5 Things You Might Not Know About Yorgan De Castro

Yorgan De Castro looked at the Professional Fighters League setup, the promise of a $1 million pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and thought, “Why not me?”

The well-traveled 35-year-old will kick off his 2023 regular-season campaign when he confronts Denis Goltsov in a three-round PFL 2 heavyweight showcase on Friday inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. De Castro enters his organizational debut on the strength of a three-fight winning streak. He last appeared under the Eagle Fighting Championship banner on May 20, as he was awarded a technical knockout over Junior dos Santos after the Brazilian suffered a shoulder injury in the third round of their encounter.

As De Castro makes final preparations for his forthcoming battle with Goltsov, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He took a most unconventional route.

De Castro was born on Dec. 19, 1987 in Mindelo, Cape Verde—a port city with a population of roughly 70,000 people. Located off the western coast of Africa, it sits some 3,335 miles east of Professional Fighters League headquarters in New York.

2. His was a better-late-than-never approach.

“The Mad Titan” did not make his professional mixed martial arts debut until he was 29 years old, as he defanged James Dysard with punches a mere 39 seconds into their Nov. 17, 2017 encounter under the CES MMA flag. It remains De Castro’s fastest finish to date.

3. The northeast regional scene allowed him to bloom quickly.

De Castro captured the vacant New England Fights catchweight championship in just his third career appearance when he punched out Ras Hylton a little more than two minutes into their NEF 36 co-main event in November 2018. He has not fought for the Maine-based company since.

4. He flamed out at the highest level.

The Cape Verdean nailed down a spot on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster during Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he cut down Alton Meeks with a leg kick and follow up punches 4:45 into the first round of their June 18, 2019 pairing. De Castro was released by the organization after compiling a 1-3 record inside the Octagon, his “Performance of the Night”-winning knockout of Justin Tafa offset by losses to Greg Hardy, Carlos Felipe and Jarjis Danho.

5. He keeps a busy schedule.

De Castro, who once trained with “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 semifinalist Joe Lauzon, operates out of the Regiment Training Center in Fall River, Massachusetts, where he sharpens his skills under coaches Brian Raposo and Tommy Teixeira. He also works as an assistant striking coach at the academy.