- published: 08 Jan 2013
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- author: UFC
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan
i/æfˈɡænɨstæn/ (Persian/Pashto: افغانستان, Afġānistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming part of South Asia, Central Asia, and Greater Middle East, it is also considered to be part of a broader West Asia. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of 647,500 km2 (250,001 sq mi), making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and the east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.
Afghanistan has been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and human migration. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation from as far back as 50,000 BC. Urban civilization may have begun in the area as early as 3,000 to 2,000 BC. Sitting at an important geostrategic location that connects the Middle East with Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, the land has been home to various peoples through the ages and witnessed many military campaigns, notably by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and in modern era Western forces. The land also served as a source from which the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Timurids, Mughals and many others have risen to form major empires.
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Alabama
Alabama (i/ˌæləˈbæmə/) is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th-most extensive and the 23rd-most populous of the 50 United States. Alabama ranks second in the area of its inland waterways.
From the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many Southern states, suffered economic hardship, in part because of continued dependence on agriculture. Despite the growth of major industries and urban centers, white rural interests dominated the state legislature until the 1960s, while urban interests and African Americans were under-represented. Following World War II, Alabama experienced growth as the economy of the state transitioned from agriculture to diversified interests in heavy manufacturing, mineral extraction, education, and technology. In addition, the establishment or expansion of multiple military installations, primarily those of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, added to state jobs.
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Arizona
Arizona (i/ɛrɪˈzoʊnə/; /ærɪˈzoʊnə/) (Navajo: Hoozdo Hahoodzo; O'odham: Alĭ ṣonak) is a state of the United States, located in the southwestern region of the country. Arizona is also part of the Western United States and of the Mountain West states. Arizona is the sixth most extensive and the 16th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in population by eight cities of the Phoenix metropolitan area: Mesa, Chandler, Glendale, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Tempe, Peoria, and Surprise.
Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, and it achieved statehood on February 14, 1912. Arizona is noted for its desert climate in its southern half, where there are very hot summers and quite mild winters. The northern half of Arizona also features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees, a very large, high plateau (the Colorado Plateau) and some mountain ranges—such as the San Francisco Mountains—as well as large, deep canyons, where there is much more moderate weather for three seasons of the year, plus significant snowfalls. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff and Alpine.
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Australia
Australia (
/əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
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Brazil
Brazili/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Iowa
Iowa (i/ˈaɪ.əwə/) is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New France. After the Louisiana Purchase, settlers laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in the heart of the Corn Belt. Iowa is often known as the "Food Capital of the World".
In the latter half of the 20th century, Iowa's agricultural economy transitioned to a diversified economy of advanced manufacturing, processing, financial services, biotechnology, and green energy production. Iowa is the 26th most extensive and the 30th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital and largest city is Des Moines. Iowa has been listed as one of the safest states to live in.
Iowa is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east; the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west; the northern boundary is a line along 43 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude. The southern border is the Des Moines River and a not-quite-straight line along approximately 40 degrees 35 minutes north, as decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in Missouri v. Iowa after a standoff between Missouri and Iowa known as the Honey War.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Louisiana
Louisiana (i/luːˌiːziˈænə/ or i/ˌluːziˈænə/; French: État de Louisiane, [lwizjan] (
listen); Louisiana Creole: Léta de la Lwizyàn) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, and the largest by land area is Cameron Parish.
Much of the state was formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. These contain a rich southern biota; typical examples include birds such as ibis and egrets. There are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a natural process in the landscape, and has produced extensive areas of longleaf pine forest and wet savannas. These support an exceptionally large number of plant species including many species of orchids and carnivorus plants.
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Mexico
Mexico (i/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
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Mississippi
Mississippi (i/ˌmɪsɨˈsɪpi/) is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi ("Great River"). Mississippi is the 32nd most extensive and the 31st most populous of the 50 United States. The state is heavily forested outside of the Mississippi Delta area, which was cleared for cotton cultivation in the 19th century. Today, its catfish aquaculture farms produce the majority of farm-raised catfish consumed in the United States. The state symbol is the magnolia grandiflora tree.
Mississippi is bordered on the north by Tennessee, on the east by Alabama, on the south by Louisiana and a narrow coast on the Gulf of Mexico and on the west, across the Mississippi River, by Louisiana and Arkansas.
In addition to its namesake, major rivers in Mississippi include the Big Black River, the Pearl River, the Yazoo River, the Pascagoula River, and the Tombigbee River. Major lakes include Ross Barnett Reservoir, Arkabutla Lake, Sardis Lake and Grenada Lake. The largest lake in Mississippi is Grenada Lake.
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New Jersey
New Jersey (i/nuː ˈdʒɜrzi/) is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the U.S. state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania, and on the southwest by Delaware. New Jersey is the 4th least extensive, but the 11th most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States. New Jersey lies mostly within the sprawling metropolitan areas of New York City and Philadelphia. It is also the third wealthiest by 2009–2010 median household income.
The area was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, with historical tribes such as the Lenape along the coast. In the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. The British later seized control of the region, naming it the Province of New Jersey. It was granted as a colony to Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton. At this time, it was named after the largest of the British Channel Islands, Jersey, Carteret's birthplace. New Jersey was the site of several decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War.
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New York
New York (/njuː ˈjɔrk/; locally IPA: [nɪu ˈjɔək] or [nuː ˈjɔɹk] (
listen)) is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. New York is the 27th most extensive, the 3rd most populous, and the 7th most densely populated of the 50 United States. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border with Rhode Island east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Ontario to the west and north, and Quebec to the north. The state of New York is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City.
New York City, with a population of over 8.1 million, is the most populous city in the United States. Alone, it makes up over 40 percent of the population of New York state. It is known for its status as a center for finance and culture and for its status as the largest gateway for immigration to the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, New York City is also a destination of choice for many foreign visitors. Both the state and city were named for the 17th century Duke of York, James Stuart, future James II and VII of England and Scotland.
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New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. The city is referred to as New York City or The City of New York to distinguish it from the State of New York, of which it is a part. As a global power city, New York exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural capital of the world.
Located on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, each of which comprises a state county. The five boroughs—The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island—were consolidated into a single city in 1898. With a Census-estimated 2011 population of 8,244,910 distributed over a land area of just 305 square miles (790 km2), New York is the most densely populated major city in the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. The New York City Metropolitan Area's population is the United States' largest, with 18.9 million people distributed over 6,720 square miles (17,400 km2), and is also part of the most populous combined statistical area in the United States, containing 22.1 million people as of the 2010 Census.
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New Zealand
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa) is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses ‒ that of the North and South Islands ‒ as well as numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans.
During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of both animal and plant life. Most notable are the large number of unique bird species, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and introduced mammals. With a mild maritime climate, the land was mostly covered in forest. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions caused by the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates clashing beneath the earth's surface.
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Philippines
The Philippines
i/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.
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Republic of Ireland
Ireland (/ˈaɪərlənd/ or /ˈɑrlənd/; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen)) is a sovereign state in Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. Its capital is Dublin. The population of the state was 4.59 million in 2011. It is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy, with an elected president serving as head of state. In the 1937 constitution, the name of the state is given as simply "Ireland". The Constitution of Ireland (Article 4) and the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 provides that the "Republic of Ireland" (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann) is "the description of the state".
Ireland is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations. A developed country with the seventh highest Human Development Index, Ireland is also highly ranked for press freedom, economic freedom and democracy and political freedom.
The modern Irish state was established in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion within the British Empire, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty which brought an end to the Irish War of Independence. The partition of Ireland had already been provided for in previous British legislation in 1921 in response to opposition to Irish Home Rule or independence by Unionists, who formed a majority in the north-eastern part of the country. Six of the nine counties in the northern province of Ulster were established under that legislation as Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, with which the Irish state shares its only land border. The state is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south east, and the Irish Sea to the east.
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Times Square
Coordinates: 40°45′28″N 73°59′09″W / 40.75773°N 73.985708°W / 40.75773; -73.985708
"The Crossroads of the World"
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. Times Square, iconified as "The Crossroads of the World" and the "The Great White Way", is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway theater district, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. According to Travel + Leisure magazine's October 2011 survey, Times Square is the world's most visited tourist attraction, bringing in over 39 million visitors annually.
Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve.
The northern triangle of Times Square is technically Duffy Square, dedicated in 1937 to Chaplain Francis P. Duffy of New York City's "Fighting 69th" Infantry Regiment; a memorial to Duffy is located there, along with a statue of George M. Cohan, and the TKTS discount theatre tickets booth. The stepped red roof of the TKTS booth also provides seating for various events. The Duffy Statue and the square were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
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Trump Taj Mahal
The Trump Taj Mahal (known as the The Taj or Trump Taj by locals) is a casino located at 1000 Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States, in the casino area along the shore. The casino is one of two owned by Trump Entertainment Resorts. With approximately 75 regular tables and 14 tournament tables, the Taj Mahal has one of the largest poker rooms in Atlantic City, second in size only to The Borgata.
The casino was officially inaugurated in 1990, with Michael Jackson performing at the ceremonies, and was built at a total cost of nearly one billion dollars.
Trump’s third property in Atlantic City, was wrapped in controversy prior to opening as it was part of the fight between Donald Trump and Merv Griffin along with Resorts Casino Hotel in 1988 over Resorts International. Resorts was developing and constructing the Resorts Taj Mahal Casino north of Resorts Casino Hotel on the boardwalk, but had run out of money and construction was stopped. Trump was attempting to buy the unfinished resort, along with Resorts, but Merv Griffin would not sell. Eventually, a deal was created between Trump and Griffin giving Griffin Resorts in Atlantic City and the Resorts Paradise Island with the unfinished Taj Mahal project going to Trump. The casino opened in 1990 as the Trump Taj Mahal and remained the largest and highest grossing casino in the city until the opening of The Borgata in 2003. The Chairman Tower opened in 2008, bringing the complex to over 2,000 rooms.
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United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emiratesi/juːˌnaɪtɨd ˌærəb ˈɛmɪrɨts/ (Arabic: دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, Al Imārāt al ‘Arabīyah al Muttaḥidah), sometimes simply called the Emirates or the UAE, is a country situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north.
The UAE is a federation of seven emirates (equivalent to principalities), each governed by a hereditary emir, with a single national president. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is also the state's center of political, industrial, and cultural activities.
Prior to independence in 1971, the UAE was known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a 19th-century truce between the local sheikhs, hereditary rulers of the territories, and the United Kingdom. The term Pirate Coast was also used by some to refer to the emirates from the 18th to the early 20th century, owing to the preponderance of pirates operating from Emirati ports.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Wyoming
Wyoming (i/waɪˈoʊmɪŋ/) is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. Wyoming is the 10th most extensive, but the least populous and the 2nd least densely populated of the 50 States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High Plains. Cheyenne is the capital and the most populous city of Wyoming with a population of nearly 60,000 people within its city proper.
As specified in the designating legislation for the Territory of Wyoming, Wyoming's borders are lines of latitude, 41°N and 45°N, and longitude, 104°3'W and 111°3'W (27° W and 34° W of the Washington Meridian), making the shape of the state a latitude-longitude quadrangle. Wyoming is one of only three states (along with Colorado and Utah) to have borders along only straight latitudinal and longitudinal lines, rather than being defined by natural landmarks. Due to surveying inaccuracies during the 19th century, Wyoming's legal border deviates from the true latitude and longitude lines by up to half of a mile (.8 km) in some spots, especially in the mountainous region along the 45th parallel. Wyoming is bordered on the north by Montana, on the east by South Dakota and Nebraska, on the south by Colorado, on the southwest by Utah, and on the west by Idaho. It is the ninth largest state in the United States in total area, containing 97,818 square miles (253,350 km2) and is made up of 23 counties. From the north border to the south border it is 276 miles (444 km); and from the east to the west border is 365 miles (587 km) at its south end and 342 miles (550 km) at the north end.
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Alistair Overeem
Alistair Cees Overeem (born May 17, 1980) is a British born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer, signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and made history by being the only fighter in combat sports to hold a world title in both MMA and K-1 kickboxing at the same time. Alistair Overeem is ranked #3 in the heavyweight division.
Overeem was born on (1980-05-17)May 17, 1980, to a Dutch mother and Jamaican father. His parents divorced when he was six years old. His mother, Clair, then moved Alistair and his brother Valentijn to the Netherlands, where Alistair has lived ever since.
As a child, Overeem competed in sports like judo, athletics and basketball. At 15 years of age, his brother Valentijn took him to Chris Dolman's gym to teach him how to defend himself. At first he didn't like to train, but after training with Bas Rutten, Joop Kasteel and others, he eventually learned to enjoy it.
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Anderson Silva
Anderson da Silva (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɐ̃deʁsõ ˈsiwvɐ]; born April 14, 1975) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion and the promotion's longest reigning champion. With 14 consecutive wins and 9 title defenses, Silva holds the longest winning streak and title defense streak in UFC history.
Silva is ranked as the number one Middleweight in the world by multiple publications, and is the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to ESPN, Sherdog, Yahoo! Sports, MMAFighting.com and other publications. UFC president Dana White has proclaimed Silva as "the greatest mixed martial artist ever."[undue weight? – discuss] Silva is also the last Cage Rage Middleweight Champion and a former Shooto Middleweight Champion. Besides the UFC and Cage Rage, Silva has fought for a number of other MMA promotions including the Pride Fighting Championships, Shooto and Rumble on the Rock.
Although known primarily for his mastery of Muay Thai striking, Silva is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt, a rank he earned in 2006 from Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira who follows Gracie Lineage through Carlson Gracie, like Murilo Bustamante and the Brazilian Top Team. He began martial arts training at the age of 14, training Tae kwon do and earning a black belt by the age of 18. He is also a black belt in Judo and a yellow rope in Capoeira.
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Andrei Arlovski
Andrei Valeryevich Arlovski (Belarusian: Андрэй Валер'евіч Арлоўскі, Belarusian pronunciation: [anˈdrɛj vaˈlʲɛrɛvitʃ arˈlɔwski], Russian: Андре́й Вале́рьевич Орло́вский, born February 4, 1979) is a Belarusian kickboxer, mixed martial artist and a former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion. He holds notable wins over Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson, Ben Rothwell, Tim Sylvia, and Vladimir Matyushenko.
Arlovski was born in Bobruisk and raised in Minsk, in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic of the former USSR (now Belarus). When he was younger, bullies often picked on him and beat him up. In 1994, when he was 14 years old, he finally had enough and started lifting weights to put on muscle and, he hoped, to help him deal with these bullies. Andrei only took up martial arts at the age of 16 having previously been interested in football. It was an interest in personal fitness and conditioning that led Arlovski to take an interest in combat sports.
Enrolling at the police academy in Minsk, Arlovski combined his interest in a career in law enforcement with his growing martial arts participation by taking up the required police defense course in Sambo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and quickly showed himself to be a highly competent Sambo exponent. In 1999, Andrei won the European Youth Sambo Championship and the World Youth Championship. Not long after, Andrei became the first Master of Sports and then International Master of Sports. He took a silver medal at the Sambo World Cup and another silver medal at the World Sambo Championship.
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Anthony Pettis
Anthony Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division and is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Pettis has made a name for himself mainly fighting in his home state of Wisconsin. He is a former fighter for the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), where he was the last WEC Lightweight Champion before merging the promotion into the UFC.
Born to Eugene Pettis Jr. and Annette Garcia, Anthony Pettis grew up in the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin along with his older brother Ray Pettis and younger brother Sergio "Lil' Showtime" Pettis. Pettis is of Mexican and Puerto Rican ancestry, his grandfather Anglicized the family name from Perez to Pettis, to avoid discrimination. Pettis attended Dominican High School.
Anthony "Showtime" Pettis made his professional MMA debut in December 2007. He compiled an undefeated record of 8-0 in shows all based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin before debuting with the WEC. Pettis also has a professional kickboxing background.
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Arianny Celeste
Arianny Celeste-Penelope Lopez Marquez (born November 12, 1985), known professionally as Arianny Celeste, is an American ring girl and model. She is best known for being an Octagon girl for the UFC.
Celeste was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is of Mexican and Filipino descent. She attended Palo Verde High School and attended college at UNLV where she majored in fitness management and nutrition.
Celeste made her UFC debut in 2006 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Celeste has modeled for magazines such as Maxim, FHM, Sports Illustrated, Fighter's Only Magazine and Playboy.
On February 4, 2010, Sports Illustrated named her "Lady of The Day." She was voted "2006 Ring Girl of the Year" in 2010 by Fighter's Only Magazine, an award she won the previous year as well. Maxim voted her "The Hottest UFC Octagon Girl" in the May 2010 issue where she was featured as the cover model. Arianny also appears in Maxim's Hot 100 list for 2010; she placed #23 on the list.
In September 2009, high school senior Conner Cordova, a fan of mixed martial arts, asked Celeste to attend his prom with him, using a series of three YouTube videos. Celeste agreed, provided that he found a date for her friend. However, Celeste was unable to appear due to her schedule, so the plan changed to attending another dance. That also proved impossible, so Cordova and Celeste sponsored their own event, which doubled as a fundraiser for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
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Ariel Helwani
Ariel Helwani is an award-winning Canadian mixed martial arts journalist.
Helwani, who has been covering MMA professionally since 2006, was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He grew up in a Jewish family in the Town of Mount Royal and Westmount and attended the Akiva School and Herzliah High School. In 2004, he graduated from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He works for MMAFighting.com (SB Nation) and NBC Sports, and he serves as an "MMA Insider" for Fuel TV's weekly "UFC Tonight" show and other pre and post-event programming. He is the former co-host of the Sirius XM radio show "Fight Club", and is currently the host of "The MMA Hour" podcast.
Helwani's mother is from Lebanon and his father is from Egypt. Helwani currently lives with his wife Jaclyn Stein in the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City.
Helwani was awarded MMA Journalist of the Year at the 2010 and 2011 World MMA Awards.
In 2011, FIGHT! Magazine named him as one of their "Power 20", a list of the "most significant power players, movers, shakers, ambassadors, and game-changers in MMA," describing him as "the Howard Cosell of MMA".
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Art Davie
Art Davie is a business executive and entrepreneur formerly active in Southern California advertising circles. In 1993, he created and co-produced the tournament which became the televised Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 1998, Davie, as vice-president of K-1 USA, brought the successful K-1 kickboxing franchise from Japan to Las Vegas and North American pay-per-view television.[1] In 2003, Davie was an Executive Producer with Mandalay Sports Entertainment. In 2006, he became vice-president of television at Paradigm Entertainment Group.[2]
Davie's new venture, XARM, is a hybrid sport that combines kickboxing and arm wrestling – contested across a 28 × 16 in (71 × 41 cm) table, adjustable for height from 34 to 46 in (0.86 to 1.2 m). Bouts consist of three one minute rounds, with a one minute rest period between rounds. Athletes are allowed one second to accompany and assist them table-side.
UFC Creator and RipeTV Launch XARM, First Combat Sport for the Digital Age
NEXT Sport: XARM. Arm wrestling + MMA = the future of combat sports? ESPN the Magazine
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Art Jimmerson
Art Jimmerson is a retired boxer who competed at super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight. As an amateur, Jimmerson was the 1983 National Golden Gloves Middleweight champion. He finished his boxing career in 2002, with a record of 33–18.
In November 1993, Jimmerson competed at the very first UFC competition, UFC 1. He fought Royce Gracie while wearing only one boxing glove, earning the nickname Art 'One Glove' Jimmerson in the process. Since there were no gloves in the first UFC, Art didn't want to get his jab hand hurt, so he wore a boxing glove in the match on his left hand.
Jimmerson lost to Gracie by submission after being taken to the ground and tapping out two minutes into the first round, ending his mixed martial arts career, at which point he returned to boxing.
Rumors that Jimmerson would be fighting Royce Gracie in a rematch of the UFC 1 contest at UFC Rio were refuted by UFC president Dana White.
Jimmerson is now the head boxing coach at the UFC training center in Las Vegas.
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Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbɑs ˈrʏtən]; born February 24, 1965) is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak (21 wins, 1 draw). He is currently the star of Punk Payback on Fuel TV and co-host of Inside MMA on HDNet.
As a fighter, one of his favorite tactics was the liver shot (both punch and kick), and he popularized its use in MMA. Rutten is known for his charisma and has capitalized on his celebrity since retiring from fighting in 1999. He has worked as a color commentator in several MMA organizations, including Pride, and has appeared in numerous television shows, movies, and video games. He also coaches MMA and has authored several instructional materials.
Rutten was born in Tilburg, Netherlands and developed from the age of 6 a skin disease, named eczema, and severe asthma. Because of the skin disease he always had to wear long sleeves, turtle necks and gloves to protect him from showing his skin, his asthma made him very skinny and because of all this he was bullied on a daily basis as a kid. Rutten found refuge in climbing trees at a forrest behind his house, when bullies would chase him, he would climb in a tree and could swing from tree top to tree top, which made it impossible for bullies to follow pursued.
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Benson Henderson
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.
Henderson was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado to a Korean American mother and an African American father. 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.
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Brian Ebersole
Brian Ebersole (born November 27, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship as of February 2011. Ebersole is a veteran of mixed martial arts with a total of 65 professional fights. He has been known to have an iron chin, having never being knocked out in those 65 fights.
Ebersole grew up in Bradley, Illinois. Ebersole is very proud of the fact that he calls the world his home. Traveling across the globe for his training camps. He generally trains at Tiger Muay Thai In Phuket as he is the Head Coach and also trains at ESS performance In Melbourne.
Ebersole has competed in 65 professional fights with a mix of promotions, including Strikeforce,the IFL and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He holds a record of 49–14–1-1, while being one of only a small percentage of fighters to never suffer a loss via KO or TKO in his MMA career. Ebersole fought almost exclusively in Australia from 2006–2011, winning 13 out of 16 fights during that span. He holds victories over numerous former and current UFC fighters, including Matt Horwich, Carlos Newton, Dennis Hallman and Chris Lytle.
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Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar (/ˈlɛznər/; born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, actor, former mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler, signed with WWE and appearing on its Raw brand. He is also a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and former #1 ranked mixed martial arts (MMA) Heavyweight by Sherdog; he was ranked #5 before he announced his retirement at the end of 2011. Lesnar is an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and placing second in 1999, losing in the finals to 1999 world freestyle wrestling champion and future New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal.
He gained prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2002 to 2004, where he is a former three-time WWE Champion, becoming the youngest WWE Champion at age 25 with his first reign. Lesnar was the 2002 King of the Ring and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble. After leaving WWE, Lesnar pursued a career in the NFL. He played during the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, but ended up being a late cut. Lesnar returned to professional wrestling at the end of 2005, and joined New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match. He was officially stripped of the title by NJPW in July 2006, and took the physical belt with him to Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), where he was still recognized as IWGP Champion until June 2007.
