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Rob Dicenso

Rob DiCenso went from a late ADCC entry to the 2005 semifinals, then combined MMA and teaching before returning to professional study.

Biography

Rob DiCenso entered the 2005 ADCC World Championship as a late addition and finished fourth in the men's under-66kg division. Representing Canada, the grappler known as “The Spider” submitted Alberto Crane with a choke in the opening round and then defeated Gilbert Melendez to reach the semifinals. Leo Vieira, Rani Yahya and Marcio Feitosa occupied the three places above him in the final standings. By September 2006, DiCenso was preparing to fight for Carlos Newton's Toronto Dragons in the International Fight League. Full Contact Fighter's portrait placed him in training at Warriors Martial Arts Centre in Newmarket alongside teammates including Claude Patrick. It described him as a purple belt from Woodbridge whose home gym was Karma, then known as Wagnney Fabiano's BJJ and MMA Club. His plans already extended beyond fighting. Before his IFL debut, DiCenso told the magazine that he wanted a short professional career, followed by teaching if the opportunity arose and a return to study. His MMA debut came on September 23, 2006, in Moline, Illinois, where Josh Odom stopped him in the third round. Sherdog also records a November 2007 win over Paul Ebejer by first-round arm-triangle submission, leaving his listed professional record at 1–1. Teaching developed alongside those bouts. In March 2007, DiCenso announced that Team Karma had joined M-1 Thai Boxing Academy, with separate MMA, submission-wrestling and sport-jiu-jitsu classes offered three times a week. The arrangement divided the teaching: DiCenso, Joey Scardamaglia and GianPaul Callipo handled MMA and submission wrestling, while Domenic Passero and Joe Ghorayeb taught sport jiu-jitsu. Among DiCenso's students was Darson Hemmings, whom he promoted to purple belt before Hemmings went on to train with Ryan Hall. Takedown MMA's instructor page now lists DiCenso as a BJJ black belt and teacher. In that profile, he describes the pleasure of helping students improve and approach competition with greater self-confidence. The return to study he had discussed in 2006 also appears in his later professional biography. His PHASES biography, published under the name Robert DiCenso, states that he completed a three-year acupuncture diploma at Eight Branches Academy in Toronto and passed the Ontario board examination in 2015. It also describes his continued involvement in jiu-jitsu as both a practitioner and an instructor.

Sources for this profile

  • ADCC,27June2005.(opens in a new tab)

    • Rob DiCenso, known as The Spider, represented Canada and entered the 2005 ADCC World Championship as a late addition.

      Where in the source: First-round report, under65.9kg, Crane/DiCenso paragraph

      Accessed:

    • He defeated Alberto Crane by choke in the opening round of the 2005 ADCC tournament.

      Where in the source: First-round report, under65.9kg

      Accessed:

  • Kid Peligro, ADCC News,28May2005.(opens in a new tab)

    • DiCenso also defeated Gilbert Melendez to reach the 2005 ADCC semifinals.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph

      Accessed:

  • ADCC official2005 results.(opens in a new tab)

    • He finished fourth in the men’s under66kg division at the 2005 ADCC World Championship in Long Beach, behind Leo Vieira, Rani Yahya and Marcio Feitosa.

      Where in the source: OFFICIAL RESULTS /2005 RESULTS /-66kg complete table

      Accessed:

  • Georgia Tsao,Full Contact Fighter,17September2006.(opens in a new tab)

    • In2006 DiCenso trained with Carlos Newton’s Toronto Dragons at Warriors Martial Arts Centre in Newmarket, alongside teammates including Claude Patrick.

      Where in the source: Training-den scene

      Accessed:

    • The contemporary portrait described DiCenso as a purple belt from Woodbridge whose home gym was Karma, then known as Wagnney Fabiano’s BJJ and MMA Club.

      Where in the source: DiCenso paragraph after training scene

      Accessed:

    • Before his IFL debut, DiCenso said he wanted a short professional fighting career, followed by teaching if the opportunity arose and a return to study.

      Where in the source: His quoted career plans

      Accessed:

  • Josh Gross,Sherdog,24September2006.(opens in a new tab)

    • DiCenso made his professional MMA debut for the Toronto Dragons on23September2006, losing to Josh Odom by a third-round stoppage in Moline, Illinois.

      Where in the source: Newton’s squad earns first victory

      Accessed:

  • Sherdog,Rob Di Censo fight record.(opens in a new tab)

    • His recorded professional MMA career includes a November2007 win over Paul Ebejer by first-round arm-triangle submission, giving him a1–1 record.

      Where in the source: FIGHT HISTORY-PRO, both rows

      Accessed:

  • Rob DiCenso announcement carried byADCC,7March2007.(opens in a new tab)

    • InMarch2007, DiCenso announced that Team Karma had joined M-1 Thai Boxing Academy, offering separate MMA, submission-wrestling and sport-jiu-jitsu classes three times weekly.

      Where in the source: Signed announcement,firstparagraph

      Accessed:

    • He named himself, Joey Scardamaglia and GianPaul Callipo as the MMA and submission-wrestling instructors, with Domenic Passero and Joe Ghorayeb teaching sport jiu-jitsu.

      Where in the source: Signed announcement,secondparagraph

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes,Darson Hemmings.(opens in a new tab)

    • DiCenso taught Darson Hemmings and awarded his purple belt before Hemmings moved on to train with Ryan Hall.

      Where in the source: Biography,paragraph about leavingXtremeCouture

      Accessed:

  • Takedown MMA,Instructors.(opens in a new tab)

    • Takedown MMA’s instructor page lists Rob Di Censo as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and instructor.

      Where in the source: NamedRobDiCenso instructor block

      Accessed:

    • In his Takedown instructor profile, he says he enjoys helping students improve and compete with greater self-confidence.

      Where in the source: RobDiCenso block,WhyDoYouLoveToCoach

      Accessed:

  • PHASES,RobertDiCenso biography.(opens in a new tab)

    • His professional biography under the name Robert DiCenso says he completed a three-year acupuncture diploma at Eight Branches Academy in Toronto and passed the Ontario board examination in2015.

      Where in the source: Clinical Excellence

      Accessed:

    • The same biography identifies him as the2005 ADCC semifinalist and says he remains involved in Brazilian jiu-jitsu as both practitioner and instructor.

      Where in the source: A Legacy of Elite Performance and FunFacts

      Accessed:

Competition results

Recorded tournament results, newest first
YearEventResultDivision
2005ADCC 2005Source: adcombat.com-66 kgNo-giVerified4th place-66 kgNo-giVerified

Lineage

No teaching connections are shown on this page.

Open lineage