Is John Gotti III, the grandson of infamous New York gangster John Gotti, an MMA fighter? 

John Gotti III, grandson of fabled New York mob boss John Gotti, is an MMA fighter. He is currently competing at CES MMA, a promotion based out of Providence, Rhode Island. The promotion's fights are regularly telecast live on UFC Fight Pass.

His grandfather, the infamous boss of the Gambino crime family of New York City, is considered one of the most notorious crime syndicate leaders in history. As per police investigations, John Gotti orchestrated the murder of the former Gambino boss, Paul Castellano, in order to take over the organized crime unit.

In 1992, Gotti was convicted of five murders, conspiracy to commit murder, racketeering, obstruction of justice, tax evasion, illegal gambling, extortion, and loansharking. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole and was moved to United States Penitentiary, Marion, a prison in the southern region of Illinois.

Gotti died of throat cancer on June 10, 2002. He was being held at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri at the time.

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How did John Gotti III get into MMA?

Despite coming from a background of organized crime, John Gotti III managed to break out and make a life for himself in the world of mixed martial arts. A football player growing up, he made the transition to body-building and combat sports.

John Gotti III shared in a 2018 interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that his first steps into MMA happened with the UFC 57 title fight between Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. His father, John Gotti Jr., who had just got out of prison at the time, introduced him to mixed martial arts.

In a 2019 interview with the UFC ahead of CES MMA 56, John Gotti III revealed that his work ethic and hardworking temperament made his teammates accept him without any misgivings:

"Once they saw what kind of work ethic I had and that I was the real deal and wasn’t a fraud and that I was eager to learn and listen and be a team player, they embraced me with open arms."

John Gotti III made his professional debut at CES MMA 46 in October 2017 against Johnny Adams. He went on to amass a streak of five wins before losing to Nick Alley in his last outing at CES MMA 61.

He was supposed to face Jared Chauvin in a welterweight bout at CES MMA 62 in April this year, but the fight was scrapped.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently mentioned John Gotti III on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, and said:

"There's a kid named John Gotti III, John Gotti, the gangster's grandson. He is an MMA fighter. And he's good. So far he is fighting on these small promotions. But he's f***ing people up. He's jacked."