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Bruce Buffer
Bruce Anthony Buffer (born May 21, 1957, in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is the main octagon announcer for Zuffa main events.[citation needed] On UFC broadcasts, he is introduced as the "Veteran Voice of the Octagon." He is the half brother of the well-known boxing and wrestling ring announcer Michael Buffer, and is President and CEO of their company "The Buffer Partnership". Both Michael and Bruce are grandsons of late boxer Johnny Buff. Buffer holds a black belt in Tang Soo Do and has fought as a kickboxer.
Buffer always begins each PPV with the phrase "Ladies and gentlemen, we...are...live!" Before each main event Buffer proclaims, "This is the main event of the evening," followed by "This is the moment you've all been waiting for," and finally, "It's time!" before introducing the final two fighters.
Along with his catch phrases, Buffer has a signature move, which he has called the "Buffer 180" where he motions directly across the Octagon before quickly spinning 180° and pointing to the corner being introduced. Buffer performs 45° and 90° turns before most fights[citation needed], but reserves the "Buffer 180" for main events and co-main events. At UFC 100, Buffer performed a "Buffer 360" during his introduction of Frank Mir v. Brock Lesnar. Buffer vowed he would never do the "Buffer 360" again. Regardless of this vow, he's stated on his radio show on the Sherdog Radio Network, that he might perform the 360 in "the spur of the moment." He also performs the "Buffer Bow" exclusively for Randy Couture, in which he bends down as a knight would to a king in the accolade.[citation needed]
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Cain Velasquez
Cain Velasquez Ramirez (born July 28, 1982) is a Mexican American mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and a Junior College National Champ at Iowa Central Community College. He is a two-time 5A state champion in Arizona, compiling a record of 110–10 for Kofa High School in Yuma, Arizona. Cain Velasquez is ranked #2 in the heavyweight division.
Velasquez, a Mexican American, was born on July 28, 1982 in Salinas, California to Efrain and Isabel Velasquez. Velasquez's father, Efrain, came from Mexico to the United States illegally. Efrain met his wife Isabel, married her, and gained US citizenship. Velasquez has two siblings, Efrain, Jr., and Adela. He was raised in Yuma, Arizona. He graduated from Kofa High School, where he compiled a record of 110–10 in four years of wrestling, including winning the 5A Arizona Wrestling Championship twice. Velasquez also played football for three years. As a senior, he served as Captain of both his wrestling and football teams.
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Carlos Condit
Carlos Joseph Condit (born April 26, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the interim welterweight champion. Condit initially received national attention for his run as the final WEC Welterweight Champion. He is known for his well rounded game, having a nearly equal amount of Submission and Knockout wins. Condit is also known for having an iron chin having never been knocked out in MMA competition. Condit is ranked as the #2 welterweight in the world Sherdog, #2 by ESPN and #1 by USA Today.Sherdog ranks him as the #10 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Condit attended CIbola High School on Albuquerque's West Side.
Condit formerly fought in the UFC's sister promotion, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), where he was the final WEC welterweight champion. He also competed for both Shootboxing and Pancrase in Japan.
Condit now trains at Jackson's Submission Fighting out of Albuquerque, NM.
Condit made his debut for the WEC at WEC 25 where he defeated Kyle Jensen in the first round via submission (Rear Naked Choke). Condit's second fight would be for the vacant WEC Welterweight Championship against John Alessio at WEC 26. Condit would win this fight in the second round, once again, by Rear Naked Choke and became the WEC Welterweight Champion.
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Chael Sonnen
Chael Patrick Sonnen (pronounced /ˈtʃeɪl ˈsʌnən/; born April 3, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon, a silver medalist at the 2000 Greco-Roman World University Championships, as well as a two-time Dave Schultz Memorial International Greco-Roman winner.
As of October 2011[update], Sonnen is ranked as the No. 2 middleweight in the world by Sherdog.
Sonnen was born Chael Patrick Sonnen on April 3, 1977 in West Linn, Oregon.
Sonnen started his MMA career at the age of 19 in 1997 by defeating Ben Hailey in Vancouver, Washington. His second fight was against future ICON Sport Middleweight Champion and Strikeforce Middleweight contender Jason "Mayhem" Miller. Sonnen went 6–0 in his first six fights, until his loss to Trevor Prangley, which he later avenged in 2006 at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4. He also fought The Ultimate Fighter winner and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin.
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Cheick Kongo
Cheick Guillaume Ouedraogo (born May 17, 1975), more commonly known as Cheick Kongo, is a professional French heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He currently trains with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and formerly Michael Bisping at the Wolfslair MMA Academy, and holds notable wins over Mirko Filipović, Paul Buentello, Antoni Hardonk, Matt Mitrione, and Pat Barry. He is also the only fighter to have ever gone to a decision with former heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez. Kongo is ranked the 10th best heavyweight in the world by ESPN.
Born to a Burkinabé father and a Congolese mother with his brother, Ben Millard, Kongo began training in martial arts when he was 5 years old, learning Kendo and Karate. As he grew older, he began to expand his repertoire and trained in Muay Thai, kickboxing and Greco-Roman wrestling. At age 19, he learned of Pencak Silat, an Indonesian martial art, and was coached by Charles Joussot, Franck Roppers and his brother Ben. He's also a cousin of rugby star Fulgence Ouedraogo, the French back-rower. Cheick is also a columnist for the French MMA magazine, Top Fight.
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Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell (born December 17, 1969) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling. Liddell is known for his Knockout power, Iron chin, Excellent counter striking and for his sprawl-and-brawl technique, which made him one of the most difficult fighters to takedown. He is one of the most dominant champions that ever competed in the UFC. He still holds the record for the most knockouts in UFC history. As of his retirement, Liddell has had 23 fights in the UFC. Along with fellow UFC Hall of Fame fighter Randy Couture, Liddell is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts into the mainstream of American sports and entertainment. On July 10, 2009, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Liddell began studying Koei-Kan karate at the age of 12; the tattoo seen on his scalp reads "Koei-Kan". Liddell was a four-year starter on the football team at San Marcos High School. While growing up in Santa Barbara, he often frequented the infamous Del Playa Drive, the middle of the party scene of the college town of Isla Vista, where he often found himself in fights with drunk college students. He became a Division I wrestler at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business/Accounting in 1995. He holds an amateur kickboxing record of 20 wins and 2 losses, with 16 of his wins coming by way of knockout.
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Clay Guida
Clayton Charles Guida (pronounced /ˈɡwiːdə/; born December 8, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist and currently fighting in the UFC as a lightweight. Guida was the first Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and held the title until being defeated by Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Revenge. As of October 2011, Guida is ranked as the #8 lightweight fighter in the world by Sherdog and #6 lightweight by MMAWeekly.com.
Guida is renowned for his relentless pressure and unending stamina.
During the early stages of his MMA career, Guida worked as a carpenter (leading to his nickname, "The Carpenter") while training and fighting in his spare time, compiling a professional record of 20-6.
Clay was generous enough to finance the inspirational video played before the state championship matches. He stepped in with the money after the Illinois High School Association was not able to pay for it.[unreliable source?] Clay is a former Illinois wrestler for Johnsburg High School.
Guida was successful in his UFC debut, submitting Justin James in the second round at UFC 64.
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Cristiane Santos
Cristiane Justino Venancio Santos (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾiʃtʃiˈɐ̃ni ˈsɐ̃tus]; born July 9, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and the former Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion (Formerly known as Women's Middleweight Championship and the Women's Lightweight Championship). Santos won the title on August 15, 2009 by defeating Gina Carano via TKO. She lives in San Diego where she trains and teaches at The Arena.
Cristiane was a national-level team handball player in Brazil before being discovered by Rudimar Fedrigo, a Chute Boxe Academy trainer.
She made her anticipated United States MMA debut on July 26, 2008 against Shayna Baszler at EliteXC: Unfinished Business. She won the fight by TKO in the second round.
She faced Yoko Takahashi on October 4, 2008 at EliteXC: Heat. She won the fight by unanimous decision.
Cyborg was scheduled to face Dutch submission specialist Marloes Coenen at XMMA 7 on February 27, 2009, but backed out of the fight after signing a new contract with Strikeforce. Santos earned a BJJ Purple Belt under her jiu-jitsu instructor Cristiano Marcello in 2009.
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Dan Henderson
Daniel Jeffery Henderson, (born August 24, 1970) is an American mixed martial artist and former Olympic wrestler, who competes as a middleweight and light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and was the last Welterweight 183 lb (83 kg; 13.1 st) and Middleweight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) champion of Pride Fighting Championships. He was the only mixed martial artist to concurrently hold two titles in two different weight classes in a major MMA promotion. Henderson is also the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Winner, the 1997 Brazil Open Lightweight Tournament Champion, the RINGS King of Kings 1999 Tournament Winner, and the 2005 PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Champion.
Henderson also owns the Clinch Gear MMA apparel brand. As of May 2012, Henderson is ranked the #2 light heavyweight by Sherdog.
Dan Henderson was born in Downey, California and grew up in Apple Valley, California. He attended Victor Valley High School in Victorville, California, and earned medals at the California State Wrestling Championships in 1987 and 1988. He was a member of the 1987 Victor Valley High School wrestling team state champions. Henderson went on to wrestle at both Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State University, participating in the 1993 NCAA championships. He represented the United States in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling.
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Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958) is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the Cage, PRIDE FC, Cage Rage, WEC, RINGS, and the World Wrestling Federation. He holds a professional MMA Record of 100–18–7 and is a UFC Hall of Famer and a former UFC Superfight Champion.
In professional wrestling Severn is a two-time world champion, having won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship twice. As of January 2011, at age 52+, Severn still competes in MMA Competition and pro wrestling. Along with competition, Severn also makes special appearances and autograph signings. He also travels the globe instructing seminars in MMA, grappling, and amateur wrestling. More importantly, Severn is focused on getting his Law Enforcement Training (Danger Zone: LET) developed into more police departments, corrections facilities and the military.
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Dana White
Dana White (born July 28, 1969) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.
Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969, White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ware, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.
White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.
While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president. White currently owns about 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.
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Dennis Hallman
Dennis Lloyd Hallman (born December 2, 1975) is an American professional mixed martial artist from the U.S. state of Washington. A former state champion wrestler, Hallman is known best for his expertise as a grappler. He has appeared in many fight organizations, including UFC, Strikeforce, IFL, Shooto, Rumble on the Rock, and King of the Cage. Hallman holds notable wins over Karo Parisyan, Matt Hughes (x2 lasting a total of 37 seconds) and Ben Saunders.
One of Hallman's biggest achievements are his two wins (both by submission in a combined 38 seconds) over UFC Hall of Famer and former welterweight champion Matt Hughes. Their first fight occurred in 1998 at Extreme Challenge 21, the second in December 2000 at UFC 29: Defense of the Belts.
After his second victory over Matt Hughes, Hallman moved down in weight and fought Hughes' teammate Jens Pulver for the lightweight UFC championship in September 2001. Both Hallman and Pulver wrestled at the high school level in Washington. Hallman claimed to know Pulver since high school and expressed dislike toward the fighter. Although Pulver denied knowing Hallman personally, he knew of Hallman through their state champion wrestling careers (at different weight classes).
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Diego Sanchez
Diego J. Sanchez (born December 31, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA) of Mexican descent, with a background in wrestling and Gaidojutsu, system of submission wrestling developed by his longtime trainer Greg Jackson. He currently fights as a welterweight with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Sanchez is currently ranked as the #9 welterweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.
Sanchez was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended Del Norte High School, where he became a state champion wrestler.[citation needed]
Diego Sanchez wrestled in New Mexico before starting training MMA while working for UPS. Sanchez eventually joined Jackson's Submission Fighting, still while working for UPS, managing the time between work and training. In 2002, he made his MMA debut for King of the Cage where he also later became a champion.
His UFC debut came when he was chosen as a participant on the first season of the reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. Presented as a young, focused middleweight who only had one goal, to become a UFC champion, he won a contract with the UFC after winning a fight against Kenny Florian, becoming the middleweight winner for the first season of the show. On the show, Sanchez was known for being the "odd-ball" of the group, practicing yoga at odd moments and trying to extract "energy" from a lightning storm, and was also a self-proclaimed "Zen master". Sanchez' last fight before his loss to Josh Koscheck was against Joe Riggs on December 13, 2006 at UFC Fight Night 7. Sanchez landed a right hook that knocked Riggs down, followed by a running knee that knocked Riggs out. Sanchez won at 1:45 of the first round, scoring the first UFC knockout of his career.
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Dominick Cruz
Dominick Rojelio Cruz (born September 3, 1985) is an Mexican American mixed martial artist who competes as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion. As of November 2011, Cruz is ranked the #1 bantamweight and #8 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by Sherdog.
Cruz began his professional MMA career fighting in the Rage in a Cage and Total Combat organizations.
His first fight in the WEC was at featherweight in a title fight against Urijah Faber in which he lost by guillotine choke in the first round. He would then make his debut for WEC's 135 lb Bantamweight division at WEC 34 defeating Charlie Valencia by unanimous decision and would go on to show domination of the 135 lb Bantamweight division beating the likes of Ian McCall, Ivan Lopez and handing top contender Joseph Benavidez his first loss at WEC 42 winning all bouts by unanimous decision and winning fight of the night honors in his bout versus Benavidez.
Cruz defeated Brian Bowles via TKO (doctor stoppage) on March, 6, 2010 at WEC 47. Bowles was unable to continue after the second round after breaking his hand. Cruz became the new WEC Bantamweight Champion.
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Don Frye
Donald Frye (born November 23, 1965) is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and actor. Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments. He holds notable victories over Ken Shamrock, Gary Goodridge (2x), Tank Abbott, and Gilbert Yvel.
Don Frye began wrestling at Buena High School in Sierra Vista, Arizona then in college (for Arizona State) in 1984, where he was trained by fellow future Ultimate Fighting Championship legend, then assistant wrestling coach, Dan Severn. In 1987, he won the freestyle and Greco-Roman events during an Olympic qualifier. A year later, he transferred to Oklahoma State, where he encountered another future UFC star amongst his teammates: Randy Couture.
On August 28, 1989, Frye made his professional boxing debut against Luis Mora in Phoenix, Arizona and won via first round knock out. This was to be his final pro boxing bout.
In 1995, Frye helped train his old friend Dan Severn for the Ultimate Ultimate 1995, accompanying Severn's entourage to Denver. Severn returned the favour in 1996, when he acted as Frye's manager for UFC 8. Fighting three times in one night, Frye dispatched all of his opponents in just under a minute total, winning the tournament with relative ease. At this event Frye set the record, since broken by Duane Ludwig, for fastest KO in the UFC at just 8 seconds. However, due to the controversial nature of the event, Frye was barred from both firefighting, his previous occupation in Sierra Vista, Arizona, and from training in the Buena High School gym he had used since his ASU days. Along with Marco Ruas, Frye is considered one of the original "cross trained" MMA competitors who had a background in multiple disciplines. Along with his collegiate wrestling experience, Frye holds a 2nd degree black belt in Judo and a professional boxing record.
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Donald Cerrone
Donald Anthony Cerrone (born March 29, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist and Muay Thai kickboxer who fights out of Albuquerque, New Mexico and currently competes as a lightweight in the UFC.
Donald started his career in Commerce City, Colorado at a gym called Freedom Fighters, winning his first 25 Muay Thai bouts. Cerrone began training with Jon JonesRashad Evans, Nathan Marquardt, Keith Jardine, Georges St. Pierre, Leonard Garcia and other skilled MMA fighters at Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting Gaidojutsu school in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He was featured on the Versus television series TapouT, where he was sponsored before his fight with Anthony Njokuani. Cerrone won the fight in the first round with a triangle choke.
Cerrone was signed to fight in the WEC. His first fight in the promotion was against Kenneth Alexander. Originally a win via submission in 0:54 seconds of the first round, the decision was changed to a no contest when Cerrone tested positive for the banned substance hydrochlorothiazide.
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Eddie Wineland
Eddie Wineland (born June 26, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist (MMA) from Highland, Indiana who fights in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Wineland is a former World Extreme Cagefighting Bantamweight Champion. Wineland is currently ranked as the #10 bantamweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.
Wineland began his mixed martial arts career competing in regional organizations in his native Midwestern United States. He had compiled a total of 15 professional fights before signing with World Extreme Cagefighting.
Wineland became the inaugural WEC Bantamweight Champion after defeating Antonio Banuelos at WEC 20. Wineland lost the title in his first defense against Chase Beebe at WEC 26.
Wineland was defeated by Rani Yahya via first round submission on April 5, 2009 at WEC 40.
Wineland defeated Manny Tapia via unanimous decision on October 10, 2009 at WEC 43.
Wineland was scheduled to face Rafael Rebello on January 10, 2010 at WEC 46, but Rebello was forced off the card with an injury. Instead he faced UFC veteran George Roop, winning via unanimous decision.
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Emmanuel Yarborough
Emanuel 'Manny' Yarborough (born September 5, 1964 in Rahway, New Jersey) is an American amateur sumo wrestler and mixed martial arts (MMA) competitor, also having competed in judo, wrestling, and American football. He is 6 ft 8 in (2.03 metres) tall and has weighed up to 800+ lb (370 kg). He holds the Guinness World Record for the largest athlete. Emanuel wears a size 21 shoe. He was the 1995 World Amateur Sumo Champion and is considered to be one of the most famous sumo wrestlers outside Japan. He competed in UFC 3, a mixed martial arts competition, losing to the much smaller Keith Hackney, who has since taken the nickname "The Giant Killer". He also appeared in PRIDE Fighting Championships, losing to 169 lb Daiju Takase
Yarborough was recruited for wrestling and football at Morgan State University. He achieved All American status in the Heavyweight class in 1983 Division II and 1986 Division I.
He appeared in a 1997 Bollywood film Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi features Bollywood action hero Akshay Kumar and has appeared on several talk shows, as well as in a commercial for Motorola. He has also appeared on the HBO drama Oz as an inmate named Clarence Seroy.
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Evan Tanner
Evan Loyd Tanner (February 11, 1971 – c. September 8, 2008) was an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a former UFC Middleweight and USWF Heavyweight champion with a professional record of 32 wins and 8 losses. He was also the first American to win the Pancrase Neo-Blood tournament in Tokyo, Japan.
Tanner won his first championship when he defeated Heath Herring at USWF 7, and went on to successfully defend that title five times. Tanner then won the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 51, stopping David Terrell with strikes in the first round.
Tanner held notable wins over Phil Baroni(2x), David Terrell, Robbie Lawler, Heath Herring, Paul Buentello, Elvis Sinosic, Ikuhisa Minowa and Travis Fulton.
Tanner was born in Amarillo, Texas and graduated from Caprock High School in 1989 where he won the Texas State Championships in wrestling as a junior and senior despite only entering the sport in his sophomore year of high school. Tanner attended college but dropped out because he felt that he was not receiving a "real world" education that he was searching for.
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Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko (Russian: Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, tr. Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, IPA: [ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪlʲˈjanʲɪnkə]) (born September 28, 1976) is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist. He has won numerous tournaments and accolades in multiple sports, most notably the Pride 2004 Grand Prix and the World Combat Sambo championship on four occasions, as well as medaling in the Russian national Judo championship.
Emelianenko has received widespread acclaim from several major publications, including Sports Illustrated,USA Today, and Sherdog.com. Many analysts, as well as former and current fighters, consider Emelianenko to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. He remained undefeated for nearly a decade, during which time he was widely considered the best heavyweight fighter in mixed martial arts.
Emelianenko was born in 1976 in the city of Rubizhne, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine (then in the USSR). In 1978, when he was two, his family moved within the Soviet Union to Stary Oskol, Belgorod of the Russian SFSR. His mother, Olga Fedorovna, was a teacher and his father, Vladimir Alexandrovich Emelianenko, was a welder. Emelianenko is the second child in the family and has an older sister and two younger brothers, including professional mixed martial artist Alexander Emelianenko. Fedor trains with his youngest brother Ivan, who has competed in Combat Sambo, and plans to begin a career in MMA in 2010.
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Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin (born July 1, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist. Since 2005, he has been signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC light heavyweight champion.
Griffin, a former Georgia police officer, first rose to prominence after winning the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. In the tournament finals, he fought and defeated Stephan Bonnar in an exciting brawl that is widely credited as sparking the current success of the UFC. He went on to serve as a coach on the 7th season of the reality series opposite Quinton Jackson, whom he later defeated at UFC 86 to become the Undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He and Rashad Evans are the only fighters to go from winning The Ultimate Fighter to winning the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Griffin graduated from Evans High School in Evans, Georgia, a suburb of Augusta. He then graduated with an A.B. in Political Science from the University of Georgia. While attending school, Griffin served as a law enforcement officer for the Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Augusta, Georgia. He also served as a patrol officer with the University of Georgia Police.
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Frank Mir
Francisco Santos Miranda, III (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. As of January 2012 he is ranked the #4 In the ESPN MMA Power Rankings.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.
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. During his senior year (1998) he went 44–1 and won the state championship. 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.
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Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez, III; December 8, 1972) is a retired mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion. Shamrock was the #1 ranked pound for pound fighter in the world during his reign as the UFC Middleweight Champion. Shamrock has won numerous titles in other martial arts organizations, including the interim King of Pancrase title, the WEC Light Heavyweight Championship and the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship.
He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 1990s by the Wrestling Observer, "Best Full Contact Fighter" by Black Belt magazine (1998), and three time "Fighter of the Year" by Full Contact Fighter Magazine. He is a 7th degree black belt in submission fighting, awarded by O-Sensei Philip S. Porter of the United States Martial Arts Association. He is the adopted brother of former UFC champion Ken Shamrock. He holds notable wins over Bas Rutten, Tito Ortiz, Jeremy Horn, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Kevin Jackson and Phil Baroni. He is also the only man to defeat Cesar Gracie. He holds the Guinness World Records for Fastest UFC Title Fight Victory by Submission in 16 seconds over Kevin Jackson at UFC Japan in Yokohama Japan. An author, entrepreneur, philanthropist and social activist, he is a color commentator for Showtime Networks and a brand spokesman for Strikeforce.
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Frankie Edgar
Frank James Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes as a lightweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion. His first career loss came against Gray Maynard in 2008, which marked the beginning of a noted rivalry. He later avenged the loss to Maynard with a KO victory in 2011. As of March 2012, he is ranked as the #2 lightweight in the world by Sherdog.com.
Born and raised in Toms River, New Jersey, Frankie Edgar wrestled at Toms River High School East, making it to the New Jersey state championship tournament on three occasions, placing second as a junior and fifth as a senior. Edgar is the oldest of 3 children, Edgar went on to compete in the NHSCA Senior Nationals and placed second before he finished high school. He continued wrestling at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he qualified for the nationals all four years there. Edgar is also an assistant coach for the Rutgers University wrestling team.
