WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on April 5, 2009 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois^[1]. The event aired live on the Versus Network.

Background[link]

This was the first WEC event to exclusively feature fights in the lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight weight classes. The organization's heavier weight classes had been folded into the UFC over the previous four months. World Extreme Cagefighting would maintain this weight class structure for the remainder of the promotion's existence.

WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres was to defend his title against Brian Bowles at this event, but Bowles was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a back injury, and was replaced by WEC newcomer Takeya Mizugaki.^[2]. The Torres/Bowles bout was rescheduled for WEC 42 that August, where Bowles won the title by knockout.

Early reports suggested that Wagnney Fabiano could face former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber at this event, though he was later confirmed to be facing Fredson Paixao instead.^[3]

Future WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis was scheduled to make his WEC debut at this event against Anthony Njokuani, but was forced from the card with a broken hand and was replaced by Bart Palaszewski.

Cole Province was originally slated to face Rafael Dias at this event, but bowed out due to an injury and was replaced by Mike Budnik.^[4]

A featherweight bout between Cub Swanson and Diego Nunes was once scheduled for this card, but was cancelled after Nunes suffered a hand injury three days prior to the event.^[5]

The event drew an estimated 470,000 viewers on Versus.^[6]

Results[link]

Preliminary card[link]

• Featherweight bout: Rafael Dias vs. Mike Budnik

Dias defeated Budnik via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)

• Bantamweight bout: Akitoshi Tamura vs. Manny Tapia

Tamura defeated Tapia via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)

• Bantamweight bout: Rani Yahya vs. Eddie Wineland

Yahya defeated Wineland via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:07 of round 1.

• Featherweight bout: Wagnney Fabiano vs. Fredson Paixao

Fabiano defeated Paixao via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)

• Bantamweight bout: Dominick Cruz vs. Ivan Lopez

Cruz defeated Lopez via technical unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28). Cruz landed an illegal knee to the head of Lopez while he was on the ground at 3:24 of round 3. Since Lopez was unable to continue, the bout went to the scorecards.^[7]

• Lightweight bout: Anthony Njokuani vs. Bart Palaszewski

Njokuani defeated Palaszewski via TKO (punches) at 0:27 of round 2. This bout was featured on the main broadcast.

Main card[link]

• Featherweight bout: Rafael Assuncao vs. Jameel Massouh

Assuncao defeated Massouh via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)

• Lightweight bout: Ben Henderson vs. Shane Roller

Henderson defeated Roller via TKO (punches) at 1:41 of round 1.

• Bantamweight bout: Joseph Benavidez vs. Jeff Curran

Benavidez defeated Curran via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)

• Bantamweight Championship bout: Miguel Torres (c) vs. Takeya Mizugaki

Torres defeated Mizugaki via unanimous decision (49–46, 49–46, 48–47) to retain the WEC Bantamweight title.

Bonus Awards[link]

Fighters were awarded $10,000 bonuses.^[8]

• Fight of the Night: Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki
• Knockout of the Night: Anthony Njokuani
• Submission of the Night: Rani Yahya

See also[link]

• List of WEC Events

External links[link]

• Official WEC website

References[link]

Takeya Mizugaki (水垣偉弥, Mizugaki Takeya^?) (born December 16, 1983) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who currently competes in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of October 2011, Mizugaki is ranked the #10 bantamweight in the world by Sherdog.^[1]

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Mizugaki began his mixed martial arts career competed in respected Japanese promotions Shooto and Cage Force. He was the Shooto Rookie of the Year in 2003 and winner of the Cage Force Bantamweight tournament.

World Extreme Cagefighting[link]

Mizugaki made his World Extreme Cagefighting debut on April 5, 2009 against Miguel Torres for the WEC Bantamweight Championship in which he lost by unanimous decision in the fifth round; he can lay claim as the first to push Torres all five rounds. He fought Jeff Curran on August 9, 2009 at WEC 42, he won by decision.

Mizugaki was expected to face Damacio Page on December 19, 2009 at WEC 45,^[2] but Page was forced off the card due to an injury.^[3] Mizugaki instead faced Scott Jorgensen^[4] and lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Mizugaki recently faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya on April 24, 2010 at WEC 48.^[5] He won the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).

