.hr. 27 Jun 2013.
- ""Croata" stigao do druge profesionalne pobjede" (in Croatian). profightstore.hr. 22 October 2012.
- ""Croata" Croata Barrio doslovno uništio svog protivnika kojem je trebalo 17 šavova" (in Croatian). profightstore.hr. 28 May 2013.
- "Zelg Galešić poražen polugom u 1. rundi, Ivica Trušček brutalan". Profightstore.
- "Francisco CROATA Barrio :Postati želim najboljši !!!!". fight-madness.com. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- "Filip Pejić: U Poreču ću iskoristiti priliku koja mi je FFC dao!". regionalexpress.hr. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- "FFC 15 MMA: Halmi osvojio pojas u najboljoj FFC borbi ikad, veliki preokret i pobjeda Pejića nad Barriom, poraz Batinića". parentium.com. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- "Dobre vijesti: 'Croatin' protivnik koji je pao u nesvijest na FNC-u 2 se oporavlja i pušten je kući". fightsite.hr. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- "FNC potvrdio još jedan zanimljiv okršaj: 'Croata' saznao protivnika za nastup na 'Fighting Islandu'". fightsite.hr. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- "VIDEO Evo kako je Croata gušio srpskog borca: Tko je idući? E, sad mi dajte onog patuljka Vasu". 24sata.hr. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- "Croata Barrio saznao protivnika, ide na velikog neporaženog poljskog talenta". FightSite.hr.
- SHAKIEL MAHJOURI (November 14, 2020). "KSW 56 Results And Video Highlights: Fighter Breaks His Leg!". fightful.com.
- "Najavljena borba Croate Barria za iduću KSW priredbu, čeka ga još jedan Poljak". fightsite.hr. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- "'Croata' svladao Koperu i u Poljskoj stigao do važne pobjede u KSW-ovom kavezu!". fightsite.hr. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- "Francisco 'Croata' Barrio: Moj otac nije Hrvat, ali došao se boriti u ratu" (in Croatian). 21 September 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- "Athlete information−Barrio, Francisco". International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