Edgar entered his first mixed martial arts fight with only a few weeks of training outside of his wrestling background. Edgar originally trained with Rob Guarino of Rhino Fight Team, but today he is part of the Gracie system under Ricardo Almeida in Hamilton, NJ. Since seventh grade Edgar has wrestled with Steve Rivera at Elite Wrestling NJ in Jackson, NJ. His boxing trainer is Mark Henry of Millstone, NJ.
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Gary Goodridge
Gary Goodridge (born January 17, 1966), nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a retired Canadian super heavyweight kickboxer and heavyweight mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Goodridge is known for his hard-hitting fighting style and showmanship. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranked contenders in the world of professional arm wrestling.
Goodridge was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago before moving to Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Prior to his career in combat sports, he worked as a welder at the Honda factory in Alliston, Ontario.
He was a world champion in arm wrestling, and was able to defeat the likes of greats Sharon Remez and John Brzenk in 1991 and again in 1994. He was also the super heavyweight amateur boxing champion of Canada.
In 1996, he was offered status of 4th degree black belt in kuk sool won, and a free dobak, if he would represent their school at the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He took two classes in kuk sool won before making his MMA debut in the eight-man tournament at UFC 8: David vs. Goliath in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In the quarter-finals, he faced wrestler Paul Herrera (whom Goodridge outweighed by nearly 80 lbs) and won in violent fashion by using a "goose neck", the only submission hold he had learned before the event. After Herrera attempted a fireman's carry, Goodridge trapped both of his arms in a crucifix hold and proceeded to deliver multiple elbow blows to the helpless Herrera's head, ending the bout in 13 seconds. The second elbow strike knocked Herrera unconscious, but the fight was not stopped until after Goodridge landed six more strikes. He then went on to faced Jerry Bohlander in the semis, and again won by knockout. In the finals, he took on future legend Don Frye who was trained in boxing, judo and wrestling. After Frye gained dominant position two minutes into the match, Goodridge submitted.
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Gerard Gordeau
Gerard Gordeau (born March 30, 1959) is a retired Dutch savateur, karateka, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Kyokushin Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known internationally for his fight against Teila Tuli in the first televised Ultimate Fighting Championship bout on 12 November 1993. To Japanese prowrestling fans he is known as "the hired body guard" for the famous 1.4 Incident which occurred on January fourth, 1999 at the Tokyo Dome, Naoya Ogawa versus Shinya Hashimoto. Gordeau was in the corner of Ogawa representing UFO (Universal Fighting Organization), Ogawa turned the bout into a shoot match brutally striking Hashimoto who had no idea what was going on.
Gordeau had fought in several no-holds-barred matches in his native Netherlands and Japan, including two bouts against Masaaki Satake and Mitsuya Nagai at "free fight" events held under the then professional wrestling promotion RINGS as well as a shoot style bout with Akira Maeda under the Newborn UWF.
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Gilbert Melendez
Gilbert Q. Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent currently fighting out of San Francisco, California, he is the current Strikeforce Lightweight Champion fighting in the lightweight division for Strikeforce.
He formerly competed in the lightweight division of PRIDE Fighting Championships. He has trained extensively with Turbo Fairtex, Jake Shields, Cesar Gracie, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz and David Terrell. Melendez is the Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and has avenged both his career losses. Melendez is ranked as the #3 lightweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.
Melendez aka El Nino began fighting in the pre-Zuffa World Extreme Cagefighting and Rumble on the Rock shows and also spent some time overseas where he fought for Shooto and PRIDE Fighting Championships
Melendez won the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship from Clay Guida by split decision on June 9, 2006.
Melendez held the belt for two years before losing it on June 27, 2008 to Josh Thomson by unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 50–45) at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson.
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Gina Carano
Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American actress, television personality, fitness model and mixed martial arts fighter. Carano appeared as Crush, a Gladiator on American Gladiators. She has been referred to as the "Face of Women's MMA." Carano was formerly the third best 145 lb (66 kg) female fighter in the world, according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings.
Carano was born in Dallas County, Texas, the middle daughter of Dana Joy (née Cason) and Glenn Thomas Carano. She has two sisters. Carano has said that she has a "small percentage" of Italian ancestry. Her father played for the Dallas Cowboys as a backup quarterback from 1977–1983 and for the USFL Pittsburgh Maulers as a starter in 1984, their only year of operations.
She graduated from Trinity Christian High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she led the girls basketball team to a state title. She also played volleyball and softball. She attended the University of Nevada, Reno for a year and then University of Nevada, Las Vegas for three, where she majored in psychology.
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Gracie family
The Gracie family (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɡɾejsi]) is a prominent sporting family from Brazil known for their founding of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). They have been successful in combat sport competitions including mixed martial arts, vale tudo and submission wrestling events. As a family, they uphold the Gracie challenge, which promotes their style of BJJ.
The Gracie family line in Brazil descended from George Gracie, a Scotsman from the Carronhill estate in Dumfriesshire who immigrated in 1826 when he was 25 years old. George was a son of James (b. 1772), the second son of family patriarch George Gracie (b. 1734), and Jean Patterson.
Gastão Gracie from Rio de Janeiro, the grandson of George Gracie through his son Pedro married Cesarina Pessoa Vasconcellos, the daughter of a wealthy Ceará family, in 1901 and decided to settle in Belém do Pará. Gastão Gracie became a business partner of the American Circus in Belém. In 1916, Italian Argentine circus Queirolo Brothers staged shows there and presented Mitsuyo Maeda, a Japanese Judoka and prize fighter. In 1917, Carlos Gracie, the eldest son of Gastão Gracie, watched a demonstration by Maeda at the Da Paz Theatre and decided to learn judo. Maeda accepted to teach Carlos. In 1921, following his financial dire straits and his father Pedro's demise serving as a pretext, Gastão Gracie returned to his native Rio with his family.
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Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger (born January 1, 1968) is a retired American martial artist who competed in professional combat sports ranging from full contact karate, kickboxing, and boxing, but is most recognized as a mixed martial arts fighter (retired from competition January 25, 2005). He is associated with Lion's Den Dallas. Mezger was a champion in mixed martial arts in two different promotions, the UFC and Pancrase. He holds wins over Tito Ortiz, Masakatsu Funaki, Yuki Kondo, Semmy Schilt, and Minoru Suzuki. He's also known for being despised by the PRIDE judges.
Mezger has trained with many great martial arts competitors and trainer/instructors; his main trainers have been Vince Tamura (Judo), Willie Thompson (Wrestling), Billy "Jack" Jackson (Kickboxing), and Ken Shamrock (Submission Fighting/Pancrase/Mixed Martial Arts). Mezger has co-written one book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Kickboxing, and had an uncredited speaking role in the first-season episode of Walker, Texas Ranger Night of the Gladiator.
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Houston Alexander
Houston Alexander (born March 22, 1972) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who fights as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. He also works as a DJ in North Omaha, Nebraska. In his MMA career he holds notable victories over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Alessio Sakara and Keith Jardine, All by stoppage due to strikes.
Alexander made his UFC debut at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007 against Keith Jardine. He knocked out Jardine in 49 seconds during the first round.
He has since trained full-time; three times a day and seven days a week.
Alexander then signed a new three-fight contract with the UFC. At UFC 75 Alexander beat Alessio Sakara. Just like his previous fight, Sakara threw a couple of early shots before Alexander countered with close-contact strikes. "The way I was taught was that all your strength is inside versus outside,” Alexander said before the fight of his explosive ability when close to an opponent. "My short strikes are really, really good, and that’s from lifting weights and doing a lot of reps."
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Jacob Duran
Jacob "Stitch" Duran is a professional cutman who works in boxing and mixed martial arts fights.. He grew up in Planada, California.[citation needed].
In boxing, Duran works on the Klitschko brothers.[citation needed]
In the UFC Duran is assigned to many of the top fights working with fighters such as Mirko Filipović, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin and Cain Velasquez.[citation needed]
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Jake Shields
Jake Shields (born January 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently fighting in the middleweight division of the UFC. He is the last Rumble on the Rock 175 lb (79 kg) champion. He is the first and last Elite XC Welterweight Champion. He is also the former Shooto Welterweight Champion and is the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. Shields is currently ranked as the #8 welterweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.
He has trained extensively with Cesar Gracie, and is a member of the "Elite Pack" which includes fellow Cesar Gracie students Dave Terrell, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez. After his loss to Akira Kikuchi he won 15 consecutive fights over 6 years, until his loss to Georges St-Pierre. Among his victories are wins over Martin Kampmann, Dan Henderson, Paul Daley, Hayato Sakurai, Jason 'Mayhem' Miller, Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, and Yoshihiro Akiyama. He describes his style as American Jiu jitsu.
Shields was raised near Mountain Ranch California in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He was home schooled up to junior high. He and his two older brothers grew up at the end of a dirt road on the rim of the Jesus Maria Canyon. Their nearest friends were a 45 minute hike down one side of the canyon and up the other. Their activities included mountain biking, wild caving, snowboarding, clearing brush, bucking firewood, climbing mountains, exploring the high country, and wrestling.
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Jamie Varner
James Christopher Varner (born October 12, 1984) is a mixed martial artist who fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former WEC Lightweight champion and holds notable victories over Donald Cerrone, Edson Barboza, and Drew Fickett.
Varner competed twice in the UFC. His first appearance was against lightweight veteran Hermes Franca, which Varner lost via submission (armbar) in round 3. His final appearance was against formerly undefeated Jason Gilliam, which he won via first round submission (rear naked choke). After this win, Varner transferred to the WEC.
Varner successfully defended his WEC Lightweight Championship belt against the previously undefeated Marcus Hicks on August 3, 2008.
He retained his title on January 25, 2009 against Donald Cerrone at WEC 38. The fight was highly competitive and won the Fight of the Night award. However, the fight was stopped prematurely in the fifth round when Cerrone hit Varner's temple with an illegal knee while Varner was still on the ground. Varner was given time to recover, but he was unable to continue, noting that he had double vision and had sustained a broken hand.
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Jens Pulver
Jens Johnnie Pulver (born December 6, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). He was the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion and was a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show, which aired on Spike TV. He was formerly signed as a featherweight with World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), which is owned by Zuffa (the parent company of the UFC). Pulver holds notable wins over BJ Penn, Caol Uno, Cub Swanson and Dennis Hallman. He is one of only two men to defeat Penn at lightweight, the other being former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar.
The son of a licensed horse jockey, Jens Pulver grew up in Maple Valley, Washington (approximately an hour's drive from Seattle). He was the oldest of four children (two brothers, Dustin and Abel, and one sister, Jamaica). Pulver has heterochromia, a harmless medical condition that gives eyes different colors; in Pulver's case his right eye is blue, while his left eye is brown.
Pulver was raised in what he referred to as a "daily hell." His childhood house was one of continual violence and abuse, stemming mostly from his alcoholic father. Many examples of the abuse Pulver faced as a youth are depicted in his autobiography, Little Evil, One Ultimate Fighter's Rise to the Top, the most extreme of which include an incident where his father threatened the then-seven-year-old Jens by placing a gun in Jens' mouth and then removing it, stating, "Shit, ain't worth a bullet."
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Jeremy Horn
Jeremy Graham Horn (born August 25, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist. He is one of the most experienced fighters in the sport with a professional record of 89–21–5. He has displayed an iron chin throughout his career having never been knocked out or knocked down until his 95th fight, against Chuck Liddell.
Horn's early martial arts training was under Robert Bussey's Warrior International founder, Robert Bussey. Horn earned a RBWI black belt under Bussey in 1992, and spent most of his career with the Miletich Fighting Systems team in Iowa, and is currently training in Salt Lake City, Utah with Elite Performance, the team that he created.
Horn's notable victories include Gilbert Yvel, Forrest Griffin, Dean Lister, David Loiseau, Travis Fulton, Chael Sonnen (x3) and Chuck Liddell. He also fought to a draw against UFC Hall Of Famer Dan Severn at Extreme Challenge 7 in 1997.
Horn defeated the eventual light heavyweight champion and UFC star Chuck Liddell via arm-triangle choke at UFC 19. Liddell later avenged his loss to Horn at UFC 54 in the fourth round, when the fight was stopped after Horn told the referee he could no longer see.
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Jimmy Connors
James Scott "Jimmy" Connors (born September 2, 1952, in East St. Louis, Illinois) is a former world no. 1 tennis player from the United States. He is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Connors won eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles with Ilie Năstase. He was also a runner-up seven times in Grand Slam singles, a doubles runner-up with Năstase at the 1973 French Open, and a mixed doubles runner-up with Chris Evert at the 1974 US Open. He held the top ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from July 29, 1974 to August 22, 1977 and an additional eight times during his career for a total of 268 weeks
In 1974, Connors became the second male in the open era to win three or more Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year (Rod Laver being the first in 1969 and having been joined since by Mats Wilander, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic). Connors is also the only man to win U.S. Open singles championships on grass, clay, and hard courts.
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Joe Rogan
Joseph James "Joe" Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American martial artist, stand-up comedian, actor, writer and color commentator. He is best known for playing Joe Garrelli on the NBC sitcom NewsRadio, commentating for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, hosting the NBC reality show Fear Factor and The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Rogan was born in Newark, New Jersey. His paternal grandfather was Irish and the remainder of his ancestry is Italian.
In 1981, at age fourteen, he became a practitioner of Kenpo Karate before transitioning to Taekwondo. He eventually gained a 2nd dan black belt. A four-time state champion in Massachusetts, in 1987 he was the USA Taekwondo U.S. Open Champion. In 1996, he began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Jean Jacques Machado, eventually earning his brown belt. In addition, he holds a brown belt in 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu under Eddie Bravo.
He also practiced and competed in kickboxing.
In 1994, he co-starred on the Fox comedy Hardball as Frank Valente, the young, ego-centric star player on a fictional professional baseball team. From 1995 to 1999, he co-starred on the comedy NewsRadio. He portrayed Joe Garrelli, the electrician at WNYX, a news radio station in New York City. In 2002, he appeared on the episode "A Beautiful Mind" of Just Shoot Me as Chris, Maya Gallo's boyfriend. In 2011, Rogan played his first major character in a movie in the Kevin James movie Zookeeper. He is slated to play himself in an upcoming action-comedy starring Kevin James called Here Comes the Boom, set to be released in the summer of 2012.
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Joe Son
Joseph Son (born November 22, 1970) is a South Korean mixed martial arts fighter and manager, actor, and a convicted felon now serving a life sentence.
Son was born in South Korea but moved to California at an early age.
Son was a mixed martial arts fighter and retired with a record of 0–4. Son was also a professional wrestler in Japan for a short time. He appeared at UFC 3 as the manager of MMA fighter Kimo Leopoldo and competed himself in UFC 4.
Son is best known for his role in the 1997 blockbuster movie, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, as Random Task, a parody of the James Bond character Oddjob. Son has also appeared in several other movies, including Bloodfist V: Human Target.
Son pleaded guilty to felony vandalism in 2008 and was placed on probation. As a condition of his plea agreement, Son was required to provide a DNA sample. In 2008, the DNA sample was linked to a 1990 gang rape. Already in custody for a probation violation, Son was arrested at the Theo Lacy facility on October 7, 2008.
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John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican presidential nominee in the 2008 United States election.
McCain followed his father and grandfather, both four-star admirals, into the United States Navy, graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. He became a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he was almost killed in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. In October 1967, while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture, and refused an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer. His war wounds left him with lifelong physical limitations.
He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona, where he entered politics. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, he served two terms, and was then elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, winning re-election easily four times, most recently in 2010. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain at times has had a media reputation as a "maverick" for his willingness to disagree with his party on certain issues. After being investigated and largely exonerated in a political influence scandal of the 1980s as a member of the Keating Five, he made campaign finance reform one of his signature concerns, which eventually led to the passage of the McCain-Feingold Act in 2002. He is also known for his work towards restoring diplomatic relations with Vietnam in the 1990s, and for his belief that the war in Iraq should be fought to a successful conclusion. McCain has chaired the Senate Commerce Committee, opposed spending that he considered to be pork barrel, and played a key role in alleviating a crisis over judicial nominations.
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John Milius
John Frederick Milius (born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures.
Milius was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elizabeth (née Roe) and William Styx Milius, who was a shoe manufacturer. Milius attempted to join the Marine Corps and volunteer for Vietnam service in the late 1960s, but was rejected due to a chronic and sometimes disabling case of asthma. He ascribes his fascination with guns and the military to this disappointment.[citation needed]
Milius studied film at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television, where he started his movie career by winning first prize in a student film contest for his entry Marcello I'm Bored.
Although he has had an illustrious career as a director, Milius is best known for writing or co-writing the screenplays for Jeremiah Johnson (with Edward Anhalt), Dirty Harry (uncredited), Apocalypse Now, Magnum Force, Geronimo: An American Legend (directed by Walter Hill), and the Steven Spielberg comedy 1941.
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Jon Fitch
Jonathan Parker Fitch (born February 24, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing as a welterweight in the UFC. As of May 2012, Fitch is ranked as the #5 welterweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.
After graduating from Carroll High School (Fort Wayne, Indiana), Fitch enrolled in at Purdue University in 1997 and graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor's in Physical Education and a minor in History. As a walk-on to the Purdue wrestling team, Fitch – a four-year letterman – wrestled under the tutelage of Tom Erikson and eventually became the team captain of his wrestling squad. Fitch secured a starting spot early on in his career, but struggled to find initial success. Compiling an 8-23 record his sophomore season, Fitch impressively turned that around to compile an 18-12 record in his final year. He finished with a 45-51 record overall for his collegiate wrestling career.
Tom Erikson– a former PRIDE fighter – would occasionally bring other mixed martial artists to the wrestling gym, and Fitch would be introduced to such fighters as Mark Coleman and Gary Goodridge. The sport, and the money that the top-tier fighters were making interested Fitch, and he started his mixed martial arts career in 2002.
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José Aldo
José Aldo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒoˈzɛ ˈawdu]; born September 9, 1986) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the first and current UFC Featherweight Champion. Aldo was also the fourth and final WEC Featherweight Champion. His only career loss has been to Luciano Azevedo.
Aldo is ranked as the #1 featherweight in the world by Sherdog and #4 in their pound for pound list. He was also named the 2009 Fighter of the Year.
Known by the nickname "Junior", José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior fought his first professional MMA fight at the age of seventeen at EcoFight 1 on August 10, 2004. He fought fellow countryman and newcomer Mário Bigola, whom he defeated by knockout (head-kick) eighteen seconds into the first round. It would be Bigola's first and only professional fight.
Aldo fought fellow Brazilian Hudson Rocha, in his second fight for Shooto Brazil. The fight was ended by doctor stoppage at the end of the first round due to a cut over Rocha's left eye, which was caused by a flying knee thrown by Aldo followed by a barrage of punches. Rocha was able to get back to his feet only to be met with more strikes and a knee before Aldo kicked his legs out from under him.
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Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos Almeida (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒũnjoʁ dus ˈsɐ̃tus]), also known as Junior Cigano ("Gipsy"; born September 12, 1984), is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is ranked as the number one heavyweight fighter in the world by numerous media outlets.
Dos Santos started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Yuri Carlton for fitness reasons. After some time he was invited to join an MMA practice, where he met his boxing coach Luiz Carlos Dórea, and after roughly a year he made his debut fight.
Dos Santos became professional in 2006 at the age of 21. He fought in small promotions in Brazil, such as Demo Fight, Extreme Fighting Championship, Minotauro Fights and Mo Team League. He won 6 out of his first 7 bouts, suffering his only loss to Joaquim Ferreira, a fighter he'd previously beaten.
Dos Santos debuted for the UFC on October 25, 2008 at UFC 90. Considered a major underdog, dos Santos knocked out top contender Fabricio Werdum at a minute and twenty-one seconds of the first round with a strong uppercut, earning himself a "Knockout of the Night" award.
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Karo Parisyan
Karapet "Karo" Parisyan (Armenian: Կարո Փարիզյան; born August 28, 1982) is an Armenian-American mixed martial artist. From his days as a UFC mainstay, Karo holds notable wins over Ryo Chonan, Shonie Carter, Drew Fickett, Matt Serra, Nick Thompson, Chris Lytle, Nick Diaz and Antonio McKee.
Parisyan was born in Yerevan, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. His family migrated to America when he was six years old. Parisyan started training in Judo when he was nine years old under fellow Armenian Gokor Chivichyan. Parisyan stated that his father began taking him to Judo lessons because he beat up on his sisters and Judo would be an effective outlet for Parisyan to take out his anger. In a book he published, however, Parisyan wrote that his father introduced him to judo to cure his laziness. By age 10, Parisyan was training his Judo under both Chivichyan and Gene LeBell.
For more than thirteen years, Parisyan developed under the Hayastan Grappling System, a style developed by Gokor Chivichyan and Gene LeBell, which blends elements of Judo, Sambo, Catch Wrestling, Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling. Parisyan continued to train at the Hayastan Academy under Gokor and Gene until late 2005. In early 2012, Karo mentioned in an interview that he has returned to the Hayastan Academy.
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Keith Hackney
Keith Hackney (born 1960 in Roselle, Illinois), is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter. He competed in two Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments.
Hackney started training martial arts at the age 11 by learning wrestling and boxing. Two years later he began learning the art of Taekwondo and eventually received a second degree black belt. In 1990, he furthered his martial arts training by beginning to train White Tiger Kenpo Karate.
Two years later, he entered the UFC. At UFC 3, he defeated Emmanuel Yarborough, but left the tournament due to injury. Hackney defeated Joe Son at UFC 4 and then lost to Royce Gracie in the next round.
Keith Hackney has appeared in four movies: Superfights, Cut, Thrust and Pump.
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Keith Jardine
Keith Hector Jardine (born October 31, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division and is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he fought in the Light Heavyweight division. During his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, he held notable wins over Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, and Brandon Vera. In 2011, Jardine signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce.
Jardine made his professional Mixed Martial Arts debut in 2001, defeating Amir Rahnavardi by armbar submission. He would win five out of his next six bouts, suffering one knockout loss to Travis Wiuff six second into the fight, before debuting in the Japanese Pancrase organization in 2003. Jardine's bout in Pancrase, with Keiichiro Yamamiya, ended in a draw. Jardine defeated his next two opponents, including a submission win over Red Devil Sport Club fighter Arman Gambaryan, before appearing on The Ultimate Fighter 2.
In 2005, Jardine was cast on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, a team-based reality television show created by the UFC, as a heavyweight competitor. He was the first heavyweight to be chosen by team coach and then UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. Although considered a favorite to proceed to the heavyweight division's finals, Jardine was not selected to fight until the semi-finals, where he was defeated by eventual heavyweight winner and his future sparring partner, Rashad Evans.