Mizugaki was set to face former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber, who was to be making his bantamweight debut, on August 18, 2010 at WEC 50.^[6] However, Faber was forced off the card with an injury. As a result, Mizugaki was also pulled from the event.^[7]

Mizugaki was defeated by Faber via first round submission November 11, 2010 at WEC 52.^[8][9] Mizugaki showed good take down defense but was hurt via punches toward the end of the first round, allowing Faber to take his back. After Faber was able to sink in a rear naked choke, Mizugaki refused to tap and as a result, was rendered unconscious.

Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]

On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, most WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.^[10]

Mizugaki was expected to face Francisco Rivera on March 3, 2011 at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann.^[11] However, Rivera had to withdraw from the bout due to injury, and was replaced by UFC newcomer Reuben Duran.^[12] Mizugaki defeated Duran via split decision.

Mizugaki faced Brian Bowles on July 2, 2011 at UFC 132.^[13] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Mizugaki faced Cole Escovedo on September 24, 2011 at UFC 135. Mizugaki utilized his crisp boxing to defeat Escovedo at 4:30 of the 2nd round via TKO.^[14]

Mizugaki faced Chris Cariaso on February 26, 2012 at UFC 144.^[15] Cariaso defeated Mizugaki via controversial judge's decision.^[16] Despite the loss on the scorecards, UFC president Dana White felt Mizugaki won the bout and stated in the post-fight press conference that he would be paid a win bonus.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Mizugaki holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from Kanto Gakuin University.

Mixed martial arts record[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official UFC Profile
• Professional MMA record for Takeya Mizugaki from Sherdog
• Takeya Mizugaki Stats and Community Rankings on Tapology

Frank Mir
Born	Francisco Santos Miranda, III (1979-05-24) May 24, 1979 (age 33) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1][2]
Weight	261 lb (118 kg; 18 st 9 lb)
Division	Heavyweight
Reach	79 in (201 cm)
Style	Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kenpo Karate, Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling
Fighting out of	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Team	University of Grappling[3] Suffer Training Center
Trainer	Ricky Lundell[4] Robert Drysdale
Rank	Black belt in Kenpo Karate Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active	2001 –present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	22
Wins	16
By knockout	4
By submission	9
By decision	2
By disqualification	1
Losses	6
By knockout	6
Spouse	Jennifer (2004 – present)
Children	3
Notable school(s)	Bonanza High School
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: October 11, 2011

Francisco Santos Miranda, III^[5][6] (born May 24, 1979), better known as Frank Mir, is an American mixed martial artist, as well as a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpō Karate.

Mir, one of the most accomplished heavyweights in MMA history, is a two time UFC Heavyweight Champion . He currently holds the record for most victories in the heavyweight division of the UFC with 14 and most wins by submission in UFC Heavyweight division history with 8. He is also the only man in UFC history to win a bout by toe hold.^[7] As of January 2012 he is ranked the #4 In the ESPN MMA Power Rankings.^[8]He holds the distinction of being the first and only man to both knock out and submit MMA legend Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. Mir is the only person to submit former UFC Heavyweight Champion and NCAA Division I wrestler Brock Lesnar and highly regarded striker Cheick Kongo. Frank Mir has had more fights in the UFC than anyone else currently competing in the heavyweight division.

Early life[link]

His father convinced him to begin wrestling, on the basis that it could help him avoid submissions. Mir then began wrestling at Bonanza High School in Las Vegas, Nevada where during his junior year he lost his first nine matches.^[9] During his senior year (1998) he went 44–1 and won the state championship.^[9] He was also on the school's football team that reached the Southern Zone semifinals in 1997 and where he played as fullback and defensive end. He also took up track and field in 1998 where his discus throw of 177 feet, 10 inches is still a Sunset Regional record.^[9]

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Mir met UFC matchmaker Joe Silva at a school Silva was visiting. Silva saw potential in Mir as a future UFC fighter and suggested that he first prove himself against some fighters in the mixed martial arts world. Mir would make his professional MMA debut against Jerome Smith at HOOKnSHOOT: Showdown on July 14, 2001. Mir won the bout by judges' decision after two rounds. He won another match by submission against Dan Quinn at IFC Warriors Challenge 15.

After these events, Mir made his UFC debut against Roberto Travern. Traven had fought once in the UFC before (at UFC 11), and was the 1999 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship open class champion and 6th degree black belt in BJJ.^[10] Mir defeated Roberto Travern by armbar at 1:05 of round one at UFC 34: High Voltage on November 2, 2001. The submission earned Mir the "Tapout of the Night" award.

