Antonio “The Spartan” Caruso

Status: Former ONE Athlete

Adelaide, Australia’s Antonio Caruso began training in martial arts with boxing, and he soon himself the nickname of “The Spartan” due to his extreme training regimen. He was raised by a single father and his grandparents, who instilled in him the virtues of hard work, humility, honor, and respect. Influenced by movies such as “Rocky” and “The Karate Kid”, he and his older brothers began training in Shotokan karate with their uncle, with Caruso going on to train and compete in boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and mixed martial arts.

Caruso made his professional mixed martial arts debut in early 2013, encouraged by his BJJ coach and nominated by his brother without his knowledge. He began his professional career by going a perfect 7-0 with five fast finishes before relocating to Florida to train at Hard Knocks 365, where he trains under the legendary Henri Hooft alongside top-level training partners, including ONE World Champions Aung La N Sang and Martin Nguyen.

A multiple-time BJJ champion, Caruso is proud of his work ethic and ability to apply pressure, and he believes that most opponents cannot handle his intensity, both standing and on the ground. His goals in ONE Championship are to stake his claim as a world-class competitor and to become the first mixed martial arts World Champion from South Australia.