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Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick; February 11, 1964) is an American mixed martial artist, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler. Shamrock emerged as one of the biggest stars in the history of mixed martial arts, headlining over 15 main events and co-main events in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships during the course of his career and set numerous pay per view records with his drawing power. Shamrock is widely considered to be a legendary figure and icon in the sport of mixed martial arts. Shamrock was named The World's Most Dangerous Man by ABC News in a special entitled "The World's Most Dangerous Things" in the early part of his UFC career, a moniker which has become synonymous as his nickname.
Shamrock became known early on in the UFC for his rivalry with Royce Gracie. After fighting to a draw with Gracie in the inaugural Superfight, he became the first UFC Superfight Champion after defeating Dan Severn at UFC 6; the title was eventually renamed the UFC Heavyweight Championship when weight categories were introduced to the UFC. He was also the first foreign MMA Champion in Japan, winning the title of King of Pancrase. During his reign as the UFC Superfight Champion, he was widely considered the #1 mixed martial artist in the world. Shamrock was also ranked by Inside MMA as one of the top 10 greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all time.
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Kendall Grove
Kendall Kekoa Grove (born November 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist. He was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3 on Spike TV. He now currently fights in ProElite.
Grove was born in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii and is a graduate of Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Hawaii, where he was a high school wrestler. He placed sixth in the state in Hawaii.
While on The Ultimate Fighter 3, Grove trained under Tito Ortiz, and won a preliminary victory against Ross Pointon by rear naked choke and in the semi-finals defeated Kalib Starnes by submission after a rib injury sustained by Starnes during the fight caused him to verbally submit. He defeated Ed Herman in the finals by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) in the series finale, winning a six-figure contract.
In his first bout since the show on October 10, 2006, Grove defeated then-undefeated Chris Price via submission (elbows) in the first round at Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter.
After the taping of the series, Grove was invited to Ortiz's training camp, Team Punishment and has trained with Ortiz along with many of his former teammates on The Ultimate Fighter 3 at Ortiz's Big Bear City, California training facility. He has trained with Randy Couture's camp at Xtreme Couture. Since his loss to Jorge Rivera, he has moved back to Hawaii and has trained there with his friend BJ Penn.
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Kenny Florian
Kenneth Alan Florian (born May 26, 1976) is a retired Peruvian-American mixed martial artist who formerly competed as a lightweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, and is known for his cerebral approach to the sport based on his meticulous game plans and well-articulated fight analysis. He is also known for his tendency to finish his opponents, having earned stoppages in 12 of his 14 career victories, and for his devastating elbow strikes. He is the only fighter in history to compete in four different weight divisions under the UFC banner, Also Florian is the only fighter currently in the UFC to not have won a title after fighting for the belt three times.
Florian first gained recognition for his appearance on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. He holds notable victories over former PRIDE champion Takanori Gomi, current UFC contenders Clay Guida, Roger Huerta, Joe Lauzon, Din Thomas, Joe Stevenson, Sam Stout, and Diego Nunes. He has competed for the UFC Lightweight Championship twice and the UFC Featherweight Championship, but came up short against Sean Sherk, BJ Penn, and Jose Aldo. He is currently ranked as the #4 featherweight in the world by MMA Fighting and as the #10 featherweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.
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Kevin Randleman
Kevin Christopher Randleman (born August 10, 1971) is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter and a former UFC heavyweight champion. Randleman's background is in Collegiate wrestling. Wrestling at 177 pounds, Randleman was a two time Division I NCAA Champion for The Ohio State University. Randleman has competed in the heavyweight and light heavyweight classes, appearing in organizations including the UFC, Pride, WVR, and Strikeforce. He is known for his athleticism and explosive power. He was previously associated with Mark Coleman's Team Hammer House, but most recently began training at Randy Couture's gym in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On October 22, 1996 at Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 4, his MMA career began with wins over Luiz Carlos Macial, Geza Kalman and Dan Bobish to win that event's tournament. On March 3, 1997 at Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 6, he beat Ebenezer Fontes Braga and Mario Neto, but was handed his first loss by Carlos Barreto. Randleman believes there were shady circumstances in his fight with Barreto as he fought two other Brazilians that night who dragged the matches out by escaping the ring and hitting him from outside of the ring.
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Kimbo Slice
Kevin Ferguson (born February 8, 1974), better known as Kimbo Slice, is a Bahamian-American professional boxer, mixed martial artist and occasional actor. He became famous for street fights which were spread on the Internet, leading Rolling Stone to call him "The King of the Web Brawlers".
Slice left the underground fighting scene and signed a professional contract with EliteXC in 2007. After EliteXC declared bankruptcy in 2008, Slice became a free agent. Slice competed in The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, where he lost in his first fight to veteran fighter, and eventual series winner, Roy Nelson. In his UFC debut, Slice defeated Houston Alexander in the The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights finale, but lost in his second UFC fight to Matt Mitrione at UFC 113.
Ferguson was born in Nassau, Bahamas, but moved to the United States as a child, growing up in Cutler Ridge, Florida. Ferguson was raised with his two brothers by mother Rosemary Clarke. He went to Bel-Air Elementary School, where Ferguson was reportedly involved in his first fight at 13 as he tried to defend a friend. He continued his studies with Cutler Ridge Middle School and later with Richmond Heights Middle School. He attended Miami Palmetto High School, where he was the star middle linebacker. In 1992, his house in Perrine, Florida was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, forcing him to live in his 1987 Nissan Pathfinder for a month.
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Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo (born January 4, 1968), or simply Kimo, is an American mixed martial artist. He made his MMA debut at UFC 3 in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission. Kimo's fighting style has been described as freestyle, with a mixture of striking and grappling techniques.[citation needed]
He was credited with a black belt in Taekwondo in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 3. Kimo is well known for his Christian beliefs: he sports many religious tattoos, and entered the arena at UFC 3 carrying a large cross on his back.
At UFC 3, Kimo fought the reigning, defending UFC 1 and UFC 2 champion Royce Gracie in the quarterfinals. Kimo gave Gracie his toughest fight to date but eventually lost the fight via submission. Gracie was dehydrated following his bout with Kimo and, as a result, Gracie's corner threw in the towel before the start of his next match. This subsequently made Kimo into an enormous star in the martial arts world.
After three straight wins in Japan, including a dominant, impressive win over UFC 2 finalist Pat Smith, Kimo returned at UFC 8 and fought reigning UFC champion Ken Shamrock in a title match for the UFC Superfight Championship, but lost early in the fight via submission due to a kneebar.
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Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE (born 2 September 1965) is a retired boxer and the most recent undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship. As an amateur he won gold representing Canada at the 1988 Olympic Games after defeating future heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe in the final.
Lewis turned professional in 1989, winning his first 21 fights. In 1992 he knocked out Donovan Ruddock to take over the number one position in the World Boxing Council (WBC) rankings and eventually be declared WBC heavyweight champion in 1993. Lewis lost the title to Oliver McCall in 1994 but defeated McCall in a rematch to win the vacant WBC title in 1997. Lewis went on to defend the title four times, becoming the Lineal Champion after beating Shannon Briggs by KO in 1998. He became undisputed champion after defeating Evander Holyfield in November 1999. After defeating Mike Tyson by KO in 2002 and stopping Vitali Klitschko in 2003, Lennox Lewis retired from boxing in 2004.
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Leonard Garcia
Leonard Garcia (born July 14, 1979 in Plainview, Texas) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He previously fought for the UFC in the lightweight division before moving down to the featherweight division in the World Extreme Cagefighting. Garcia currently trains at Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is known for his brawling style and for having an "iron chin", having never being knocked out in MMA competition.
Garcia began his career in 1999, competing on the regional circuit in the Western United States. Garcia competed in the first WEC event back in 2001 at WEC 1. After compiling an impressive 8–1 beginning to his professional career, Garcia took a three year break.
Returning to action in 2006, Garcia was tabbed as a short notice replacement against high ranking contender Roger Huerta at UFC 69 where he lost a very one sided unanimous decision, after taking an awful lot of punishment throughout the fight.
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Lorenzo Fertitta
Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta is an American businessman, casino executive, sports promoter and entrepreneur. Fertitta resides in Las Vegas with his wife Teresa and three children.
Fertitta obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of San Diego in 1991 and a MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University in 1993.
Since 1993, Fertitta has occupied various executive positions within Fertitta Enterprises. From 1991 to 1993, Fertitta served as vice president, before becoming president and chief executive officer, from June 1993 to July 2000, where he was responsible for managing an investment portfolio consisting of marketable securities and real property.
Fertitta is a principal shareholder and a co-founder of Station Casinos Inc. He served as a member on the board of directors from 1991 until gaining the position of Station's president in July 2000. On June 19, 2008, Fertitta stepped down as president to work full-time for Zuffa, LLC.
On February 2, 2009, Station Casinos announced its plans to file for bankruptcy by April 15. Station's filing came in response to a lawsuit filed by an individual bondholder challenging the gaming company's debt swap and prepackaged bankruptcy proposal. In July 2009, Station Casino's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, however the Fertitta family is expected to make additional investments to maintain its ownership.
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Lyoto Machida
Lyoto Carvalho Machida (Portuguese pronunciation: [liˈotu maˈʃidɐ]; born May 30, 1978) is a Japanese-Brazilian mixed martial artist from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil who fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and is currently ranked as the #6 light heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog, MMAWeekly and Yahoo! Sports.
Machida was born in the city of Salvador as the third son of the highly ranked head of the Brazilian branch of the Japan Karate Association, Shotokan karate master Yoshizo Machida. Yoshizo moved to Brazil from Japan when he was 22 years old. There he met and married Lyoto's mother, Ana Claudia. Growing up in Belém, Lyoto began training in karate at the age of three and earned his black belt at the age of thirteen. He also began training in sumo at twelve and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at fifteen. He won a number of amateur karate tournaments, including the 2001 Pan American Karate tournament.
He was the runner-up in the 2000 Brazilian Sumo Championships in the 115 kg division. As an adult, he became Brazilian Champion twice under Taylor Swanson, and placed second in the South American Championship. He defeated American black belt Jiu-Jitsu fighter Rafael Lovato Jr. at L.A. Sub X. In addition to his sumo and karate achievements, he has a college degree in Physical Education. Lyoto's brother, Chinzô, is a Shotokan vice-champion (Australia 2006), losing only to number-one ranked Shotokan master Koji Ogata. Lyoto and Chinzô fought in a Karate Final 10 years ago in which Lyoto gave Chinzô a cheek scar that still exists today. His other brothers include Kenzo Machida, a TV journalist for one of Brazil's biggest TV stations, Take Machida and adopted brother Francisco Machida.
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Marc Ratner
Marc Ratner is the current Vice President of Regulatory Affairs with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Formerly, he was the Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Ratner joined the Nevada Athletic Commission in 1985, He became the Chief Inspector of the Nevada athletic commission in 1987 and Executive Director in 1992. Ratner left the Nevada Athletic Commission and joined the UFC as its vice president for regulatory affairs on May 15, 2006.
He is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Marco Ruas
Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmaʁku ˈʁuɐs]; born January 23, 1961) is a retired mixed martial arts fighter and instructor. Most notably, he was the UFC 7 Tournament Champion and is considered one of the earliest examples of the complete mixed martial artist, highly skilled in both striking and grappling.
Ruas is famous for being the founder of Ruas Vale Tudo, a hybrid of Brazilian submission fighting and kickboxing. He also used to train in the art of capoeira with renowned Mestre Camisa in Rio de Janeiro at the Santa Luzia club, downtown Rio. He has instructed fighters such as Pedro Rizzo and Renato Sobral.
Some would regard him as one of the earliest pioneers of the now established MMA paradigm of a complete fighter - being able to strike, takedown and finish with submissions as his UFC 7 record indicates.
Ruas competed in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning UFC 7 in a classic fight against 6'8", 330 lb Paul Varelans. He also faced down opponent Oleg Taktarov in UFC's Ultimate Ultimate, but lost via unanimous decision. Ruas would go on to a draw with Taktarov a year later, winning the WVC Super Fight belt in the process. He returned briefly to fight former heavyweight champion Maurice Smith in UFC 21, but lost by TKO. Ruas suffered an injury in the first round and could not continue.
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Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting Championships 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix champion. At UFC 82 Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. His most notable victories came against Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, Igor Vovchanchyn, Don Frye (2x) and Dan Severn.
Coleman is credited with proving the ability of wrestlers to dominate in the developing sport of mixed martial arts, and with being one of the first in American MMA to successfully use the strategy that came to be known as ground-and-pound, earning him the distinction as "The Godfather of Ground & Pound".
Coleman was born in Fremont, Ohio, U.S. in 1964. He began freestyle wrestling as a teenager, and wrestled for Miami University, in Ohio, where he was a two time Mid-American Conference wrestling champion. In his senior year, he transferred to Ohio State University and won an NCAA championship. Out of college, he was awarded a spot on the US Wrestling team, placing second (100 kg) at the 1991 FILA Wrestling World Championships in Varna, Bulgaria, and placing seventh overall in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
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Marloes Coenen
Marloes Coenen (born March 31, 1981) is a Dutch mixed martial artist. She has competed professionally since 2000 and is a former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion.
Coenen is currently the #8-ranked pound-for-pound female MMA fighter in the world by MMARising.com, and is ranked #3 at 145 pounds and #4 at 135 pounds according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings.
Coenen's brothers and grandfather were both involved with martial arts, with the latter having taken jiu-jitsu twenty years earlier, and this aided Coenen with her own transition into the sport.
She began training with Pierre Drachman and Martijn de Jong at Shooto Holland while only 14, who recalls that, "I really had respect for that, because it didn't matter if it rained or snowed. She still kept on coming." She started martial arts because she had to bicycle alone through a lonely part of the forest to and from school, and she had heard rumors that there were "dirty men in the forest" who preyed on girls.
Along with her competitive career, Coenen is planning to study Communications Sciences in Amsterdam with a goal of future employment in that sector.
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Martin Kampmann
Martin Kampmann Frederiksen (born April 17, 1982) is a Danish mixed martial artist who fights out of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and trains at the Xtreme Couture gym. He is known for his precise strikes and his quick submissions. In November 2011, Kampmann was ranked as the #9 welterweight fighter in the world by Sherdog, and, in January 2012, #8 by the USA Today Consensus Rankings.
He is currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he made his debut at UFC Fight Night 6 as a late replacement for Kalib Starnes. In his debut fight with the UFC, Kampmann defeated opponent Crafton Wallace by first-round submission. His next victory came by way of unanimous decision over Thales Leites in The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale on November 11, 2006. At UFC 68, he defeated Drew McFedries by arm-triangle choke in the first round.
His next UFC fight was scheduled for UFC 72 against Rich "Ace" Franklin, but he was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury. Kampmann returned from his injury at UFC 85, where he defeated Jorge Rivera by guillotine choke at 2:44 in the first round.
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Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova (Czech: Martina Navrátilová; born Martina Šubertová; October 18, 1956) is a retired Czech American tennis player and a former World No. 1. Billie Jean King said about Navratilova in 2006, "She's the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived."
Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women's doubles titles (an all-time record), and 10 major mixed doubles titles. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times. She and King each won 20 Wimbledon titles, an all-time record. Navratilova is one of just three women to have accomplished a career Grand Slam in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles (called the Grand Slam "boxed set") a record she shares with Margaret Court and Doris Hart. She holds the open era record for most singles titles (167) and doubles titles (177). She recorded the longest winning streak in the open era (74 consecutive matches) and three of the six longest winning streaks in the women's open era. Navratilova, Margaret Court and Maureen Connolly share the record for the most consecutive major singles titles (six). Navratilova reached 11 consecutive major singles finals, second all-time to Steffi Graf's 13. In women's doubles, Navratilova and Pam Shriver won 109 consecutive matches and won all four major titles in 1984, i.e. the Grand Slam. Also the pair set an all time record of 79 titles together and tied Louise Brough Clapp's and Margaret Osborne duPont's record of 20 major women's doubles titles as a team. In addition she won the season ending WTA Tour Championships a record 8 times and made the finals a record 14 times and won the doubles title a record 11 times. Navratilova is the only person of either sex to have won eight different tournaments at least seven times.
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Matt Hamill
Matthew Stanley Hamill (born October 5, 1976) is a retired American wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion in wrestling (167 lb class in 1997, 190 lb class in 1998 and 197 lb class in 1999) while attending the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester, New York. Hamill also has a silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling and a gold medal in freestyle wrestling from the 2001 Summer Deaflympics. He is notable for being the only man to defeat the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, the fight ending via referee stoppage.
Born in Loveland, Ohio, Hamill was deaf from birth. He was introduced to wrestling by his step father who was a wrestling coach at Loveland High School. Hamill attended the Rochester Institute of Technology for 3 years transferring there after a year at Purdue.
Hamill was a contestant on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter reality television show, training under Tito Ortiz in the 205 lb (93 kg) weight class. He won a preliminary fight against Mike Nickels via decision, but was unable to continue into the semi-finals due to injuries. On June 24, 2006, Hamill fought fellow contestant Jesse Forbes at The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale on Spike TV and won via KO.
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Matt Serra
Matthew John Serra (born June 2, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and an ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship silver medalist. He began practicing martial arts at an early age, first studying kung fu. In the 1990s, he began studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie and on May 23, 2000 he obtained his black belt, the first American to do so under Gracie. He is one of only two people in MMA to defeat Georges St-Pierre, the other being UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes.
Serra won first place at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pan American games in 1999 and won third place at the 1999 World Championships in Brazil as a brown belt. Continuing his Martial Arts career, he competed in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship choking out Takanori Gomi, winning a decision over Jean-Jacques Machado, and placing 2nd in the 66–76 kg division. Serra was invited to compete in Pride 9 against Johil de Oliveira but the bout was called off at the last minute when Oliveira was burned in a pyrotechnics accident backstage. Soon after, Matt began to compete in the UFC organization where he built up a record of four wins and four losses. One of the losses was a close decision fight with future Welter and Lightweight champ B.J. Penn which would have earned him a title shot in the failed Lightweight tournament.
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Maurício Rua
Maurício Milani Rua (Portuguese pronunciation: [mawˈɾisiu ˈʁuɐ]; born November 25, 1981)
He received a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from Antonio "Nino" Schembri after winning the Pride 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix. As of May 2012, Rua is currently ranked as the No. 4 Light Heavyweight fighter by Sherdog.
Rua was born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil. His father, working in the business world, is a successful businessman who runs his own business, and his mother was a track athlete and is currently a marathon runner. The Rua brothers occasionally run 10 km runs with their mother as well. Shogun has an older brother Murilo (born 1980) and a younger brother Marcos "Shaolin" Rua. Both are mixed martial artists training at Universidade da luta, though Marcos does not compete at a professional level.
Shogun has stated that he began training in Muay Thai at the age of 15, and began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu at 17. In contrast, Pride announcer Mauro Ranallo once claimed that Shogun began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) at the age of six and Muay Thai at seven, and achieved a 10–0 Kick-boxing record. He was very successful in BJJ championships at the Blue and Purple belt level. Rua followed his older brother's footsteps after Murilo started training at the Chute Boxe Academy. In addition to Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he also currently trains in wrestling and western boxing.
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Michael Bisping
Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (born 28 February 1979) is an English mixed martial artist. He fights in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight Champion, former Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion and The Ultimate Fighter 3 Light Heavyweight Tournament winner. As of March 2012, Bisping is ranked the No. 4 middleweight in the world by Sherdog.
Bisping was born in manchester UK in 1979, but moved to Bridlington, East Yorkshire, England when he was a child. Taking an early interest in martial arts, Bisping began training in a traditional form of jiu-jitsu known as Yawara Ryu under Paul Lloyd Davies when he was 8 years old. In 1994, at the age of 15, Bisping competed as an amateur in England's first "no holds barred" competition, a precursor to modern MMA, called Knock Down Sport Budo (KSBO), organised by Davies.
At the age of 18, Bisping decided to abandon his martial arts training in order "to pursue real life". But less than a year later Bisping began training kickboxing and karate on the advice of Alan Clarking, owner of Black Knights gym, who saw potential in the young fighter. Bisping enjoyed a short, but successful kickboxing career, winning the North West Area title and later the Pro British light heavyweight kickboxing title. After again briefly quitting competition in 1998, Bisping returned to kickboxing to take the Pro British light heavyweight title for a second time. Soon after winning his second kickboxing title, Bisping was forced to abandon his full-time training for a "real job". Bisping worked in factories, slaughterhouses, as an upholsterer, a postman, a tiler, a plasterer, a double-glazing door salesman,production line operative making barbecues at Rectella in Clitheroe and also a relatively successful DJ around the north-west club scene.
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Mike Goldberg
Mike Goldberg (born November 24, 1964) is an American play-by-play commentator, mainly known for his work with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Goldberg is best known as the lead play-by-play announcer (working alongside Joe Rogan) for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world's largest mixed martial arts organization, where he first began working in 1997. His voice is heard on pay-per-views and Fox, Fox Sports Net and Spike TV. Goldberg is the host of the Spike TV program UFC Unleashed.
Goldberg is also the studio host for college football telecasts on FSN. Most games involve teams in the Big 12 and Pacific 10 conferences.
In 2005, Goldberg was offered a contract to work for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), to be the head announcer on the WWEs flagship show RAW. He was also reportedly offered an extra six-figure amount to no-show at a UFC event prior to starting work for WWE. Ultimately, Goldberg refused the WWE contract and signed a new deal with the UFC.
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Mike Swick
Mike Swick (born June 19, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a welterweight.
Swick, who trains at American Kickboxing Academy alongside fellow welterweight standout Jon Fitch, entered the UFC after appearing on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter. He defeated his first four UFC opponents within the first round, living up to his nickname "Quick" in the process. He holds notable victories over former UFC middleweight title challenger David Loiseau, Marcus Davis, Ben Saunders, and Joe Riggs.
Swick began his professional career in smaller shows, including early events of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). He amassed a record of 5–0 before challenging Chris Leben for the WEC Middleweight Championship. He lost the fight by knockout at 45 seconds of the second round.[citation needed]
After his first professional loss, Swick entered the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality television series produced by the UFC. Swick participated as a light heavyweight on Randy Couture's team. Chris Leben also participated as Swick's teammate. Leben insisted on talking about his victory over Swick, which irritated him. Swick's first fight in the show came during the semi-finals. He faced Stephan Bonnar, but was defeated by triangle armbar at 4:55 of the first round, eliminating him from the show.[citation needed]
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Mikey Burnett
Michael Wayne Burnett (born April 12, 1974) is a former American mixed martial artist who was a member of the legendary fight team the Lion's Den. Burnett lost a very controversial decision to Pat Miletich in a UFC title fight for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC Ultimate Brazil crowning Miletich the first-ever holder of the UFC Welterweight belt.