Mir's next match in the UFC was against Pete Williams and took place at UFC 36: Worlds Collide on March 22, 2002. Mir submitted the veteran Williams (who had never been submitted before^[11]) at only 46 seconds into the first round with a shoulder lock that has since been named after Mir.^[12]

He faced Ian Freeman, at UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall, held in London, England on July 13, 2002. Despite several leglock attempts by Mir, Freeman achieved side control at around four minutes into the first round, landing numerous elbows and punches on Mir's head. After Freeman separated, the referee signaled Mir to stand back up. A time out was called due to an apparent cut on Mir's face, and the referee stopped the fight when Mir had difficulty standing up. The call is considered controversial by some fans (including Mir himself) because of the fact that he was never officially finished by Freeman and the fight only stopped due to difficulty standing up, which has been suggested was a smart, but bad call by the referee since that loss.

After the considered-controversial loss to Freeman, Mir then faced David "Tank" Abbott at UFC 41 on February 28, 2003. Mir^[13] defeated Abbott in only 46 seconds into the first round by submission (Toe Hold).

On June 26, 2003 Mir fought Wes Sims at UFC 43: Meltdown. Mir won by disqualification at 2:55 of round one after Sims stomped down on Mir's face after slamming his way out of Mir's armbar attempt. They would rematch at UFC 46: Supernatural on January 31, 2004. Frank Mir won by knockout at 4:21 of round two.

Heavyweight championship[link]

On June 19, 2004, Mir faced Tim Sylvia for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 48: Payback. Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 50 seconds into the first round when Mir's armbar visibly broke Sylvia's right forearm. Mir trapped Sylvia's right arm in an armbar attempt. When Sylvia tried to pull out of the hold, Mir jerked back harder and Sylvia's radius bone snapped about 3 inches below his elbow. Sylvia repeatedly claimed his arm was not broken, even touching it and moving it around to show he was O.K. Sylvia was taken to the nearby hospital where an x-ray showed that his arm was in fact broken in four different places.

With this technical submission win Mir became the new UFC Heavyweight Champion and later received his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black-belt from Ricardo Pires for his performance in the fight.^[14]

Motorcycle injury[link]

On September 17, 2004, Mir was knocked off his motorcycle by a car. The accident caused a break in Mir's femur and tore all the ligaments in his knee. The bone had broken in two places but the injury did not end Mir's career as a fighter. Major surgery was needed to repair the bone in his leg. An interim heavyweight title was created while Mir was recovering from the injury, which Andrei Arlovski won by defeating Tim Sylvia by way of a first round submission. On August 12, 2005, the UFC learned that Mir was not able to fight Andrei Arlovski in October as scheduled, thus Mir was stripped of the title after 14 months, and Arlovski was promoted to be the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion.^[15]

Return to the UFC[link]

Mir recovered from his motorcycle accident and fought Márcio Cruz at UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3 on February 4, 2006. In a shocking upset, Mir was defeated by the relative newcomer in the first round by TKO due to strikes. Initially, referee Herb Dean called for a break to check a large cut on Mir's face. Mir was given the opportunity to continue, and did so.

Mir returned to the Octagon on July 8, 2006 at UFC 61: Bitter Rivals and faced Dan Christison.^[16] Mir had gained a considerable amount of weight and quickly became exhausted. Mir won in a lackluster fashion by unanimous decision after three rounds; the judges all scored the bout 29–28.^[17] Criticism began to flourish with Mir not looking like the same fighter as he was before, both physically and technically.

Mir next faced Brandon Vera at UFC 65: Bad Intentions. Mir showed slightly improved sharpness on his feet, and boxed well until being stunned by a straight right from Vera. He was then dropped by knees from Vera's Muay Thai clinch, where the smaller Vera delivered elbows & punches from side control, forcing the referee to stop the fight. Mir lost by TKO at only 1:09 of the first round. While preparing for UFC 140, Mir explained that the reason why he suffered the 2 losses to Cruz and Vera was because even after having 14 months of recovery, he was still feeling the effects of the motorcycle accident he had.^[18]

Rise back to title contention[link]

Frank Mir was scheduled to fight Antoni Hardonk at UFC Fight Night 9 on April 5, 2007, but had to drop out due to a shoulder injury.^[19] Mir recovered from the shoulder injury and fought Antoni Hardonk at UFC 74 and won via kimura in 1:17 of the first round.^[20] At the end of the bout, Mir walked to the cameras pointing at himself saying "I'm back!". Frank's wife Jennifer was shown on the replay screaming and crying with joy when Frank secured the kimura and the fight was stopped.

