MMA veteran Jorge Gurgel retires following tragic death of mother

Silvia Gallo had one more errand to run before departing the big city, but she’d never even get the chance to leave.

The 58-year-old mother of MMA veteran Jorge Gurgel was flying to Ireland out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport at 6 a.m. the following morning to start a new chapter in her life. She was a Pilates instructor by trade. She would be living and teaching across the pond for a year.

Her three suitcases were already packed on the floor of her Manhattan apartment. Nearby was a notepad with a checklist showing one small, simple task remaining – getting her iPad fixed at the Apple store.

She would accomplish her final undertaking, which was fitting for a prodigious go-getter. But she would never make it back home.

As a result, Gurgel has made the decision to retire from mixed martial arts competition. It was always his mother’s wish. She knew it was never his true calling in life. He was too much like her.

* * * * *

Madison Avenue and 79th Street in New York City’s Upper East Side is precisely what you’d imagine.

At any given hour, the intersection is full of people from all walks of life. There are sounds of construction and ever-present criss-crossing traffic, and commerce everywhere you look. A Chase Bank, J Crew clothing store, Serafina Italian restaurant, and a 15-story cooperative apartment house dot the four corners.

August 29 was no different. It was a sunny 78 degrees with clear skies around 2 p.m. when Gallo, with restored iPad in tow, walked north on Madison and attempted to cross 79th Street on her way back home. She was still many blocks away.

At the same time, a yellow Nissan NV200 cab driven by a 30-year-old male, with a 32-year-old female passenger, also traveling north on Madison, sped up to try to make a left onto 79th before the light changed.

They met in the middle of the street.

The cab struck and ran over Gallo, dragging her underneath for many feet until it came to a stop in front of the aforementioned residential structure.

As many as a dozen bystanders rushed to the scene, including a construction crew that had been working nearby. Nobody was able to get a response from her and she remained pinned. The group decided to band together and flip the cab on its side to get it off her. They were successful in their heroic endeavor, but the damage was already done.

Gallo was rushed by EMS to Lenox Hill Hospital, but she was unable to be saved.

Gurgel would lose his mother, biggest inspiration, biggest supporter, and best friend in a matter of careless seconds that day.

* * * * *

“Your mom has been in an accident,” the female doctor on the other end tried to explain.

Gurgel was teaching class at his JG Martial Arts Academy in Cincinnati when he received a call from an unlisted 212 area code number he knew was New York.

“I flipped out a little bit,” Gurgel told MMAjunkie. “‘What do you mean? What do you mean? How is she? How is my mom?’

“(The doctor) goes, ‘I’m sorry. She died.’ Just like that.”

It was inconceivable. Gurgel had spoken to his mother some 40 minutes before the accident. He was having some employee-related issues while in the process of moving his academy to nearby Middletown.

He recalled their conversation.

“She literally said, ‘If you die tomorrow, everybody’s lives will still go on. You don’t need to take care of everybody. I want you to get rid of all the bad energy in your life. You have to get rid of all the crazy.’

“It was of those mom speeches,” he said.

By all accounts, Gallo was the kind of woman you wouldn’t soon forget after meeting her. She was warm, full of energy, and welcomed the possibilities and challenges of each day with open arms. She had a zest for life you’re either born with or you aren’t.

“She was all about positivity,” Gurgel said. “She had the biggest smile in the world. She hated people that played ‘poor me, poor me.’ She was all about owning your s–t. Get the hell up. Get your s–t done. Don’t find excuses. She did not believe in excuses.

“Everybody who knows me knows that she was my hero. She was many people’s hero. The person I am today I owe 100 percent – not 99 percent – 100 percent to her. Everything I am and everything I’ve accomplished is because of her. She believed in me.”

* * * * *

A mother can only like the idea of her son fighting in a cage against another man so much.

Gallo was always too nervous to attend her son’s fights in person, but she watched on television when she could and was an ardent supporter nonetheless.

“She always knew the work ethic I had – the sacrifice it takes to be a professional mixed martial artist,” Gurgel said. “Everywhere we went (she said), ‘This is my son. The fighter I talked about. This is the fighter.’ She was just so proud.'”

In a career that began in March 2002, the 37-year-old Gurgel finishes with a record of 14-10, including seven appearances inside the UFC’s octagon. He also was a cast member on the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Gurgel likely will be remembered most for his throw-caution-to-the-wind approach, which always seemed to translate into aesthetically pleasing affairs that fans enjoyed.

“I always left it all in the cage,” he said. “Every time I stepped in the cage was my proudest moment – knowing that I stepped in the cage every single time 100 percent prepared and gave it my all.

“I may not have always followed the game plans. If I had, I would have been more successful. But did I fight with all my heart? Yes. I’m a warrior. I’m an old-school warrior.”

* * * * *

In reality, Gurgel always was a better coach than fighter.

He’ll tell you that. His mother certainly had no problem saying it. It simply was the truth.

Over the years, he has groomed two world champions in former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former Bellator MMA strawweight champion Zoila Frausto. In addition, he’s placed a laundry list of fighters into the UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator.

In the back of his mother’s head all along, she knew he was born to coach. He was a spitting image of her – someone who was able to communicate effectively with others and teach the intricacies of a craft with ease. She would remind him of it periodically to try to get him to shift his focus entirely onto his students.

Before Gurgel’s final fight against Mike Ricci under the Titan FC banner in February, she became even more adamant about him stepping away. He also was going through a divorce at the time.

Gurgel remembers her exact words.

“If you continue to fight, you’re never going to give your students or the future generation a fair chance,” she said.

Following her death, Gurgel has chosen to honor his mother’s wish to walk away from the cage for good. The mats aren’t going anywhere.

“My goal now is to make people’s lives better and make them feel better about themselves,” Gurgel said. “People that come (into the academy) overweight. People that come with low self-confidence. People that come who have been bullied in school. There’s no better feeling than seeing them six months later winning NAGA (North American Grappling Association) competitions or knocking people out in muay Thai competitions, knowing that I had a part in all that. Knowing that I created that (is satisfying).

“I’m going to continue to change as many lives as I can for the positive using martial arts to do it. It changed my life. I want to spread it all forward.”

Gurgel appreciates the thoughts and prayers he has received following his mother’s death, but said he doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him.

In fact, he was back teaching classes almost immediately after. Celebrating her life with his two brothers, Bebeto and Rafael, has fueled him.

“I’m happy because I feel like she’s with me,” he said. “She talks to me. I’m going to do what she told me. I’m creating the life I want to live. And nobody can f—ing stop me.”

Derek Bolender is a freelance MMA writer. Follow him on Twitter at @MMAjunkieDerek.