Burnett was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and graduated from Nathan Hale High School in 1991. He wrestled for three years in college. Burnett was also an amateur Golden Gloves boxing champion in his home state of Oklahoma. He formerly owned and operated Mikey's Gym in East Tulsa. Burnett was the lead MMA and grappling instructor at Apollo's Karate. On October 1, 2011 Mikey opened the new Mikey's Gym located at 3320 E. 32nd St in Tulsa.
Burnett made his professional MMA debut on April 20, 1996, competing at the third and final Oklahoma Free Fight Federation tournament in Tulsa. Burnett defeated Todd Justice and Tony Hays only to eventually lose to Kevin Nix in the final round of the tournament. Shortly after this, Burnett began to train with Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den in Susanville, California. Burnett's next fight would not take place until the following year at the inaugural World Pankration Championships where Burnett submitted Mike Hipp with a heel hook.
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Mirko Filipović
Mirko Filipović (Croatian pronunciation: [mîrkɔ fǐːlipɔːʋitɕ]; (born September 10, 1974) is a Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, and retired mixed martial artist, politician, and law enforcement officer. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007 on a list of Social Democratic Party of Croatia. His nickname, Cro Cop, short for "Croatian Cop", comes from his membership in the Lučko Anti-Terrorist Unit, Croatia's elite Police Special Forces tactical unit.
Filipović has been successful in both K-1 and Pride Fighting Championships. On September 10, 2006, he won the 2006 Pride World Open-Weight Grand Prix, and in 2007 entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Filipović owed his MMA success to a combination of elite-level kickboxing and near-impregnable takedown defence, making him one of the most dangerous strikers in MMA history and a prototype for the modern sprawl and brawler. Filipović's signature move was his lightning quick left head-kick, once famously describing his kicks as "right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery." His legacy remains as a true legend in Mixed Martial Arts, and one of the greatest heavyweights in mixed martial arts history.
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Murilo Bustamante
Murilo Bustamante (Portuguese pronunciation: [muˈɾilu buʃtɐˈmɐ̃tʃi]; born July 30, 1966 in Rio de Janeiro) (Japanese pronunciation: [Murīrobusutamante]; is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight champion. He is one of the founders of the Brazilian Top Team and is the current leader. He holds notable victories over Dave Menne (twice), Matt Lindland and Ikuhisa Minowa.
Murilo Bustamante is a black belt under the renowned Carlson Gracie. He has won numerous world titles in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which includes the World Championships of Jiu-Jitsu. His impressive MMA resume includes wins over Jerry Bohlander of the Lion's Den, Ikuhisa Minowa, Ryuta Sakurai (twice), Dave Menne (which won him the UFC middleweight championship) and undefeated top ranked Middleweight Matt Lindland .
Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Carlson Gracie → Murilo Bustamante
Murilo's grappling accomplishments include Championships at the World Class level, as well as appearances at the ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he has won The Mundials World Championships in 1999 and has won the Brazilian National Championship 4 times.
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Nate Diaz
Nathan Donald Diaz (born April 16, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent, currently competing for the UFC in the welterweight and lightweight divisions. He is the Ultimate Fighter Season 5 champion and has amassed victories in Strikeforce and World Extreme Cagefighting.
Diaz is a graduate of Tokay High School in Lodi, California and holds a black belt in Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. He is the younger brother of former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz. Diaz is affiliated with the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Lodi, California, where he trains under Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie. Diaz received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on April 6, 2012 from Cesar Gracie. He is currently ranked #7 lightweight fighter in the world.
He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5 show, of course exclusively featuring lightweights. He fought on Jens Pulver's team. In the preliminary round, Diaz defeated Rob Emerson by submission; in the quarterfinals he defeated fellow Team Pulver teammate Corey Hill via triangle choke in the first round. In the semifinals, he defeated Team Penn member Gray Maynard by submission, advancing to the finals where he faced Manvel Gamburyan.
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Nate Marquardt
Nathan Joel Marquardt (born April 20, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist. He is a three-time Middleweight Pancrase Champion and former UFC middleweight title contender.
As a middleweight (he now fights at welterweight), Marquardt was ranked the #4 best middleweight in the world by Sherdog and the #3 middleweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly. He runs the High Altitude Martial Arts Academy in Aurora, Colorado.
Marquardt began his professional mixed martial arts career in 1999, amassing victories in various promotions before entering the Bas Rutten Invitational 4 tournament, which was organized in such a manner that the tournament winner was to be offered a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Despite winning the tournament, Marquardt was offered no such contract. Instead, he signed with Japan's Pancrase organization, which had fostered such fighters as Ken Shamrock and Bas Rutten. In his first Pancrase fight, Marquardt lost via submission to Genki Sudo.
Invited back to Pancrase for a middleweight elimination tournament, Marquardt defeated Daiju Takase, Kiuma Kunioku, and Shonie Carter to become the first middleweight King of Pancrase. Marquardt defended this title twice before being defeated by Kunioku in December 2001. A final encounter between the two fighters in December 2002 saw Marquardt defeat Kunioku once again to recapture the King of Pancrase championship, which he held for nearly a year.[citation needed]
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Nick Diaz
Nicholas Robert Diaz (born August 2, 1983) is a American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent. He is the former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, WEC and IFC Welterweight Champion. He has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pride Fighting Championships and Elite Xtreme Combat. Diaz was promoted to black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Cesar Gracie on May 8, 2007. Diaz trains at the Diaz brother's Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Lodi, California. Diaz holds the distinction of having never been submitted, and has been finished by strikes only once in 35 fights. He is currently ranked the #4 welterweight in the world by Sherdog, ESPN, MMAWeekly, and USA Today.
Diaz was born in Stockton , California. He is the older brother of UFC fighter Nate Diaz. He went to Tokay High School in Lodi for one year before dropping out. While a freshman, he was a member of the swimming team. Diaz has stated in the past that he is thankful his mother got him into swimming classes because swimming is one of the main reasons why his cardio is so impressive during his fights. Diaz has also said on multiple occasions that he had a hard childhood and grew up without his biological father.
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Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov (Russian: Оле́г Никола́евич Такта́ров; born August 26, 1967) is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and actor. He is a practitioner of Sambo and Judo and has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships. Taktarov was the UFC 6 tournament champion and holds notable wins over Marco Ruas and David "Tank" Abbott. Taktarov is known for being exceptionally calm during fights and for using a variety of rarely seen, acrobatic Sambo take-downs. All of Taktarov's losses were by knockout or decision, Taktarov was never submitted in an MMA fight.
Taktarov was born in the closed city Arzamas-16 (today known as Sarov), USSR, before his family moved to Gorky, an industrial centre of Russia. Oleg’s father, a construction worker, wanted his son to become involved in sport, and so took him to a gymnasium at the nearby city of Sarov, with the intention of enrolling Oleg in ice hockey or weightlifting. But the twelve-year-old Taktarov had other ideas after observing athletes practicing judo. At first it appeared his father would have his way because the Sarov judo division had a policy of not accepting people from outside their city, but the instructor was impressed by the bright and well-mannered Oleg, and took him under his wing. "I liked judo and stuck with it. Then I found that there were similarities between judo and sambo (Russian unarmed self-defense system), and as Sarov was the only Sambo gymnasium specializing in leg locks, I decided to compete in both styles," says Taktarov.
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Pat Miletich
Patrick Jay Miletich (English pronunciation: /ˈmɪlɨtitʃ/; born March 9, 1968) is a retired American mixed martial artist and a current sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC Welterweight Champion and UFC 16 tournament champion.
He founded Miletich Fighting Systems, which has trained over 90 televised fighters and no fewer than 11 MMA world champions, including former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion and UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia, former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver, and former Elite XC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler.
Miletich, the youngest of five children, was born in Davenport, Iowa, to Croatian parents. Two of his brothers are deceased. Miletich wrestled and played football at Bettendorf High School. As a senior in 1986, Miletich shared the Bettendorf High School wrestling room with future MMA champion Mark Kerr, who was a freshman just beginning his wrestling career. Miletich is believed to have begun wrestling at age six. He said he wanted to be a world champion in something and wrestling was something he was good at. Although Miletich originally planned to pursue football after graduating high school, he eventually chose to wrestle in junior college. When his mother developed heart problems, he left school to care for her. Miletich has stated in past interviews that he actually began fighting to help pay her bills.
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Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Augusto Rizzo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpedɾu ˈʁizu]; born May 3, 1974) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Muay Thai fighter who has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, and Affliction. He holds notable wins over Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Jeff Monson, Gary Goodridge and Ken Shamrock.
Trained by Marco Ruas, Rizzo has adopted Ruas' brutal leg kicks and has developed strong stand up fighting and used this to great effect in the cage. Rizzo is a talented and feared striker in MMA.
Rizzo is a former WVC heavyweight champion and former contender for the UFC heavyweight belt. A stint in PRIDE FC did not go too well for the former UFC Heavyweight title contender, and Rizzo suffered quick losses at the hands of Sergei Kharitonov and Roman Zentsov.
Rizzo returned to his winning ways on the March 9, 2007, when he beat UFC veteran Justin Eilers by unanimous decision at the début show of Art of War Undisputed Arena Fighting Championships, which was held in Dallas, Texas.
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Quinton Jackson
Quinton Ramone Jackson (born June 20, 1978), also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted[citation needed] for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over Ricardo Arona. In the United States, he is known for his tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Jackson is the first person to unify any of the UFC and Pride FC championship belts, defeating Pride Fighting Championships Middleweight title holder Dan Henderson in 2007. Jackson is ranked as the #5 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog, MMAWeekly and Yahoo! Sports.
Jackson appeared for a second time as a coach on the reality series The Ultimate Fighter opposite Rashad Evans. They were scheduled to fight at UFC 107, but this bout was cancelled when Jackson took a movie role to play B. A. Baracus in The A-Team feature film. Jackson guest co-hosted WWE Raw on June 7, 2010, along with his A-Team co-stars Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley. Jackson refuted any doubts to whether acting was getting in the way of his fighting by saying, “I got a whole bunch of movies coming up, they ain’t got nothing to do with my day job,” he retorted at a UFC 135 kickoff presser on July 19, 2011. “I turn down movies all the time to fight. This is my day job fighting. This is what pays my bills and puts my kids through college and stuff."
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Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture (pronounced /koʊˈtʊər/; born June 22, 1963) is an actor, retired American mixed martial artist, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Couture became a three-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, an Interim UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and was the UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament Winner. Couture is the first fighter to hold two UFC championship titles in two different divisions (heavyweight and light heavyweight). Couture has competed in a record 15 title fights. He holds the most title reigns in the UFC with five. His last fight with Lyoto Machida marked his 24th fight in the UFC, the third most amount of fights in the UFC (Tito Ortiz is first with 26 and Matt Hughes is second with 25). Couture is one of the first members of the UFC Hall of Fame. He is the only person over the age of 40 to have won a UFC championship fight, having done so four times.[citation needed]
Couture was an Olympic wrestling alternate and has lived in Corvallis, Oregon, throughout much of his career, where he served as an assistant wrestling coach and a strength and conditioning coach for Oregon State University. He established Team Quest with Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson, a training camp for fighters, based out of Gresham, Oregon, and headed by coach Robert Folis. In 2005, Couture moved to Las Vegas, where he opened his own extensive chain of gyms under the name Xtreme Couture. He currently trains at his Las Vegas-based gym. Couture partnered with Bas Rutten in the opening of Legends Gym in Hollywood, California.
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Rashad Evans
Rashad Anton Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist from Niagara Falls, New York, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Evans won the heavyweight division of The Ultimate Fighter 2. Evans lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship to then undefeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 98. As of November 2011, Evans is currently ranked as the #3 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog and Yahoo! Sports.
Wrestling out of Niagra Wheatfield High School, Evans twice made it to the state finals tournament of New York by winning his weight class for his county, in which he received All-State honors both times. In 1997 he placed 4th in the state at 145 pounds. In 1998 he placed 4th in the state at 171 pounds. In 1999 he entered the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championships for the 165 pound weight class in which he finished in 4th place. Competing once again at this tournament in 2000, he was the champion of the 165 pound weight class.
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Ricco Rodriguez
Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist. Ricco is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, Mundials World Champion and also an ADCC World Champion. He has competed in the biggest organizations in the world such as Pride Fighting Championship, EliteXC, International Fight League, BAMMA, World Extreme Cagefighting and Bellator Fighting Championships.
Rodriguez grew up in the projects in Paterson, New Jersey. He got into a lot of street fights as a half Puerto Rican/half Mexican in a primarily Italian neighborhood. Rodriguez wrestled at Tottenville High School while living in Staten Island, New York. He later moved to California and began training in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Rigan and Jean Jacques Machado. He competed and won many Jiu Jitsu tournaments before moving on to MMA.
In 1997, Ricco Rodriguez became one of the small group of Americans to win a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championship, taking the Blue Belt Absolute title. He took gold in +99 kg in the first ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 1998, bronze in the Absolute (open weight) division in 1999 and Silver in the +99 kg category in 2000. That same year Rodriguez began his MMA career with a win against Rocky Batastini. He won several of his first matches before losing to Bobby Hoffman at the Superbrawl 13 event in Hawaii. He later fought in the PRIDE Fighting Championship before moving on to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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Rich Franklin
Rich Jay Franklin II (born October 5, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion.
Franklin was born to Richard Sr. and Vaila Franklin. The couple divorced when Rich was five years old. He has one biological brother, Greg, and five step-siblings.
Prior to becoming a full time MMA fighter, Franklin graduated from William Henry Harrison High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and later earned a master's degree in education at the University of Cincinnati, and taught mathematics at the Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Franklin and American Fighter President Jeff Adler created The Keep It In The Ring Foundation to advocate non-violence and build character in youth. This is done through after school sports, martial arts and life skills programs. His nickname "Ace" comes from his resemblance to Jim Carrey, who played the character Ace Ventura. Joe Rogan once called him "An angry Jim Carrey". Franklin made his acting debut in a film called Cyborg Soldier where he plays an escaped super soldier and partners with Tiffani Thiessen.
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Robbie Lawler
Robert Glen "Robbie" Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist Lawler was the EliteXC middleweight champion before EliteXC filed for bankruptcy. Lawler has recently signed with Strikeforce. He is a member of Team Hughes fighting out of H.I.T. Squad, a Granite City, Illinois gym, which he co-owns with teammate and former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes. MMAWeekly ranks Lawler as the #8 middleweight in the world.
On March 31, 2007, he fought Frank Trigg for the ICON Sport middleweight championship and won by KO in the fourth round. On September 15, 2007, he fought PRIDE Fighting Championships veteran Murilo "Ninja" Rua for the EliteXC middleweight championship and won by TKO in the third round.
Lawler was scheduled to fight Hawaii's Kala Hose for the ICON Sport Middleweight Championship on December 15, 2007 in Honolulu, Hawaii, he however pulled out of the fight due to an injury. Icon Sport stripped Lawler of the middleweight title on February 9, 2008 for failing to defend the title.
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Roger Huerta
Roger Huerta (born May 20, 1983), is an American mixed martial artist. He initially gained exposure by competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and later Bellator Fighting Championships.
Huerta is of Mexican and Salvadorian descent. He has had a long and difficult early childhood right up to his teen years, overcoming many challenges and has been described as having the "life that Hollywood producers make movies about". Born to Lydia and Rogelio Huerta in Los Angeles, California, he spent the first 6 years of his life in Texas. His father became heavily involved in drugs and alcohol and began an affair with another woman that led to a separation with Lydia.
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Ronaldo Souza
Ronaldo Souza dos Santos (born December 7, 1979), nicknamed Jacaré, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, submission grappler and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Souza is the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, holding notable wins over Tim Kennedy, Robbie Lawler, Matt Lindland and Jason 'Mayhem' Miller.
Souza started training Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when he was 17. He is a 5-time World Jiu-Jitsu Champion, including gold medals in the Openweight class in 2003, 2004 and 2005. His other credentials include the 2005 77–87 kg ADCC Champion and the 2005 ADCC Absolute Division runner-up, only losing to Roger Gracie who outweighed him by approximately 25 lbs. Along with Roger Gracie and Marcelo Garcia, Jacaré is widely considered to be among the greatest BJJ practitioners of all time. In 2008 he was runner up in Dream's mixed martial arts Middleweight Grand Prix tournament, losing to Gegard Mousasi in the finals.
Souza made his MMA debut on September 9, 2003 at Jungle Fight's inaugural event where he lost to Jorge "Macaco" Patino by KO at 3:13 into the first round. He returned to MMA eight months later at Jungle Fight 2 securing a submission win over Victor Babkir under a minute into the first round. His next fight was in April 2006 at Jungle Fight 6 where he got his second win, defeating Alexander Schlemenko by an arm triangle choke submission. He went on to fight twice before the end of 2006, winning both fight by submission during the first round.
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Rorion Gracie
Rorion Gracie (English pronunciation: /ˈhɔəri.ɒn ˈɡræsiː/; born 1952) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and instructor, a prominent member of the Gracie family, and a founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the oldest son of Hélio Gracie and one of the few people in the world to hold a 9th degree red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, receiving that promotion on October 27, 2003 from his father. He is considered the first practitioner to bring widespread awareness of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to the United States.
Rorion taught Mel Gibson Gracie Jiu Jitsu for the movie Lethal Weapon.
Gracie, who holds a bachelors degree in law, is known for strongly defending the trademarks he claims for the term "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu" and for the triangle logo associated with his academy. In 1999–2000 he was involved with a legal dispute with his cousin Carley Gracie for trademark infringement. Rorion ultimately won his lawsuit and was awarded $108,000 in damages (along with $620,000 in attorney's fees) from Carley for infringement of the triangle logo trademark, though the jury found in favour of Carley that Rorion did not have a valid federal trademark for the name "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu".
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Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie (Portuguese: [ˈʁɔjsi ˈɡɾejsi], English: /ˈrɔɪs ˈgreɪsiː/; born December 12, 1966) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.
Gracie gained fame for his domination in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He became known for beating opponents much larger than he was, and between 1993 and 1994, he was the tournament winner of UFC 1, UFC 2, UFC 4, and fought to a draw with Ken Shamrock in the championship match in the Superfight at UFC 5. Gracie popularized Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and revolutionized mixed martial arts with his results contributing to the movement towards grappling and cross-training in the sport.
He holds the most submission victories in UFC history with 11, which he earned between UFC 1 and UFC 4.
Royce is a member of the Gracie family. He is the son of Hélio Gracie (Helio along with his older brother Carlos Gracie are the originators of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu—Modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) and spent his childhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As a toddler, Gracie learned Jiu-Jitsu from his father and his older brothers Rorion, Relson, and Rickson Gracie. He began competing at the age of 8 and by the time he was 16 had attained the level of blue belt.
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Sam Stout
Samuel James Stout (born April 23, 1984) is a Canadian mixed martial artist from London, Ontario. He is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
A UFC fighter, Stout made his debut at lightweight at UFC 58: USA vs. Canada. Although Stout was originally scheduled to face Kenny Florian at UFC 58, Florian withdraw from the bout due to a back injury. On short notice, Spencer Fisher – of the prestigious Miletich Fighting Systems camp – agreed to substitute for the injured Florian. Stout and Fisher fought a three-round bout at UFC 58 with Stout winning the split decision. Although the bout was not aired on the pay-per-view broadcast, the fight has subsequently been shown on episodes of UFC Unleashed. The fight got voted #16 on the UFC's 100 greatest fights show.
Stout succumbed to a rear naked choke submission at the hands of Kenny Florian during The Ultimate Fighter 3 finale on June 24, 2006. Following his loss to Kenny Florian, Stout beat Jay Estrada by armbar, avenging his first loss. In February 2007, Stout defeated Brazilian submission grappler Fabio Holanda to defend his TKO World Lightweight Championship.
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Scott Coker
Scott Coker is the founder and CEO of Strikeforce, a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.
Scott Coker is an Ernie Reyes protege and full-contact fight promoter covering Kickboxing, K-1, and MMA. Coker has obtained a 5th degree black belt in Taekwondo under Reyes and was an original member of the West Coast Demonstration Team.
In 1986, Scott Coker became one of the first directors of ISKA.
Scott Coker has participated in movies such as Dragon Fight, Last Dragon, and Surf Ninjas.
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Sean Sherk
Sean Keith Sherk (born August 5, 1973) is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently fighting for the UFC. He currently holds a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) record of thirty-six wins, four losses and one draw. Sherk has fought in both the UFC and Pride FC, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion. His only four MMA losses are to former UFC champions BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, Frankie Edgar and current Undisputed UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.
Sherk began fighting MMA in June 1999, where he originally fought at the welterweight weight-class. During his time as a welterweight, Sherk suffered two losses; one to Matt Hughes and one to Georges St. Pierre. In 2006, Sherk decided to drop down to the lightweight class of 155 lb. In his first fight as a lightweight, Sherk defeated Kenny Florian to become the first UFC Lightweight Champion in over four years. After his first successful defense with the title, Sherk was stripped of the title after testing positive for steroids, an accusation he unsuccessfully fought against in a series of hearings. Upon his return in May 2008, Sherk failed to win back the title from then champion, B.J. Penn.
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Shane Carwin
Shane Bannister Carwin (born January 4, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was previously the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion. He won his first 12 MMA fights in the first round which led to his Heavyweight Championship shot at UFC 116 against then-champion Brock Lesnar, which became his first career loss. As of March 21, 2011, he was ranked as the #5 heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog and was ranked as the #8 heavyweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly as of August 2011.
Carwin and his two brothers were raised by his mother, who had the goal of getting all her sons college educations. He received a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines as well as a bachelor's degree in Environmental Technology from Western State College.
Carwin wrestled in college, becoming a two-time NCAA Division II Wrestling National Runner-Up Heavyweight in 1996–97 and the NCAA II Wrestling Heavyweight National Champion in 1999. He was also a two-time All-American in football for Western State and was chosen to participate in the Senior Bowl.
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Spencer Fisher
Spencer William Fisher (born May 9, 1976) is an American mixed martial artist from Cashiers, North Carolina. He currently fights in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion. He holds notable victories over Thiago Alves, Matt Wiman, Sam Stout, Jeremy Stephens, and Caol Uno. His two bouts with Stout are notable for being especially exciting.
In addition to his fighting career, Fisher owns and operates the "Team Evolution" gym in Moline, IL where he trains up-and-coming fighters.
He made his UFC debut at Ultimate Fight Night 2, scoring a second-round submission victory over Thiago Alves. He then defeated Aaron Riley at Ultimate Fight Night 3 by TKO due to a Doctor Stoppage after the first round after Fisher broke Riley's Jaw with strikes. Perhaps Fisher's most notable early fight was with Canadian kickboxer Sam Stout on the undercard of UFC 58. When Stout's original opponent Kenny Florian sustained an injury in training that left him unable to compete, Fisher took the fight on very late notice, reportedly having to cut twenty pounds in the final two days leading up to the match. Although Fisher seemed to land the harder punches, Stout landed more and came away with a controversial split decision.