After the fight with Hardonk, Mir stated that his long period of time away after his loss to Brandon Vera not only helped him recover from the shoulder injury, but helped recover from his motorcycle accident and while fighting Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 119 UFC commentator Mike Goldberg stated: "Mir, in that motorcycle years ago and, he's fought his way back".

Mir fought Brock Lesnar at UFC 81 on February 2, 2008. Early in the first round, Lesnar took Mir down and, while striking from Mir's guard, landed illegal punches to the back of Mir's head, drawing a foul and a one-point deduction from referee Steve Mazzagatti.^[21] They were stood up and Mir was given a brief recovery period, but Lesnar quickly took Mir down again. When Lesnar escaped an armbar attempt, Mir caught him with a kneebar, causing Lesnar to tap out at 1:30 of the first round.^[22]

[edit] The Ultimate Fighter Season 8

Spike TV on 12 May 2008 announced that the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and former champion Frank Mir would be the coaches for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter.^[23]

The season, which premiered on Spike TV on September 17, returned to the two-weight class format. It featured light heavyweight and lightweight fighters.^[24] Production on season eight began in late May, with the entire cast announced in September, and concluded in December.^[24]

Interim Heavyweight Championship[link]

Frank Mir fought Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92 (held on December 27, 2008) for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship.^[25] This bout was part of a mini-heavyweight tournament, often hyped by Dana White. The winner of this fight would then face the winner of the match between the heavyweight champion Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar. Lesnar won by TKO in the second round, gaining him the heavyweight championship belt in the process and then setting him to face the winner at UFC 100 to unify the belts.

Frank Mir then defeated Nogueira in the second round via TKO due to strikes, showing vastly improved striking (particularly his boxing), by knocking down the Brazilian twice in the first round, and once in the second. He also scored a Judo-trip takedown in round one.^[26] Herb Dean stopped the match at 1:54 of the second round.^[26] Nogueira's loss marked the first time he had lost a fight by TKO.^[27] In a post fight interview, Mir credited his improved striking to a drastic improvement in conditioning.^[28]

Two days after the fight Dana White revealed in an interview that "Nogueira had just gotten over a Staph infection".^[29] Nogueira himself verified this fact several months later in his own interview, stating that he had a Staph infection "20 days before the fight, [requiring] 5 days in the hospital." When asked if this infection affected his fight, Nogueira answered: "For sure." In addition to this significant illness, his knee was injured during training for which he had surgery in February 2009. Despite these legitimate handicaps, Nogueira offered strong praise for Frank Mir's performance, with particular credit given to Mir's ability to maintain "very good distance".^[30]

Heavyweight Championship unification[link]

Frank Mir's victory over Nogueira set in place a re-match with the UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight championship.^[31] However, Mir stated, that in his opinion, holding victories over former Interim Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92 and current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 81 is enough to recognize him as the owner of the "real belt".^[32] On May 23, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Frank Mir was scheduled to fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 98, however Mir sustained a knee injury during training which required arthroscopic surgery and the removal of bone chips from his knee. Mir's rematch against Brock Lesnar was rescheduled for UFC 100, July 11, 2009.^[33]

At UFC 100, Mir was lively on his feet but proved unable to counter Lesnar's wrestling and positional dominance. In the second round, after being allowed to standup, he landed a combo ending with a turning right elbow which forced Lesnar to clinch—proceeding to land a jumping right knee to rock his opponent—he was still unable to prevent the takedown. After a period of recovery from the knee Lesnar pinned Mir up against the cage and delivered multiple unanswered blows to his face, forcing Herb Dean to stop the fight via TKO at 1:48 in the 2nd round. With the win, Brock Lesnar became the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.^[34]

Post title shot[link]

