Salvatore "Sam" Greco (born 3 May 1967) is an Australian retired full contact karateka, heavyweight K-1 kickboxer, and mixed martial artist.
In 2015, Greco stated that he considered the part of Brunswick that he grew up in was 'rough' at the time, and ultimately contributed to his fitness and mental development from a young age.
His Italian-born father, Vittorio, encouraged him to get involved with soccer from an early age and joined the local Italian backed club, Juventus.
[4] At the conclusion of the season and after ten years playing for his local club, Greco decided to focus solely on karate and discontinued his soccer career at the age of seventeen.
[7] In 1991, he competed in the 5th World Open Tournament in Japan losing to Michael Thompson in the first round on decision due to accidentally punching him in the face.
In the final he fought Michael Thompson winning in the first round with a left low kick followed by a straight right body shot to become the Karate World Cup Champion.
[12] He wrestled again in December 2003, appearing in AJPW to team up with Keiji Mutoh and Abdullah the Butcher against Taka Michinoku, Jamal and D'lo Brown from the villainous faction RO&D.
[14] He played the stunt double for retired professional wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin in the 2007 action thriller The Condemned and also had a small part in the 2008 Australian boxing drama film, Two Fists One Heart which was shot in Western Australia.
On 23 March 2018, Greco suffered a heart attack prior to and during his fighter Jimmy Crute competing in the Hex Fight Series and had triple bypass surgery.