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Stephan Bonnar
Stephan Patrick Bonnar (born April 4, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). His initial fame came as the runner up on season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV, a reality show which showcases mixed martial arts.
He is known for his iron chin, having his only TKO losses due to a cut and for never being submitted in MMA competition. He is a fan favourite due to his brawling nature. He holds notable wins over Keith Jardine and James Irvin and is known for his two closely contested fights with TUF 1 winner Forrest Griffin (0-2) and his two back and forth battles with Polish-Canadian standout Krzysztof Soszynski (1-1). Bonnar earned his Taekwondo black belt at the age of sixteen.
Due to his strong performance in the light-heavyweight finals, where he lost against Griffin by unanimous decision (29–28), Bonnar was awarded a contract to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Bonnar trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with the legendary Carlson Gracie, under whom he received his purple belt before Carlson's passing. This experience has led to most of his bouts ending by way of submission. Stephan now trains BJJ in Las Vegas under Master Sergio Pehna. However, he also has trained in Muay Thai during several trips to Thailand. Since the beginning of 2010 Stephan has been training Muay Thai in Las Vegas under Master One Kick Nick Blomgren at One Kick's Gym. Stephan is the Ironheart Crown Light Heavyweight champion and Total Fight Challenge Light Heavyweight champion 2002-04.[citation needed]
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Steve Jennum
Steve Jennum (born c. 1961) is a retired American mixed martial artist and Nebraska police officer. He was the winner of the UFC 3 tournament in 1994.
Jennum entered the UFC 3 tournament as an alternate. Ken Shamrock made it to the finals of UFC 3 but withdrew. Jennum then stepped in as a replacement and subsequently won his fight, winning the tournament. Therefore, Jennum only needed one fight to win the UFC 3 tournament (normally a fighter would have had to participate in three matches to win). This anomaly prompted the UFC to change its rules, requiring alternates to win a preliminary fight to balance the advantage of being an alternate.
After UFC 3, Steve Jennum would go on to win only one more fight in his career, defeating Melton Bowen in UFC 4, who was 31-6 as a professional boxer going into the bout. Jennum performed a high profile O goshi hip throw on the boxer, much to the delight of the crowd, eventually forcing him to submit to a straight armbar. Jennum could not continue in UFC 4 due to swelling of his hands after hitting Bowen repeatedly in the head when Jennum was on full mount.
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Tank Abbott
David Lee Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler. He has described his fighting style, which he developed brawling in the bars and streets of Huntington Beach, California, as "street fighting". Abbott was the first fighter to regularly wear what would be known as traditional MMA gloves in the UFC.
Abbott was a frequent participant in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Abbott made his mixed martial arts debut in 1995 at UFC 6 Clash of the Titans in Casper, Wyoming. In his opening fight, he knocked out John Matua, who weighed 400 lb, in 18 seconds. Later that night he fought Oleg Taktarov for over 17 minutes before succumbing to a rear naked choke. Both men collapsed in exhaustion after the fight, and Taktarov had to be carried out of the cage. In his first 4 UFC tournament appearances, Abbott advanced at least 1 round in all of them. Around the same time the UFC began switching away from the tournament format, his fortunes declined, as he won only 2 of 5 bouts in '97-'98 before retiring from MMA.
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Teila Tuli
For other people named Tuli see Tuli
Teila Tuli, also known as Taylor Wily (born 14 June 1969) is an actor and a former sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is from Honolulu, Hawaii and is of Samoan descent. He is commonly known for his recurring role as Kamekona on Hawaii Five-0.
In March 1987, Tuli was recruited by former sekiwake Takamiyama, another Hawaiian, and joined Azumazeki stable, which Takamiyama had founded the previous year. He was given the sumo name of Takamishu. He was unbeaten in his first 14 official bouts, winning two consecutive yusho or tournament championships. Weighing nearly 200 kg (440 lb), he was one of the largest wrestlers in sumo. In March 1988, he was promoted to the third highest makushita division, and became the first foreign born wrestler to ever win the championship in that division. In the same month, future yokozuna Akebono, also from Hawaii, joined Azumazeki stable. As the highest ranking wrestler in the stable, Takamishu was a mentor to Akebono and gave him advice on how to adjust to life in Japan. In March 1989 Takamishu reached his highest ever rank of makushita 2, and even fought two bouts with elite jūryō ranked wrestlers. However, Takamishu was never to reach sekitori status himself. He did not compete in the following tournament, and retired from sumo in July 1989.
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Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves d'Araujo (Portuguese pronunciation: [tʃiˈaɡu ˈawvis]; born October 3, 1983) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He started training in Muay Thai when he was 15 and mixed martial arts at 17. He is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has been described as a "Muay Thai wrecking machine".
After beginning his fight training at the age of 14, Alves won his first professional bout at just 15 years old, defeating a 25-year-old by unanimous decision. At 19, Thiago relocated from Brazil to Coconut Creek, Florida to train full-time at the prestigious American Top Team camp.
After beginning his career in smaller organizations such as the Ironheart Crown, Absolute Fighting Championships and King of the Cage, Alves, with a record of 8–3, received an invitation to make his UFC debut at Ultimate Fight Night 2 against fellow UFC newcomer Spencer Fisher, The fight would take place on Alves' twenty-second birthday.
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Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (English: /tɪtɵ ɔərtɪs/) (born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars. Ortiz ultimately became the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006 for his fights with Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock.
Outside of his fighting career, Ortiz is the CEO of the Punishment Athletics MMA equipment and clothing line. He also owns an MMA training gym called Punishment Training Center, which is located in Huntington Beach, CA.
Jacob Christopher Ortiz was born to Samuel and Joyce Ortiz. He received his nickname "Tito," which means tyrant, from his father when he was a year old. He is the fourth child of his mother, Joyce, who had three sons from a previous marriage. His mixed heritage (Mexican father, American mother) has been reflected in his ring entrances as he has borne both Mexican and American flags.
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Urijah Faber
Urijah Christopher Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization. Faber won the WEC featherweight championship at WEC 19 on March 17, 2006 and held the title for over two years until his loss to Mike Brown at WEC 36 on November 5, 2008. As of November 2011, Faber is ranked the #2 bantamweight in the world by Sherdog.
Faber is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt under Fabio "Pateta" Prado, who, under Carlson Gracie Jr., is a 5th degree black belt.
Faber was born on May 14, 1979, in Isla Vista, California, to Theo and Suzanne Faber, and grew up in Lincoln. He is of Dutch descent on his fathers side and Italian descent on his mothers side.[citation needed] He went to Glen Edwards Middle School for Jr. High and Lincoln High School for high school. He has two siblings, an older brother named Ryan and a younger sister named Michaella. His sister almost died after a Thanksgiving 2011 car accident. Faber graduated from the University of California at Davis with a Bachelors degree in human development.
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Vitor Belfort
Vítor Vieira Belfort (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvitoʁ viˈejɾɐ bɛwˈfɔʁ]; born April 1, 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in the middleweight division. He is currently ranked as the #3 middleweight in the world by MMA Weekly.
Vítor was born on April 1, 1977 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to a French father and a Greek mother. Belfort is married to Joana Prado and together they have three children, a son named Davi (born February 5, 2005), a daughter named Victoria (born October 31, 2007), and a daughter named Kyara (born June 7, 2009).
Belfort also had a small part in a reality show on Brazilian television and appeared next to his wife when she was photographed for the Brazilian edition of Playboy.
On January 9, 2004, Vítor's sister, Priscila Belfort disappeared and the relatives received no information about her. In August 2007, a woman (identified as Elaine Paiva) confessed that she participated in her kidnapping and killing and that she was kidnapped to pay off a four thousand dollar debt Paiva had with drug dealers. Paiva was arrested along with three others alleged to be involved in the kidnapping. The group allegedly buried her body in the woods in Rio de Janeiro where police conducted searches but her remains have never been found. Her family however do not accept this version and believe that Priscila is still alive somewhere. Vítor still maintains a missing sign in the Brazilian version of his website.
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Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva ( /ˈvændərleɪ/ VAN-dər-lay; Portuguese: [vɐ̃dɛɾˈlej ˈsɛzɐr dɐ ˈsiɫvɐ];Japanese: [ba̠nda̠ɽe̞i ɕiü͍βa̠]; born July 3, 1976), nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in knockout or referee stoppage due to strikes. His style includes engaging opponents with punches and knees from the Muay Thai clinch. He holds the record for the most wins and knockouts in Pride FC history. He is currently ranked as #22 best middleweight fighter in the world by FightMatrix.com.
Silva began his training under Rudimar Fedrigo at the Chute Boxe Academy in his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil. Although he specializes in muay Thai, he has also trained and received his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from trainer Cristiano Marcello. Silva was given the nickname "Cachorro Louco" ("Mad Dog") in Brazil because of his aggressive style and his pre-fight opponent "stare down". He is the former IVC Light heavyweight Champion, former PRIDE Middleweight Champion, and the 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Winner.
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Zane Frazier
"Nasty" Zane Frazier (born July 16, 1966) is an American former Karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Notably, he took part at the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event in 1993.
Frazier holds a 4th degree black belt in American Kenpo Karate and was the 4x international Karate champion. He was also the WKF Super Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion.
In 1993, he compteted at UFC 1, the very first mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He reportedly earned his place in the tournament by beating up Frank Dux in a street fight. In the quarterfinal, he faced kickboxer Kevin Rosier in what turned out to be a sloppy brawl. The match ended with Rosier clubbing Frazier to the floor with a series of blows to the back of the head, then stomping on him before Frazier's corner threw in the towel. Frazier suffered respiratory failure and was rushed to hospital after the fight.
He returned to mixed martial arts almost two years later when he fought at Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception in Tokyo, Japan in September 1995. He knocked out "Kendo Nagasaki" 36 seconds into the fight. He then returned to the UFC in 1996 at UFC 9 and was TKO'd by Cal Worsham three minutes into the fight. In his next fight against Sidney Goncalves Freitas in Brazil, he was knocked out after falling from the ring and hitting his head on the floor.
wn.com/Zane_Frazier
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WARRIOR CODE: VITOR BELFORT
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:58
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
Get into the mind of Vitor Belfort and hear his thoughts on trash talking, fans, and the thrill of the victory. Catch Belfort at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, live from Sao Paulo, Saturday, January 19th at 9PM ET | 6PM PT.
http://wn.com/WARRIOR_CODE_VITOR_BELFORT
Get into the mind of Vitor Belfort and hear his thoughts on trash talking, fans, and the thrill of the victory. Catch Belfort at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, live from Sao Paulo, Saturday, January 19th at 9PM ET | 6PM PT.
UFC on FOX 6: Anthony Pettis Highlight Feature
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:16
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
"2013 will be the year of 'Showtime'." Anthony Pettis recounts some of his most exciting moments inside the Octagon.
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FOX_6_Anthony_Pettis_Highlight_Feature
"2013 will be the year of 'Showtime'." Anthony Pettis recounts some of his most exciting moments inside the Octagon.
- published: 11 Jan 2013
- views: 60121
- author: UFC
Dana White UFC on FX7 vlog day 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:25
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
Dana White UFC on FX7 Vlog day 1 is a look behind the scenes of UFC 155. Nick the Tooth celebrates in Craig's office. Dana gets sweated by Boston thugs.
http://wn.com/Dana_White_UFC_on_FX7_vlog_day_1
Dana White UFC on FX7 Vlog day 1 is a look behind the scenes of UFC 155. Nick the Tooth celebrates in Craig's office. Dana gets sweated by Boston thugs.
- published: 15 Jan 2013
- views: 100093
- author: UFC
UFC ON FX: BELFORT VS BISPING PHOTO SHOOT
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:37
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping face off at a recent photo shoot in Brazil, and spare no punches when they discuss their upcoming bout. Watch UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, live from Sao Paulo on FX, Saturday, January 19th at 9PM ET | 6PM PT.
http://wn.com/UFC_ON_FX_BELFORT_VS_BISPING_PHOTO_SHOOT
Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping face off at a recent photo shoot in Brazil, and spare no punches when they discuss their upcoming bout. Watch UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, live from Sao Paulo on FX, Saturday, January 19th at 9PM ET | 6PM PT.
- published: 16 Jan 2013
- views: 4166
- author: UFC
UFC on FOX 6: Donald Cerrone Pre-Fight Interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:23
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
"He's just the next guy in line." Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is excited to meet fellow contender Anthony Pettis at UFC on FOX, in a battle with title implications. Which of these dynamic fighters will take a step closer to the UFC lightweight crown?
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FOX_6_Donald_Cerrone_Pre-Fight_Interview
"He's just the next guy in line." Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is excited to meet fellow contender Anthony Pettis at UFC on FOX, in a battle with title implications. Which of these dynamic fighters will take a step closer to the UFC lightweight crown?
- published: 10 Jan 2013
- views: 33827
- author: UFC
FX 7: Milton Vieira: Facing a TUF Battle
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:02
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
Often credited with inventing the anaconda choke, Milton Vieira may have a few surprises for his opponent and TUF Brazil Season 1 finalist Godofredo "Pepey" Castro. Paula Sack visits Brazilian Top Team in Rio to catch up with Vieira during his training camp. Catch this battle between submission specialists on the FUEL TV prelims, 6PM ET | 3PM PT. Then, catch UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, live from Sao Paulo, Saturday, January 19th at 9PM ET | 6PM PT.
http://wn.com/FX_7_Milton_Vieira_Facing_a_TUF_Battle
Often credited with inventing the anaconda choke, Milton Vieira may have a few surprises for his opponent and TUF Brazil Season 1 finalist Godofredo "Pepey" Castro. Paula Sack visits Brazilian Top Team in Rio to catch up with Vieira during his training camp. Catch this battle between submission specialists on the FUEL TV prelims, 6PM ET | 3PM PT. Then, catch UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, live from Sao Paulo, Saturday, January 19th at 9PM ET | 6PM PT.
- published: 09 Jan 2013
- views: 22940
- author: UFC
Junior dos Santos: "I will get this belt back"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:52
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
Paula Sack follows former heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos in the final days leading up to his historic bout with Cain Velasquez at UFC 155. Go behind the scenes for rare backstage access and hear the thoughts of the former champ in the final hours before his battle. Catch the full event replay of UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez, now available at UFC.TV.
http://wn.com/Junior_dos_Santos_I_will_get_this_belt_back
Paula Sack follows former heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos in the final days leading up to his historic bout with Cain Velasquez at UFC 155. Go behind the scenes for rare backstage access and hear the thoughts of the former champ in the final hours before his battle. Catch the full event replay of UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez, now available at UFC.TV.
- published: 03 Jan 2013
- views: 173760
- author: UFC
UFC ON FOX 6: John Dodson Pre-Fight Interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:28
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
John Dodson wants to put on a great show for the fans when he takes on UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson at UFC on FOX. Does he have the speed and power to wrest the title from "Mighty Mouse"?
http://wn.com/UFC_ON_FOX_6_John_Dodson_Pre-Fight_Interview
John Dodson wants to put on a great show for the fans when he takes on UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson at UFC on FOX. Does he have the speed and power to wrest the title from "Mighty Mouse"?
- published: 04 Jan 2013
- views: 31333
- author: UFC
Countdown to UFC 155: Dos Santos vs. Velasquez
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 43:07
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
Heavyweight powerhouses Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez renew their rivalry at the last event of the year, while Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller, two of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division, plan to steal the show at UFC 155. Watch UFC 155 Live on YouTube: www.youtube.com Full UFC 155 Fight Card: www.ufc.com Check www.ufc.com for the latest UFC info Follow the UFC on Twitter www.twitter.com About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Universally recognized for its action-packed, can't-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX. In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also ...
http://wn.com/Countdown_to_UFC_155_Dos_Santos_vs_Velasquez
Heavyweight powerhouses Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez renew their rivalry at the last event of the year, while Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller, two of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division, plan to steal the show at UFC 155. Watch UFC 155 Live on YouTube: www.youtube.com Full UFC 155 Fight Card: www.ufc.com Check www.ufc.com for the latest UFC info Follow the UFC on Twitter www.twitter.com About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Universally recognized for its action-packed, can't-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX. In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also ...
- published: 26 Dec 2012
- views: 351374
- author: UFC
UFC DEBUT: DANIEL SARAFIAN
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:37
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
He was a finalist in TUF Brazil, but was unable to fight at the finale due to injury. That didn't slow Daniel Sarafian down, and now he's finally making his UFC debut opposite the very dangerous CB Dollaway. Both have a slew of first-round finishes to their names, yet Paula Sack discovers that Sarafian is confident making his Octagon debut. Catch this exciting co-main event at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, live from Sao Paulo, Saturday, January 19th at 9PM ET | 6PM PT.
http://wn.com/UFC_DEBUT_DANIEL_SARAFIAN
He was a finalist in TUF Brazil, but was unable to fight at the finale due to injury. That didn't slow Daniel Sarafian down, and now he's finally making his UFC debut opposite the very dangerous CB Dollaway. Both have a slew of first-round finishes to their names, yet Paula Sack discovers that Sarafian is confident making his Octagon debut. Catch this exciting co-main event at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, live from Sao Paulo, Saturday, January 19th at 9PM ET | 6PM PT.
- published: 12 Jan 2013
- views: 31717
- author: UFC
Sfoufs UFC on Fox 5 Road to the Octagon 720p
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 43:20
- Updated: 13 Jan 2013
http://wn.com/Sfoufs_UFC_on_Fox_5_Road_to_the_Octagon_720p
UFC 155: Dos Santos vs Velasquez II Extended Preview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:35
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
Junior dos Santos defends the UFC heavyweight title against he man the beat to get it, Cain Velasquez. Plus Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller meet in lightweight scrap guaranteed to be a barnburner. Watch UFC 155 live on pay-per-view. Watch UFC 155 Live on YouTube: www.youtube.com Full UFC 155 Fight Card: www.ufc.com Check www.ufc.com for the latest UFC info Follow the UFC on Twitter www.twitter.com About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Universally recognized for its action-packed, can't-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX. In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also distributed ...
http://wn.com/UFC_155_Dos_Santos_vs_Velasquez_II_Extended_Preview
Junior dos Santos defends the UFC heavyweight title against he man the beat to get it, Cain Velasquez. Plus Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller meet in lightweight scrap guaranteed to be a barnburner. Watch UFC 155 live on pay-per-view. Watch UFC 155 Live on YouTube: www.youtube.com Full UFC 155 Fight Card: www.ufc.com Check www.ufc.com for the latest UFC info Follow the UFC on Twitter www.twitter.com About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Universally recognized for its action-packed, can't-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX. In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also distributed ...
- published: 19 Dec 2012
- views: 1544887
- author: UFC
UFC on FOX 6: Demetrious Johnson Pre-Fight Interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:13
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson says he has the skills, speed, and cardio to defeat opponent John Dodson at UFC on FOX 6 - don't blink!
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FOX_6_Demetrious_Johnson_Pre-Fight_Interview
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson says he has the skills, speed, and cardio to defeat opponent John Dodson at UFC on FOX 6 - don't blink!
- published: 04 Jan 2013
- views: 48426
- author: UFC
Dana White UFC 155 vlog day 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:57
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
Dana"s First Vlog for UFC 155 introduces Nick "the tooth" a long time friend of Danas. Back at UFC on Fox 5, Nick had a few (too many) drinks one night and talked himself into a grappling match with Joe Lauzon. See what happens. Watch UFC 155 Live on YouTube: www.youtube.com Full UFC 155 Fight Card: www.ufc.com Check www.ufc.com for the latest UFC info Follow the UFC on Twitter www.twitter.com About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Universally recognized for its action-packed, can't-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX. In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also distributed ...
http://wn.com/Dana_White_UFC_155_vlog_day_1
Dana"s First Vlog for UFC 155 introduces Nick "the tooth" a long time friend of Danas. Back at UFC on Fox 5, Nick had a few (too many) drinks one night and talked himself into a grappling match with Joe Lauzon. See what happens. Watch UFC 155 Live on YouTube: www.youtube.com Full UFC 155 Fight Card: www.ufc.com Check www.ufc.com for the latest UFC info Follow the UFC on Twitter www.twitter.com About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Universally recognized for its action-packed, can't-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX. In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also distributed ...
- published: 24 Dec 2012
- views: 332007
- author: UFC
UFC 155: Dos Santos vs Velasquez II Post-fight Press Conference
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 46:48
- Updated: 16 Jan 2013
Watch the post-fight press conference live following the event.
http://wn.com/UFC_155_Dos_Santos_vs_Velasquez_II_Post-fight_Press_Conference
Watch the post-fight press conference live following the event.
- published: 30 Dec 2012
- views: 325210
- author: UFC
UFC 155: Dos Santos vs Velasquez II Pre-fight Press Conference
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 34:02
- Updated: 15 Jan 2013
Watch the live pre-fight press conference on Thursday at 1pm PT.
http://wn.com/UFC_155_Dos_Santos_vs_Velasquez_II_Pre-fight_Press_Conference
Watch the live pre-fight press conference on Thursday at 1pm PT.
- published: 27 Dec 2012
- views: 141653
- author: UFC
UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs. Condit - Episode 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 22:01
- Updated: 15 Jan 2013
Go inside the personal lives and training camps of welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and interim champion Carlos Condit in the weeks leading up to their title fight at UFC 154. Watch UFC 154 Live on YouTube: www.youtube.com Full UFC 154 Fight Card: www.ufc.com Check www.ufc.com for the latest UFC info Follow the UFC on Twitter www.twitter.com About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Universally recognized for its action-packed, can't-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX. In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and ...
http://wn.com/UFC_Primetime_St-Pierre_vs_Condit_Episode_1
Go inside the personal lives and training camps of welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and interim champion Carlos Condit in the weeks leading up to their title fight at UFC 154. Watch UFC 154 Live on YouTube: www.youtube.com Full UFC 154 Fight Card: www.ufc.com Check www.ufc.com for the latest UFC info Follow the UFC on Twitter www.twitter.com About the Ultimate Fighting Championship® Universally recognized for its action-packed, can't-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX. In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and ...
- published: 03 Nov 2012
- views: 755421
- author: UFC
Dana White UFC on FOX 5 Henderson vs. Diaz vlog day 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:38
- Updated: 16 Jan 2013
Dana white UFC on FOX 5 Henderson vs. Diaz vlog day 1 Dana kicks around vegas going to PBR and a Private Everlast show. Ronda Rousey takes a flight with the Thunderbirds. TUF coaches Jones and Sonnen give their fight predictions. Also a behind the scenes look into UFC 154.
http://wn.com/Dana_White_UFC_on_FOX_5_Henderson_vs_Diaz_vlog_day_1
Dana white UFC on FOX 5 Henderson vs. Diaz vlog day 1 Dana kicks around vegas going to PBR and a Private Everlast show. Ronda Rousey takes a flight with the Thunderbirds. TUF coaches Jones and Sonnen give their fight predictions. Also a behind the scenes look into UFC 154.