Mir had his next fight against Cheick Kongo on December 12, 2009 at UFC 107. Mir was expected to weigh 20 to 25 lbs heavier than usual, due to the strength and conditioning program that he had undertaken to largely improve his muscular frame. This meant he would have to cut weight to get to the 265 lb limit.^[35] As expected, Mir weighed in for his fight against Kongo at 264.5 lbs. At the weigh-ins, Kongo refused to face Mir during the traditional staredown before the fight. During the fight, Mir stunned Kongo with an overhand left early, dropping him and swarming to secure a guillotine choke victory at 1:12 in the first round. Kongo refused to tap and was rendered unconscious by the choke.^[36]

In the post-fight press conference Mir expressed his desire to fight a rubber match with Brock Lesnar.^[37] Mir later created controversy after commenting that he wanted to break Brock Lesnar's neck, so that he would become the first mixed martial artist to die in competition. Mir later made an apology for his comments.^[38]

Mir faced Shane Carwin for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship on March 27, 2010 at UFC 111.^[39] After a brief standup exchange, Mir established the clinch, where Carwin eventually delivered multiple short, powerful uppercuts to Mir's face. Unable to defend himself, Mir lost the fight via KO at 3:48 of the first round.^[40]

At a UFC Fan Expo, Mir said he briefly considered dropping down to the Light Heavyweight division, although he later confirmed he will remain at heavyweight.^[41]

Mir was expected to face Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira on September 25, 2010 at UFC 119 in a rematch from the Interim Championship bout, which Mir won via TKO at UFC 92.^[42] Nogueira pulled out of this fight due to knee surgery and was replaced by Mirko Filipović.^[43] Mir defeated Filipović via third round KO, earning the win with a knee from the clinch in a largely uneventful fight where neither fighter was able to deliver any significant offense.^[44]

Mir faced Roy Nelson on May 28, 2011 at UFC 130. He won via unanimous decision by using superior control and constant pressure. Pushing against the cage, completing a Judo hip throw and securing several takedowns in the third round, showing improved wrestling. Mir landed several hard knees and elbows from the Muay Thai clinch throughout the entire bout, but was unable to finish Nelson.^[45][46]

A rematch with Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira took place on December 10, 2011 at UFC 140.^[47] At that event, Mir was dropped by Nogueira's counter striking and appeared to be knocked out briefly. Mir recovered and gained superior positioning and defeated Nogueira by kimura at 3:38 of round 1, snapping Nogueira's arm in the process and causing Nogueira to tap out. Mir is now the first only one of two fighters (the other being Cain Velasquez) to have finished Nogueira via knock out, and the first and only one to finish him via submission. This marked the first time Nogueira had been stopped via submission. The victory also earned Mir Submission of the Night honors.^[48] UFC President Dana White called it the "submission of the century" at the post fight press conference.

Mir was expected to face Cain Velasquez on May 25, 2012 at UFC 146.^[49] However, on April 20, 2012, Dana White announced that Mir will face Junior dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, replacing Alistair Overeem. On May 11, 2012 UFC Primetime returned to promote the fight between Mir and Junior Dos Santos, and concluded on May 25.^[50] Alhough Mir's striking had improved, Dos Santos was able to use superior foot work to strike in and out before Mir could mount any significant offense. Mir lost the fight via TKO (punches) at 3:04 of Round 2 and has since said he will continue his career and go back to the drawing board.

Personal life[link]

Frank Mir's father is Cuban, born of Moroccan immigrants of Russian descent. The surname "Mir" translated from Russian, means "world" or "peace" (depending of the context). The family name was never "Miranda" as the fighter and his father already explained to the press.^[51] Mir and his wife Jennifer have three children together and Jennifer has a son from a previous relationship, whom Mir helps raise and is in the process of formally adopting.^[4][52]

Frank Mir is an atheist.^[53] He followed a vegan diet for a year^[54] but then switched to Paleo diet for supposedly better athletic outcome.^[55]

Mir worked as a bouncer at the Spearmint Rhino strip club in Las Vegas before entering the UFC,^[56] and continued to work as Director of Security there while pursuing his UFC career.^[57]

In addition to fighting in the UFC, Mir was a color commentator for World Extreme Cagefighting events on Versus from 2007 until the spring of 2010, when he was replaced by fellow UFC fighter Stephan Bonnar.

Championships and achievements[link]

Mixed martial arts[link]

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Heavyweight Championship (One time)
  • Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship (One time)
  • Submission of the Night (Two times)
  • Most wins in UFC Heavyweight division in history (14)^[58]
  • Most wins by submission in UFC Heavyweight division in history (8)
  • Most fights in UFC Heavyweight division in history (20)
  • Most finishes in UFC Heavyweight division in history (11)
  • First and only toe hold finish in UFC history
  • Fastest submission in UFC Heavyweight division in history (46 seconds)
  • Fought five different UFC Heavyweight Champions
  • Defeated four different UFC Heavyweight Champions

• World MMA Awards
  • Submission of the Year (2011) vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira on December 10^[59]

• FIGHT! Magazine
  • Submission of the Year (2008) vs. Brock Lesnar on February 2^[60]

• Sherdog
  • 2008 Comeback Fighter of the Year [1]
  • 2011 Submission of the Year^[61]

Submission grappling[link]

• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
  • Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo Pires
• Pan American Championships
  • Blue Belt Pesadissimo: 1st place (2001)
• North American Grappling Association
  • NAGA Absolute Division Champion (2007)

Amateur wrestling[link]

• Nevada State Wrestling
  • Nevada State Wrestling Champion (1998)

Mixed martial arts record[link]

See also[link]

• List of current UFC fighters
• Ultimate Fighting Championship
• List of male mixed martial artists

References[link]

External links[link]

• – Official Twitter Account
• FrankMir – facebook
• FrankMir.com – Official Website
• TEAMMIR.com – Official Team Website
• Professional MMA record for Frank Mir from Sherdog
• Frank Mir on Myspace
• Official UFC Profile

Benson Henderson
Born	(1983-11-16) November 16, 1983 (age 28) Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Other names	Smooth, Bendo
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	154 lb (70 kg; 11 st 0 lb)
Division	Lightweight (155 lb) Welterweight (170 lb)
Reach	70 in (178 cm)
Style	Muay Thai, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo
Stance	Southpaw
Fighting out of	Glendale, Arizona
Team	MMA Lab
Rank	Black belt in Taekwondo      Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu NAIA All American Wrestler
Years active	2006 - present (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total	18
Wins	16
By knockout	2
By submission	8
By decision	6
Losses	2
By submission	1
By decision	1
Amateur career
Total	3
Wins	2
By knockout	2
Losses	1
By knockout	1 (although his full amateur MMA record is unknown)
Other information
University	Dana College
Notable school(s)	Decatur High School
Website	http://www.smoothben.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: March 13, 2012

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Men's Grappling
IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
Bronze	2011 Long Beach	-76 kg (Brown)

Benson Henderson (born November 16, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the current UFC Lightweight Champion. Henderson is known for his aggressive style and his ability to escape from deep submission attempts. As of March 2012, Henderson is ranked as the #1 lightweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.^[1]

Early life[link]

Henderson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado to a Korean American mother and an African American father.^[2] He was raised in Federal Way, Washington. He attended Decatur High School from 1998 to 2001. Ben became a part of the high school's wrestling team. After graduating from high school, he attended Dana College in Blair, Nebraska and graduated in 2006 with a double major in criminal justice and sociology. While attending Dana College, Henderson was on the wrestling team, and was twice named an NAIA All-American. Henderson is a proud Christian, and uses his fighting to share his beliefs. He is known to quote scripture after bouts, and walks into each fight to a gospel song.

"I don't drink—I've never had a sip of alcohol. I've never had a puff of a cigarette or weed or anything like that. Growing up in Tacoma, that wasn't a very popular choice. I made a decision, and whenever it came up, I passed the dutchie to the left hand side ... People have seen that. They see I don't do the club scene. By people seeing that, that affects them in a bigger way than me talking about it." ^[3]

Henderson is currently a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brown belt under John Crouch, who is a black belt under Royce Gracie.^[4]

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Henderson compiled a 2–1 record as an amateur before turning professional in 2006, winning his first match against Dan Gregary.^[5] He lost his third fight to Rocky Johnson via submission. However, this defeat was a minor setback. He rebounded with four straight wins before facing his toughest fight yet, against a UFC veteran, Diego Saraiva. Henderson came prepared as he dominated Saraiva for three rounds, winning a unanimous decision and his 7th professional win.

World Extreme Cagefighting[link]

Three months later, Henderson made his World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) debut against Anthony Njokuani. Henderson defeated Njokuani with a guillotine choke early in round two. He made his second appearance in the WEC at WEC 40 knocking out contender Shane Roller.