- published: 04 Dec 2012
- views: 278070
- author: UFC
Dana White UFC on FOX 5 Henderson vs Diaz vlog day 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:46
- Updated: 16 Jan 2013
Dana White UFC on FOX 5 Henderson vs Diaz day 2 vlog: Dana sees a crime in progress. Chael shares a funny story and asks Jon Jones some hard hitting questions. Mike Tyson Stops by the TUF gym, and Anderson Silva and Carlos Condit give their fight predictions for UFC on FOX 5 Henderson vs Diaz LIVE and FREE this weekend!
http://wn.com/Dana_White_UFC_on_FOX_5_Henderson_vs_Diaz_vlog_day_2
Dana White UFC on FOX 5 Henderson vs Diaz day 2 vlog: Dana sees a crime in progress. Chael shares a funny story and asks Jon Jones some hard hitting questions. Mike Tyson Stops by the TUF gym, and Anderson Silva and Carlos Condit give their fight predictions for UFC on FOX 5 Henderson vs Diaz LIVE and FREE this weekend!
- published: 07 Dec 2012
- views: 236798
- author: UFC
Dana White UFC 155 Post-Fight Scrum: UFC at Madison Square Garden, Anderson's New Contract, Bisping
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 27:20
- Updated: 16 Jan 2013
MMA HEAT brings you the media scrum UFC President Dana White did immediately after the UFC 155 press conference. Dana talks about the card, which includes Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez heavyweight title fight main event, Jim Miller vs Joe Lauzon and Tim Boetsch vs Costa Philippou. He also talks about Michael Bisping getting his title shot, Anderson Silva's new 10-fight contract, the horrible judging which included a 30-27 score for Melvin Guillard, getting the UFC in Madison Square Garden in November 2013 for the UFC's 20th anniversary and much, much more. Karyn Bryant has been nominated 2012 MMA Journalist of the Year in the World MMA Awards. Please take a minute to vote for her: www.tinyurl.com - Thank you! Be sure to visit www.MMAHEAT.com for more interviews and MMA content. Nós falamos Português! * We're on Facebook www.facebook.com * Follow MMAHEAT on Twitter: www.twitter.com * Follow Karyn on Twitter: www.twitter.com
http://wn.com/Dana_White_UFC_155_Post-Fight_Scrum_UFC_at_Madison_Square_Garden,_Anderson's_New_Contract,_Bisping
MMA HEAT brings you the media scrum UFC President Dana White did immediately after the UFC 155 press conference. Dana talks about the card, which includes Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez heavyweight title fight main event, Jim Miller vs Joe Lauzon and Tim Boetsch vs Costa Philippou. He also talks about Michael Bisping getting his title shot, Anderson Silva's new 10-fight contract, the horrible judging which included a 30-27 score for Melvin Guillard, getting the UFC in Madison Square Garden in November 2013 for the UFC's 20th anniversary and much, much more. Karyn Bryant has been nominated 2012 MMA Journalist of the Year in the World MMA Awards. Please take a minute to vote for her: www.tinyurl.com - Thank you! Be sure to visit www.MMAHEAT.com for more interviews and MMA content. Nós falamos Português! * We're on Facebook www.facebook.com * Follow MMAHEAT on Twitter: www.twitter.com * Follow Karyn on Twitter: www.twitter.com
- published: 30 Dec 2012
- views: 50752
- author: KarynBryant
UFC on FX 7: Belfort vs. Bisping
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:21
- Updated: 15 Jan 2013
It's an action-packed card featuring an intriguing middleweight matchup. Former world champion Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort battles British superstar Michael "The Count" Bisping. Plus, Gabriel Gonzaga faces Ben Rothwell in a heavyweight showdown, and The Ultimate Fighter Brazil's Daniel Sarafian makes his Octagon debut against CB Dollaway. UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, live from Sao Paulo, Saturday, January 19th. Prelims start at 5:35 PM ET | 2:35PM PT on Facebook, followed by three full hours of prelims on FUEL TV at 6PM ET | 3PM PT, then catch the main card at 9:00PM ET | 6:00PM PT, live on FX.
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FX_7_Belfort_vs_Bisping
It's an action-packed card featuring an intriguing middleweight matchup. Former world champion Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort battles British superstar Michael "The Count" Bisping. Plus, Gabriel Gonzaga faces Ben Rothwell in a heavyweight showdown, and The Ultimate Fighter Brazil's Daniel Sarafian makes his Octagon debut against CB Dollaway. UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, live from Sao Paulo, Saturday, January 19th. Prelims start at 5:35 PM ET | 2:35PM PT on Facebook, followed by three full hours of prelims on FUEL TV at 6PM ET | 3PM PT, then catch the main card at 9:00PM ET | 6:00PM PT, live on FX.
- published: 15 Jan 2013
- views: 21537
- author: UFC
Live Chat: UFC on FX 7 and Bellator 85 previews, Strikeforce retrospective
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 90:38
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
http://wn.com/Live_Chat_UFC_on_FX_7_and_Bellator_85_previews,_Strikeforce_retrospective
Donald Cerrone UFC 155 Fan Q&A; With Bonus Liz Carmouche Appearance (HD / Complete + Unedited)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 49:10
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
MMA HEAT was on the scene at UFC 155 when lightweight fighter Donald Cerrone took the stage and answered questions from his fans. Topics include his gun collection, gun control, bull riding, his early days as a fighter living with Leonard Garcia, thoughts on past fights, Arianny Celeste and more. Female UFC fighter Liz Carmouche joins the fans as well, and answers questions about her upcoming title fight with Ronda Rousey. Karyn Bryant has been nominated 2012 MMA Journalist of the Year in the World MMA Awards. Please take a minute to vote for her: www.tinyurl.com - Thank you! Be sure to visit www.MMAHEAT.com for more interviews and MMA content. Nós falamos Português! * We're on Facebook www.facebook.com * Follow MMAHEAT on Twitter: www.twitter.com * Follow Karyn on Twitter: www.twitter.com
http://wn.com/Donald_Cerrone_UFC_155_Fan_Q&A;_With_Bonus_Liz_Carmouche_Appearance_HD_Complete_+_Unedited
MMA HEAT was on the scene at UFC 155 when lightweight fighter Donald Cerrone took the stage and answered questions from his fans. Topics include his gun collection, gun control, bull riding, his early days as a fighter living with Leonard Garcia, thoughts on past fights, Arianny Celeste and more. Female UFC fighter Liz Carmouche joins the fans as well, and answers questions about her upcoming title fight with Ronda Rousey. Karyn Bryant has been nominated 2012 MMA Journalist of the Year in the World MMA Awards. Please take a minute to vote for her: www.tinyurl.com - Thank you! Be sure to visit www.MMAHEAT.com for more interviews and MMA content. Nós falamos Português! * We're on Facebook www.facebook.com * Follow MMAHEAT on Twitter: www.twitter.com * Follow Karyn on Twitter: www.twitter.com
- published: 29 Dec 2012
- views: 21219
- author: mmaheat
photo: AP / Adj Nicolas-Nelson Richard, ECPAD
14 Jan 2013
Bamako/Paris - French fighter jets pounded Islamist rebel strongholds deep in northern Mali on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital, Bamako, awaiting a West African force to dislodge al-Qaeda-linked insurgents from the country’s north ... Defence Minister Jean-Yves le Drian said France’s intervention on Friday prevented the advancing rebels from seizing Bamako and vowed air strikes would continue ... – ... Doubt....(size: 6.6Kb)
photo: Creative Commons / INABA Tomoaki
16 Jan 2013
YURI KAGEYAMA. AP Business Writers= TOKYO (AP) — Boeing Co.'s 787 planes were grounded for safety checks Wednesday by two major Japanese airlines after one was forced to make an emergency landing in the latest blow for the new jet ... The 787, known as the Dreamliner, is Boeing's newest and most technologically advanced jet, and the company is counting heavily on its success ... The grounding was done voluntarily by the airlines ... The U.S ... U.S....(size: 11.1Kb)
photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster
16 Jan 2013
JULIE PACE. Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — Braced for a fight, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled the most sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in two decades, pressing a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting ... "And Congress must act soon." ... World news....(size: 9.2Kb)
photo: AP / BP
16 Jan 2013
IN what could be the first spillover from France's intervention in Mali, Islamist militants attacked and occupied a natural gas complex partly operated by energy company BP in southern Algeria. Two foreigners were killed and dozens of others, including Americans, were taken hostage ... It said it was holding 41 foreigners, including seven Americans ... Recommended Coverage. Al-Qaeda seize hostages in Algeria. End of sidebar ... . ....(size: 7.4Kb)
photo: WN / Jamal Penjweny
15 Jan 2013
WASHINGTON. Suicides in the U.S. military surged to a record 349 last year, far exceeding American combat deaths in Afghanistan, and some private experts are predicting the dark trend will grow worse this year. The Pentagon has struggled to deal with the suicides, which Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and others have called an epidemic ... Last year’s total is the highest since the Pentagon began closely tracking suicides in 2001 ... ....(size: 5.0Kb)
The Examiner
17 Jan 2013
For UFC middleweight Chris Weidman, 2012 was a breakthrough year for the Matt Serra product. Weidman easily had the two best wins of his career; a unanimous decision victory over Demian Maia in January at UFC on Fox 2, and a knee-buckling KO victory over Mark Munoz at UFC on FUEL TV back in July ... Jon Jones looks back on UFC 151, his DWI & lessons learned in 2012]....(size: 2.3Kb)
The Examiner
17 Jan 2013
According to a Jan. 16 report from MMA Junkie, UFC champ Ronda Rousey meant no disrespect when she retweeted a video linked to the Sandy Hook Truther Movement. The Sandy Hook Truther Movement conspiracy-theory video dissects media coverage of the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and questions the official narrative of that day in Newtown, Conn ... 23 at UFC 157 ... Is Colorado beauty Jessica Boisseaux the next great UFC ring girl?....(size: 2.3Kb)
The Examiner
17 Jan 2013
Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp hinted on Jan. 16 via Twitter that Invicta FC 5 will emanate from the UCI Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif, on Apr. 6 ... .)," Knapp tweeted ... Knapp said Invicta FC 5 was targeted for April 13, but she'll look at other dates since the UFC will host the TUF 17 Finale on the same night ... Is Colorado beauty Jessica Boisseaux the next great UFC ring girl?. ....(size: 2.1Kb)
Yahoo Daily News
17 Jan 2013
The fans here are UFC crazy and, surprisingly, I seem to have a tons of fans down here. I know ... (Reuters) ... He’s obviously got his fans – and I expect I will be booed like it is UFC 100 again on Saturday night – but a lot of people here in Brazil have no time for Vitor Belfort ... [Also ... This is how I motivate myself to train harder than anyone else in the UFC and how I focus my mind on kicking arse ... If he wasn’t on TRT, he’d just say so ... ....(size: 4.9Kb)
The Examiner
17 Jan 2013
Ever since the UFC has left Spike TV there has been a missing link for the network and Bellator can easily become a big part of the channels success ... Sobral is a UFC veteran with a ton of experience, but since his loss to Dan Henderson via KO back in December 2010, Sobral has only fought once and although he won with a quick submission his opponent wasn’t near as good as past opponents or Zayats....(size: 4.9Kb)
Newsday
17 Jan 2013
The Islanders held a scrimmage Wednesday against the AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers. advertisement . advertise on newsday. View all Be the first to rate. 0. Click to rate. Comments. Please log in to comment. Civility matters; to read our commenting guidelines. Log in ... PrevNext ... Bridgeport Manti Te'o MLB 2013-14 free agent rankings UFC on FX 7 ... . . . . ... ....(size: 7.7Kb)
Newsday
17 Jan 2013
The Nets saw their seven-game winning streak end Wednesday with a 109-95 loss to the at the . advertisement . advertise on newsday. View all Be the first to rate. 0. Click to rate. Comments ... PrevNext ... Bridgeport Hawks 109, Nets 95 Long Beach 5, Massapequa 1 Manti Te'o MLB 2013-14 free agent rankings UFC on FX 7 ... . . . . ... ....(size: 8.6Kb)
The Examiner
17 Jan 2013
Invicta FC MMA star Cassie "The Hulk" Robb said on Jan. 16 in an exclusive interview with Long Island MMA Examiner Eric Holden that female fighters should consider doubling up on bras and wearing compression shorts to avoid wardrobe malfunctions. Robb, a 22-year-old atomweight, recalled a fight in Oct ... "She did in her first fight, so I took precaution ... Is Colorado beauty Jessica Boisseaux the next great UFC ring girl?. ....(size: 2.2Kb)
Newsday
17 Jan 2013
A story that Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o's girlfriend had died of leukemia, a loss he said inspired him to help lead the Irish to the BCS championship game, was dismissed by the university as a hoax perpetrated against him. (Jan. 16). You need the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player to view this video content. advertisement . advertise on newsday. ... 0. Click to rate. Comments ... 'I'm ready to be UFC champ' CSH vs ... . . . . ... ....(size: 10.1Kb)
Newsday
17 Jan 2013
Bob Glauber. Bob Glauber. Glauber has been Newsday's national football columnist since 1992. He. .. FOXBORO, Mass. The room was crowded with reporters and television cameras, all awaiting Bill Belichick's news conference in advance of Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the ... And add one more achievement to a dossier packed with Hall of Fame credentials ... No matter ... 0 ... ... Manti Te'o 6.02 PM MLB 2013-14 free agent rankings 3.55 PM UFC on FX 7....(size: 9.6Kb)
Toronto Sun
17 Jan 2013
Article Tweet. Bellator Fighting Championships’ big day has finally arrived. After more than a year of planning and fine tuning, the MMA promotion makes its debut on Spike TV on Thursday night ... 17. On Jan ... Though Spike was instrumental in the current MMA boom during its partnership with the UFC, the channel now has to find creative ways to raise Bellator’s profile in an already saturated market ... The timing is the timing ... ....(size: 6.9Kb)
The Examiner
16 Jan 2013
15 report from Bloody Elbow, UFC Tonight announced the list of Strikeforce fighters heading to the UFC. “There’s a Strikefoce invasion coming to UFC. It all starts at the top with heavyweight grand prix champion Daniel Cormier who will be fighting on April 20 at UFC ON FOX against Frank Mir in the co-main event," Fuel TV reporter Ariel Helwani said on the show ... We’ve been waiting so long to see him fight in the UFC....(size: 2.7Kb)
"UFC" redirects here. For other uses, see UFC (disambiguation).
This article is about the UFC organization itself. For the inaugural event which went by the same name, see UFC 1.
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
| Founded | November 1993 |
| Founder(s) | Art Davie, Rorion Gracie, Campbell McLaren,[1] Robert Meyrowitz[2] |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Key people |
Lorenzo Fertitta, Chairman/CEO |
| Parent | Zuffa, LLC |
| Website | http://www.ufc.com/ |
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest Mixed Martial Arts promotion company in the world,[3] which hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport[4][5] and produces events worldwide.[6] Based in the United States, the UFC has eight weight divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.[7] Dana White serves as the president of the UFC while Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta control the UFC's parent company, Zuffa, LLC.[8][9][10]
The first UFC event was held in 1993 in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the event was to identify the most effective martial art in a real fight between competitors of different fighting disciplines, including Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Wrestling, Muay Thai, Karate and other styles. In subsequent competitions, fighters ventured outside their base style to utilize effective techniques from other disciplines, which indirectly helped create an entirely separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts.[11]
With a cable-television deal and expansion into Canada, Europe, Australia[12] the Middle East,[13] Asia[14] and new markets within the United States, the UFC as of 2011[update] has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media coverage. As of 2001[update] viewers can access UFC programming on pay-per-view television in the U.S., Brazil, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Italy. UFC programming can also be found on FX, Fuel TV, and Fox[15] in the U.S., on ESPN in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as in 150 countries and 22 different languages worldwide. UFC also carries a mobile site for on-the-go users and a Sports Bars page for fans to find places showing the pay-per-view.[16] It is also available on the Roku streaming player.[17]
Contents
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History[link]
Early competition - early 1990s[link]
Art Davie proposed to Rorion Gracie and John Milius an eight man single-elimination tournament with a title of War of the Worlds. The tournament was inspired by the Gracies in Action video-series produced by the Gracie family of Brazil which featured Gracie Jiu-Jitsu students defeating martial-arts masters of various disciplines such as karate, kung fu and kickboxing. The tournament would feature martial artists from different disciplines facing each other in no-holds-barred combat to determine the best martial art and would aim to replicate the excitement of the matches Davie had seen on the videos.[18] John Milius, a noted film director and screenwriter, as well as a Gracie student, agreed to be the event's creative director. Davie drafted the business plan and twenty-eight investors contributed the initial capital to start WOW Promotions with the intent to develop the tournament into a television franchise.[19]
In 1993 WOW Promotions sought a television partner and approached pay-per-view producers TVKO (HBO), SET (Showtime) and the Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). Both TVKO and SET declined, but SEG–a pioneer in pay-per-view television which had produced such off-beat events as a gender tennis match between Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova–became WOW's partner in May 1993.[20] SEG contacted video and film art-director Jason Cusson in order to design the trademarked "Octagon," a signature piece for the event. Cusson remained the Production Designer through UFC 27.[18] SEG devised the name for the show as The Ultimate Fighting Championship.[21]
WOW Promotions and SEG produced the first event, later called UFC 1, at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado on November 12, 1993. Art Davie functioned as the show's booker and matchmaker.[22] The television broadcast featured kickboxers Patrick Smith and Kevin Rosier, savate fighter Gerard Gordeau, karate expert Zane Frazier, shootfighter Ken Shamrock, sumo wrestler Teila Tuli, boxer Art Jimmerson and 175 lb (79 kg) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Royce Gracie—younger brother of UFC co-founder Rorion who was hand-picked by Rorion himself to represent his family in the competition. The UFC 1 show was extremely successful with 86,592 television subscribers on pay-per-view.
The show was proposed to find an answer for sports fans to questions such as: "Can a wrestler beat a boxer?"[23] As with most martial arts at the time, fighters typically had skills in just one discipline and had little experience against opponents with different skills.[24] Royce Gracie's submission skills proved the most effective in the inaugural tournament, earning him the first ever UFC tournament championship.[25]
However, the promoters did not intend for the event to become a precursor to a series. "That show was only supposed to be a one-off," eventual UFC president Dana White said. "It did so well on pay-per-view they decided to do another, and another. Never in a million years did these guys think they were creating a sport."[26]
With no weight classes, fighters often faced significantly larger or taller opponents. For example, Josh Croft took on a man twice his size but still came out the winner Keith "The Giant Killer" Hackney faced Emmanuel Yarborough at UFC 3 with a 9 in (23 cm) height and 400 pounds (180 kg) weight disadvantage.[27] Many martial artists believed that technique could overcome these size disadvantages, and that a skilled fighter could use an opponent's size and strength against him. With the 175 lb (79 kg) Royce Gracie winning three of the first four events, the UFC quickly proved that size does not always determine the outcome of the fight.
During this early part of the organization, the UFC would showcase a bevy of different styles and fighters. Aside from the aforementioned Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Patrick Smith, the competitions also featured competitors such as Hall of Famer Dan Severn, Marco Ruas, Gary Goodridge, Don Frye, Kimo Leopoldo, Oleg Taktarov and Tank Abbott.
In April 1995, following UFC 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Davie and Gracie sold their interest in the franchise to SEG and disbanded WOW Promotions. Davie continued with SEG as the show's booker and matchmaker, as well as the commissioner of Ultimate Fighting, until December 1997.
Emergence of stricter rules[link]
Although UFC used the tagline "There are no rules!" in the early 1990s, the UFC did in fact operate with limited rules. There was no biting, no eye gouging, and the system frowned on (but allowed) techniques such as hair pulling, headbutting, groin strikes and fish-hooking.
In fact, in a UFC 4 qualifying match, competitors Jason Fairn and Guy Mezger agreed not to pull hair—as they both wore pony tails tied back for the match. Additionally, that same event saw a matchup between Keith Hackney and Joe Son in which Hackney unleashed a series of groin shots against Son while on the ground.
The UFC had a reputation, especially in the early days, as an extremely violent event, as evidenced by a disclaimer in the beginning of the UFC 5 broadcast which warned audiences of the violent nature of the sport.
UFC 5 also introduced the first singles match, a rematch from the inaugural UFC featuring three time champion Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, called "The Superfight." This was an important development because singles matches would feature fighters who suffered no prior damage from a previous fight in the same event, unlike tournament matches. Singles matches would also become a staple in the UFC for years to come.
"The Superfight" began as a non-tournament match that would determine the first reigning UFC Champion for tournament winners to face;[28] it later evolved into a match that could feature either title matches or non-title matches. The "Superfight" would eventually completely phase out tournament matches; by UFC Brazil, the UFC abandoned the tournament format for an entire card of singles matches (aside from a one time UFC Japan tournament featuring Japanese fighters). UFC 6 was the first event to feature the crowning of the first non-tournament UFC Champion, Ken Shamrock.
Controversy and reform - late 1990s[link]
The violent nature of the burgeoning sport quickly drew the attention of the U.S. authorities.[29]
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) saw a tape of the first UFC events and immediately found it abhorrent. McCain himself led a campaign to ban UFC, calling it "human cockfighting," and sending letters to the governors of all fifty U.S. states asking them to ban the event.[30]
Thirty-six states enacted laws that banned "no-hold-barred" fighting, including New York, which enacted the ban on the eve of UFC 12, forcing a relocation of the event to Dothan, Alabama.[31] The UFC continued to air on DirecTV PPV, though its audience remained minuscule compared to the larger cable pay-per-view platforms of the era.
In response to the criticism, the UFC increased cooperation with state athletic commissions and redesigned its rules to remove the less palatable elements of fights while retaining the core elements of striking and grappling. UFC 12 saw the introduction of weight classes and the banning of fish-hooking. For UFC 14 gloves became mandatory, while kicks to the head of a downed opponent were banned. UFC 15 saw limitations on hair pulling, and the banning of strikes to the back of the neck and head, headbutting, small-joint manipulations, and groin strikes. With five-minute rounds introduced at UFC 21, the UFC gradually re-branded itself as a sport rather than a spectacle.[32]
As the UFC continued to work with state athletic commissions, events took place in smaller U.S. markets, including Iowa, Mississippi, Louisiana, Wyoming and Alabama. SEG could not secure home-video releases for UFC 23 through UFC 29. With other mixed martial arts promotions working towards U.S. sanctioning, the International Fighting Championships (IFC) secured the first U.S. sanctioned mixed-martial-arts event, which occurred in New Jersey on September 30, 2000. Just two months later, the UFC held its first sanctioned event, UFC 28, under the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board's "Unified Rules".[33]
As the UFC's rules started to evolve, so too did its field of competitors. Notable UFC fighters to emerge in this era include Hall of Famers Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes, as well as notables Vitor Belfort, Mark Kerr, Pedro Rizzo, Tito Ortiz, Murilo Bustamante, Pat Miletich, Frank Shamrock, Mikey Burnett, Jeremy Horn, Pete Williams, Jens Pulver, Evan Tanner, Andrei Arlovski and Wanderlei Silva, among others.