Henderson was given an opportunity to fight for the Interim WEC Lightweight Championship against Donald Cerrone when lightweight champion Jamie Varner was unable to defend his title due to an injury. The fight was the main event for WEC 43 which was held in Texas. Henderson won an exciting back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. Both Henderson and Cerrone were awarded with an additional purse of $20,000 for fight of the night.^[6] The bout was also awarded 2009 Fight of the Year for all of MMA by Sherdog.com^[7]

Henderson defeated Jamie Varner with a Guillotine choke to unify the WEC Lightweight Championship at WEC 46 on January 10, 2010. After being outboxed and outwrestled in the first two rounds, Henderson came back and caught Varner in a standing Guillotine choke ending the fight at 2:41 of the third round.^[8]

Henderson had his first title defense in a rematch with Donald Cerrone on April 24, 2010 at WEC 48, defeating Cerrone via guillotine choke in the first round.^[9]

Henderson faced Anthony Pettis on December 16, 2010 at WEC 53.^[10] Henderson lost his title by unanimous decision. The fight won Fight of the Night honors.

Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]

In October 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.^[11]

Henderson made his UFC debut at UFC 129 on April 30, 2011, defeating Mark Bocek via unanimous decision.

Henderson next faced Jim Miller on August 14, 2011 at UFC on Versus 5.^[12] Henderson dominated the streaking Miller throughout the fight, utilizing a stiff jab, great transitions, and vicious ground and pound throughout the match to snap Miller's 7 fight win streak, the third longest in the UFC at the time. Despite being threatened with multiple deep submission attempts, Henderson escaped each attempt and advanced position with increasingly brutal punches and elbows. He earned a unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26).^[13]

Henderson faced Clay Guida on November 12, 2011 at UFC on Fox 1.^[14] He won the fight via unanimous decision after three rounds in a action packed war that earned both fighters Fight of the Night honors. With the win, he became the #1 contender for the UFC Lightweight title.

Henderson faced Frankie Edgar on February 25, 2012 at UFC 144.^[15] Henderson defeated Edgar via unanimous decision to become UFC Lightweight Champion. Henderson left relatively unscathed and outlanded Edgar 100 to 81 in the striking game. Both participants earned Fight of the Night honors for their performance.

A rematch with Edgar is expected to take place on August 11, 2012 at UFC 150.^[16]

Personal life[link]

Ben has one older brother, Julius Henderson, and one younger one^[17]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Amateur wrestling[link]

• National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
  • NAIA All-American (2005, 2006)
• Washington Interscholastic Activities Association
  • WIAA 4A High School State Championship Runner-up (2001)
  • WIAA 4A All-State (2001)

Mixed martial arts[link]

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Lightweight Championship (One time, current)
  • Fight of the Night (Two times)

• World Extreme Cagefighting
  • WEC Lightweight Championship (One time)
  • One successful title defense
  • WEC Interim Lightweight Championship (One time)
  • Fight of the Night (Two times)
  • Submission of the Night (One time)

• MMAFighting
  • 2010 Fight of the Year vs. Anthony Pettis on December 16
  • 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Donald Cerrone on October 10

• Sports Illustrated
  • 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Donald Cerrone on October 10

• Sherdog
  • 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Donald Cerrone on October 10

Submission grappling[link]

• International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
  • 2011 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship Brown Belt Bronze Medalist
• Arizona State Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
  • AZSBJJF MVP of the Year (2010)
  • 2011 Arizona State Championship Brown Belt Openweight Bronze Medalist
  • 2011 Arizona State Championship Brown Belt Middleweight Silver Medalist
  • 2011 Arizona Open Brown Belt Openweight Silver Medalist
  • 2011 Arizona Open Brown Belt Middleweight Gold Medalist
  • 2011 Southwest Classic Brown Belt Openweight Gold Medalist
  • 2011 Southwest Classic Brown Belt Middleweight Gold Medalist
  • 2010 Arizona State Championship Purple Belt Openweight Gold Medalist
  • 2010 Arizona State Championship Purple Belt Middleweight Gold Medalist
  • 2010 Arizona Open Purple Belt Openweight Silver Medalist
  • 2010 Arizona Open Purple Belt Middleweight Gold Medalist

Mixed martial arts record[link]

Amateur mixed martial arts record (Incomplete)[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Professional MMA record for Benson Henderson (fighter) from Sherdog
• Official UFC Profile