The Zuffa era - early 2000s[link]
After the long battle to secure sanctioning, SEG stood on the brink of bankruptcy when Station Casinos executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and their business partner Dana White approached them in 2000, with an offer to purchase the UFC. A month later, in January 2001, the Fertittas bought the UFC for $2 million and created Zuffa, LLC as the parent entity controlling the UFC.
"I had my attorneys tell me that I was crazy because I wasn't buying anything. I was paying $2 million and they were saying `What are you getting?" Lorenzo Fertitta revealed to Fighter's Only magazine, recalling the lack of assets he acquired in the purchase. "And I said `What you don't understand is I'm getting the most valuable thing that I could possibly have, which is those three letters: UFC. That is what's going to make this thing work. Everybody knows that brand, whether they like it or they don't like it, they react to it.'"[34]
With ties to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (Lorenzo Fertitta was a former member of the NSAC), Zuffa secured sanctioning in Nevada in 2001. Shortly thereafter, the UFC returned to pay-per-view cable television with UFC 33 featuring three championship bouts.
Struggle for survival and turnaround[link]
The UFC slowly, but steadily, rose in popularity after the Zuffa purchase, due partly to greater advertising,[35] corporate sponsorship, the return to cable pay-per-view and subsequent home video and DVD releases.
With larger live gates at casino venues like the Trump Taj Mahal and the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the UFC secured its first television deal with Fox Sports Net. The Best Damn Sports Show Period aired the first mixed martial arts match on American cable television in June 2002, as well as the main event showcasing Chuck Liddell vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 37.5.[36] Later, FSN would air highlight shows from the UFC, featuring one hour blocks of the UFC's greatest bouts.
UFC 40 proved to be the most critical event to date in the Zuffa era. The event sold out the MGM Grand Arena and sold 150,000 pay per view buys, a rate over three times larger than the previous Zuffa events. The event featured a card headlined by a highly anticipated championship grudge match between then-current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and former UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock, who had previously defected to professional wrestling in the WWE before returning to MMA. It was the first time the UFC hit such a high mark since being forced "underground" in 1997.[37] UFC 40 also garnered mainstream attention from massive media outlets such as ESPN and USA Today, something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time.[38] Many have suggested that the success of UFC 40 and the anticipation for Ortiz vs. Shamrock saved the UFC from bankruptcy; the buyrates of the previous Zuffa shows averaged a mere 45,000 buys per event and the company was suffering deep monetary losses.[38] The success of UFC 40 provided a glimmer of hope for the UFC and kept alive the hope that mixed martial arts could become big.[39] Long time UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy said that he felt UFC 40 was the turning point in whether or not the sport of MMA would survive in America.
| “ | "When that show (UFC 40) happened, I honestly felt like it was going to make it. Throughout the years, things were happening, and everything always looked bleak. It always looked like, this is it, this is going to be the last time. This is going to be the last year. But, when I was standing in the Octagon at UFC 40, I remember standing there before the Ortiz/Shamrock fight and looking around. The energy of that fight, it was phenomenal, and it was the first time I honestly said, it’s going to make it." -"Big" John McCarthy[40] | ” |
Despite the success of UFC 40, the UFC was still experiencing financial deficits. By 2004, Zuffa had $34 million of losses since they purchased the UFC.[41] Fighters who came into prominence after Zuffa's takeover include Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk, Matt Serra, Ricco Rodriguez, Robbie Lawler, Frank Mir, Karo Parisyan and Nick Diaz.
[edit] The Ultimate Fighter and mainstream emergence
Faced with the prospect of folding, the UFC stepped outside the bounds of pay-per-view and made a foray into television. After being featured in a reality television series, American Casino,[42] and seeing how well the series worked as a promotion vehicle, the Fertitta brothers developed the idea of the UFC having its own reality series.
Their idea, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF)–a reality television show featuring up-and-coming MMA fighters in competition for a six-figure UFC contract, with fighters eliminated from competition via exhibition mixed martial arts matches–was pitched to several networks, each one rejecting the idea outright. Not until they approached Spike TV, with an offer to pay the $10 million production costs themselves, did they find an outlet.[41]
In January 2005, Spike TV launched TUF in the timeslot following WWE Raw. The show became an instant success, culminating with a notable season finale brawl featuring finalists Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar going toe-to-toe for the right to earn the six-figure contract, an event that Dana White credits for saving the UFC.[43]
On the heels of the Griffin/Bonnar finale, a second season of The Ultimate Fighter launched in August 2005, and two more seasons appeared in 2006. Spike and the UFC continue to create and air new seasons.[44]
Following the success of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike also picked up UFC Unleashed, an hour-long weekly show featuring select fights from previous events. Spike also signed on to broadcast live UFC Fight Night, a series of fight events debuting in August 2005, and Countdown specials to promote upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards.
After a very successful run on Spike and with the upcoming announcement of the UFC's new relationship with Fox, Spike officials made a statement regarding the end of their partnership with the UFC, “The Ultimate Fighter season 14 in September will be our last... Our 6-year partnership with the UFC has been incredibly beneficial in building both our brands, and we wish them all the best in the future.”[45]
With the announcement of UFC's partnership with Fox in August 2011, The Ultimate Fighter which enters its 14th season debuting in September, will move to the FX network and air on Friday nights starting with season 15 in the Spring of 2012. The new format will take the show in a completely different direction, which includes fighters being on the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ for 13 weeks total, with each elimination fight airing live on FX on Friday nights.[46]
Surging popularity and growth - mid 2000s[link]
With increased visibility, the UFC's pay-per-view buy numbers exploded. UFC 52, the first event after the first season of The Ultimate Fighter featuring eventual-UFC Hall of Famer Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell avenging his defeat to fellow eventual-Hall of Famer Randy Couture, drew a pay-per-view audience of 300,000,[47] doubling its previous benchmark of 150,000 set at UFC 40. Following the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC's much-hyped rubber match between Liddell and Couture drew an estimated 410,000 pay-per-view buys at UFC 57.
For the rest of 2006, pay-per-view buy rates continued to skyrocket, with 620,000 buys for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie—featuring Royce Gracie's first UFC fight in 11 years—and 775,000 buys for UFC 61 featuring the highly anticipated rematch between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 3.[48] The organization hit a milestone with UFC 66, pitting Ortiz in a rematch against Liddell with over 1 million buys.[49]
The surge in popularity prompted the UFC to beef up its executive team. In March 2006, the UFC announced that it had hired Marc Ratner, former Executive Director of the Nevada Athletic Commission,[50] as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Ratner, once an ally of Senator McCain's campaign against no holds barred fighting, became a catalyst for the emergence of sanctioned mixed martial arts in the United States. Ratner continues to educate numerous athletic commissions[51] to help raise the UFC's media profile in an attempt to legalize mixed martial arts in jurisdictions inside and outside the United States that have yet to sanction the sport.
In December 2006, Zuffa acquired the northern California-based promotion World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) in order to stop the International Fight League (IFL) from making a deal with Versus (now NBC Sports Network). At the time, the UFC had an exclusive deal with Spike, so the purchase of the WEC allowed Zuffa to block the IFL from Versus without violating their contract.[52] The WEC showcased lighter weight classes in MMA, whereas the UFC featured heavier weight classes.[53] Notable WEC fighters included Urijah Faber, Jamie Varner, Carlos Condit, Ben Henderson, Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Eddie Wineland, Miguel Angel Torres, Mike Thomas Brown, Leonard Garcia, Brian Bowles, Dominick Cruz and José Aldo.
In December 2006, Zuffa also acquired their cross-town, Las Vegas rival World Fighting Alliance (WFA). In acquiring the WFA, they acquired the contracts of notable fighters including Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida and Martin Kampmann.
The sport's popularity was also noticed by the sports betting community as BodogLife.com, an online gambling site, stated in July 2007 that in 2007 UFC would surpass boxing for the first time in terms of betting revenues.[54] In fact, the UFC had already broken the pay-per-view industry's all-time records for a single year of business, generating over $222,766,000 in revenue in 2006, surpassing both WWE and boxing.[55][dead link]
The UFC continued its rapid rise from near obscurity with Roger Huerta gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated and Chuck Liddell on the front of ESPN The Magazine in May 2007.[56]
UFC programming is now shown in 130 countries worldwide,[16] and the UFC plans to continue expanding internationally, running shows regularly in Canada and the U.K., with an office established in the U.K. aimed to expand the European audience.[57] UFC has also held events in Germany, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, while Afghanistan, China, Mexico and the Philippines are candidates for future events.[58][59]
Pride acquisition and integration[link]
On March 27, 2007, the UFC and their Japan-based rival the Pride Fighting Championships announced an agreement in which the majority owners of the UFC, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, would purchase the Pride brand.[60][61]
The acquisition of Pride was perceived by UFC officials as a watershed moment for mixed martial arts. "This is really going to change the face of MMA," Lorenzo Fertitta declared. "Literally creating a sport that could be as big around the world as football. I liken it somewhat to when the NFC and AFC came together to create the NFL."[60]
Initial intentions were for both organizations to be run separately but aligned together with plans to co-promote cards featuring the champions and top contenders from both organizations. However, after purchasing Pride, Dana White felt that the Pride model was not sustainable[62] and the organization would likely fold with many former Pride fighters such as Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, Maurício "Shogun" Rua, Dan Henderson, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, Wanderlei Silva and others already being realigned under the UFC brand.[63] On October 4, 2007, Pride Worldwide closed its Japanese office, laying off 20 people who were working there since the closing of its parent company Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE).[64]
In 2008, the UFC announced two major exclusive sponsorship deals with Harley-Davidson[65] and Anheuser-Busch InBev,[66] making the brewer's Bud Light the official and exclusive beer sponsor of the UFC.
On June 18, 2008, Lorenzo Fertitta accommodated the UFC's growth by announcing his resignation from Station Casinos in order to devote his energies to the international business development of Zuffa, particularly the UFC. The move proved to be pivotal, as Fertitta helped strike TV deals in China, France, Mexico and Germany as well as open alternative revenue streams with a new UFC video game and UFC action figures, among other projects.[67]
Fighters exposed to the UFC audience—or who became prominent—in the post-Pride era include the likes of Anderson Silva, Jon Fitch, Lyoto Machida, Cain Velasquez and Jon Jones, among others.
UFC 100 - late 2000s-present[link]
Popularity took another major surge in 2009 with UFC 100 and the 10 events preceding it including UFC 90, 91, 92, 94 and 98. UFC 100 was a massive success garnering 1.7 million buys[68] under the drawing power of former NCAA wrestling champion and current WWE superstar Brock Lesnar and his rematch with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, Canadian superstar Georges St-Pierre going head-to-head with Brazilian knockout artist Thiago Alves, and Pride legend Dan Henderson opposing British middleweight Michael Bisping; rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom.
UFC 100 was unique in that it drew significant interest from ESPN, which provided extensive coverage of the event in the days preceding and following it.[69] In fact, ESPN would eventually devote additional coverage of the UFC and other MMA news with the television debut of "MMA Live" on ESPN2 in May 2010.[70]
The buzz from UFC 100 was hampered significantly in the second half of 2009 after a rash of injuries and other health-related issues[71][72]—including Brock Lesnar's life-threatening bout with diverticulitis[73]—forcing the organization to continuously scramble and reshuffle its lineup for several events.
However, the momentum gradually began to pick up in the first quarter of 2010 after victories from defending champions Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, as well as Lyoto Machida's first career defeat to "Shogun" Rua for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. These fights segued into a very popular clash between former UFC Champions and rivals Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson—rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights—at UFC 114, featuring the UFC's first main event headlined by African-American fighters.[74] The event scored over 1 million pay per view buys[75] as Evans secured a unanimous decision victory.
This momentum carried into the summer of 2010 at UFC 116, which featured the return of Brock Lesnar defending his UFC Heavyweight title against the undefeated interim-champion Shane Carwin before 1.25 million PPV viewers.[76] Lesnar survived an early barrage of Carwin's punches in a contest that was nearly stopped by referee Josh Rosenthal.[77] However, Lesnar recovered in the second round to submit Carwin via arm triangle choke to retain the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship. The event as a whole was critically acclaimed in the media[78][79][80] for living up to the hype with a number of exciting fights that were featured on the televised card.
After a dramatic fifth round, last minute victory by UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva over Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, Lesnar finally surrendered his belt to the undefeated Cain Velasquez via 1st round TKO at UFC 121. The fight produced Velasquez's eighth knockout or technical knockout in his first nine MMA fights.[81]
UFC 129 featured Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is currently the largest UFC event in North American history,[82][83] which coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo at the Direct Energy Centre.[84][85] The event sold out 55,000 tickets for gate revenues exceeding $11 million,[86] shattering previous MMA attendance and gate records in North America.[86]
WEC merger[link]
Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased World Extreme Cagefighting in late 2006 and held the first WEC event under new ownership on January 20, 2007.[87] Soon thereafter the WEC made its home on the Versus Network with its first event debuting on Versus in June 2007.[88]
On October 28, 2010, Zuffa announced that its sister promotion, WEC would merge with the UFC. The WEC held its final card on December 16, 2010. As a result of the merger, the UFC absorbed WEC's bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight weight divisions and their respective fighters. The UFC also made the last WEC Featherweight and Bantamweight Champions, José Aldo and Dominick Cruz respectively, the inaugural UFC Champions of their new weight divisions.[89]
Reed Harris, who started World Extreme Cagefighting with Scott Adams, had mixed emotions on the merger. “It’s kind of like when your kid goes off to college: at first you’re not happy, but after you think about it for a while, you’re really happy,” Harris told MMAWeekly.com in an exclusive interview immediately following the announcement. “At the end of the day, I never imagined this thing would be where we’re at today. I’m extremely proud and happy that I was involved with something that will now be part of what may be, some day, the largest sports organization in the world.”[90]
Strikeforce purchase[link]
On March 12, 2011, UFC president Dana White revealed on AOL to Ariel Helwani that Zuffa had purchased rival MMA promotion Strikeforce. White explained that Strikeforce would operate as an independent promotion and that Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker would continue to run day-to-day operations.[91]
"As we continue to grow and expand into these other countries, we need more fights," White explained in his interview with Helwani. "Let's face the facts: Strikeforce is a brand fans have come to like."
Similar to the acquisition of Pride Fighting Championships, the Strikeforce purchase was significant in Zuffa acquiring more top-ranked fighters[92] such as Strikeforce champions Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Ronaldo Souza, Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez, as well as Strikeforce's female division including notables Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, Marloes Coenen and Gina Carano.
It was first reported that Strikeforce fighters would stay in the promotion until their contracts were due to expire. "Once their contracts are up, it's fair game between us and Scott Coker," White also stated in the interview with Helwani. However, Nick Diaz became the first Strikeforce champion to make the move to the UFC after he signed to fight Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight title at UFC 137. His new contract enables him to fight in both Strikeforce and UFC but he has vacated his Strikeforce Welterweight title.
The UFC is following the same footsteps the NFL and NBA made when they were working to become accepted by the mainstream. The NFL also dabbled in the absorption game when they consumed the AFL in 1970, while the NBA absorbed and dismantled the ABA in 1976. In climbing to these positions of mainstream acceptance, both leagues had faced competition and absorbed the opposition to the fullest extent of the word, ultimately securing themselves as the premier organizations.[93]
Fox partnership[link]
 |
|||||
| Event | Date | Rating | Share | Viewers | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Velasquez vs. Dos Santos | Nov. 12, 2011 | 3.1 | 5 | 5.7 million | [94] |
| Evans vs. Davis | Jan. 28, 2012 | 2.6 | 5 | 4.7 million | [95] |
| Diaz vs. Miller | May 05, 2012 | 1.5 | 5 | 2.4 million | [96] |
On August 18, 2011, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Fox announced a seven-year broadcast deal through the Fox Sports subsidiary, effectively ending the UFC's Spike TV and Versus (now NBC Sports Network) partnership. The deal includes four events on the main Fox network, 32 live Friday night fights per year on their cable network FX, 24 events following The Ultimate Fighter reality show and six separate Fight Night events.
The promotion's first broadcast television event - UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos - broke form by showcasing only one fight to television viewers. In the main event, Junior dos Santos abruptly dethroned then-undefeated UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez by knock-out at 1:04 in the first round. The telecast peaked with 8.8 million viewers tuning into the fight with an average audience of 5.7 million, making it by far the most watched MMA event of all-time and the most watched combat sports event since 2003's HBO bout between Lennox Lewis and Vitaly Klitschko.[97]
The Ultimate Fighter will change formats and now be live and air on Friday nights on FX, followed by a live fight card. Many of the preliminary fights before UFC pay-per-views and UFC Unleashed programming will be on Fuel TV. Additional programming begins in January, including live fights, pre-shows and post-shows, Countdown shows, UFC Ultimate Insider, UFC Unleashed, UFC Primetime, UFC Knockout series, Best of Pride and weigh-in specials.
One of the other programming opportunities that is already in motion is a weekly UFC magazine-style show. When asked about the potential for a weekly magazine-style series, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta responded, “Not only weekly, but, potentially, multiple times per week you’ll have a UFC magazine (show).”[98] The UFC will maintain production control of its product, including the use of its broadcast team of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. Fox Sports will produce the pre- and post-shows.
Rules[link]
The current rules for the Ultimate Fighting Championship were originally established by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board.[99] The "Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts" that New Jersey established has been adopted in other states that regulate mixed martial arts, including Nevada, Louisiana, and California. These rules are also used by many other promotions within the United States, becoming mandatory for those states that have adopted the rules, and so have become the standard de facto set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across the country.
Rounds[link]
UFC matches vary in maximum length, depending on whether the match is for a Championship title, or is a fight card's "main event" fight. In all fights, each round can be no longer than five minutes. Championship fights last for a maximum of five rounds. Beginning with UFC 138 on November 5th, 2011, non-championship "main event" fights (i.e. the final fight on the card), will also last for a maximum of five rounds. Bouts which are either on the preliminary card, or on the main card prior to the main event, last for a maximum of three rounds. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds.
Weight divisions[link]
See also: Mixed martial arts weight classes
The UFC currently uses eight weight classes:
| Weight class name | Upper limit | |
|---|---|---|
| in pounds (lb) | in kilograms (kg) | |
| Flyweight | 125 | 56.7 |
| Bantamweight | 135 | 61.2 |
| Featherweight | 145 | 65.8 |
| Lightweight | 155 | 70.3 |
| Welterweight | 170 | 77.1 |
| Middleweight | 185 | 83.9 |
| Light Heavyweight | 205 | 93.0 |
| Heavyweight | 265 | 120.2 |
Non-title fights have a one pound leniency. In addition, there is one other weight class specified in the Unified Rules which the UFC does not currently use:
- Super heavyweight: Unlimited (no weight limits)
Cage[link]
The UFC stages bouts in an eight-sided enclosure officially named "The Octagon". Originally, SEG trademarked the concept as well as the term and prevented other mixed martial arts promotions from using the same type of cage, but in 2001 Zuffa gave permission for other promotions to use octagonal cages, reasoning that the young sport needed uniformity to continue to win official sanctioning. Today Zuffa reserves exclusive use of the name "The Octagon".[100]
The UFC cage is an octagonal structure with walls of metal chain-link fence coated with black vinyl and a diameter of 32 ft (9.8 m), allowing 30 ft (9.1 m) of space from point to point. The fence is 5 ft 6 in to 5 ft 8 in height. The cage sits atop a platform, raising it 4 ft (1.2 m) from the ground. It has foam padding around the top of the fence and between each of the eight sections. It also has two entry-exit gates opposite each other.[101] The mat, painted with sponsorship logos and art, is replaced for each event.
Attire[link]
All competitors must fight in approved shorts, without shoes. Shirts, gis or long pants (including gi pants) are not allowed. Fighters must use approved light-weight open-fingered gloves, that include at least 1" of padding around the knuckles, (110 to 170 g / 4 to 6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. These gloves enable fighters to punch with less risk of an injured or broken hand, while retaining the ability to grab and grapple. A mouthguard and jockstrap with protective cup are also required and is checked by a State Athletic Committee official before being allowed to enter the cage/ring.[102]
Originally the attire for UFC was very open if controlled at all. Many fighters still chose to wear tight-fitting shorts or boxing-type trunks, while others wore long pants or singlets. Several wore wrestling shoes. Multi-time tournament Champion Royce Gracie wore a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gi in all his early appearances in UFC, while Art Jimmerson appeared in UFC 1 wearing one standard boxing glove. As of UFC 133 there has been a ban on speedo style shorts after Dennis Hallman wore one in his fight against Brian Ebersole. UFC president Dana White was so furious about the fighters choice of attire that he awarded an honorary "getting those horrifying shorts off TV as soon as possible" bonus to Ebersole for finishing the fight in the first round, and in following post-fight interviews made it clear that speedo style shorts will no longer be tolerated.
Match outcome[link]
Matches usually end via:
- Submission: a fighter clearly taps the mat or his opponent, or verbally submits. Also a technical submission may be called when a fighter either loses consciousness or is on the verge of serious injury while in a hold.
- Knockout: a fighter is put into a state of unconsciousness resulting from any legal strike.
- Technical Knockout (TKO): If the referee decides a fighter cannot continue, the fight is ruled as a technical knockout. Technical knockouts can be classified into three categories:
- referee stoppage (the referee ends the fight because one fighter is unable to intelligently defend himself)
- doctor stoppage (a ring side doctor decides that it is unsafe for the fighter to continue the bout due to excessive bleeding or physical injuries)
- corner stoppage (a fighter's cornerman signals defeat for their own fighter)
- Judges' Decision: Depending on scoring, a match may end as:
- unanimous decision (all three judges score a win for fighter A)
- majority decision (two judges score a win for fighter A, one judge scores a draw)
- split decision (two judges score a win for fighter A, one judge scores a win for fighter B)
- unanimous draw (all three judges score a draw)
- majority draw (two judges score a draw, one judge scoring a win)
- split draw (one judge scores a win for fighter A, one judge scores a win for fighter B, and one judge scores a draw)
Note: In the event of a draw, it is not necessary that the fighters' total points be equal (see, e.g., UFC 41 Penn vs. Uno, or UFC 43 Freeman vs. White). However, in a unanimous or split draw, each fighter does score an equal number of win judgments from the three judges (0 or 1, respectively).
A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical submission, disqualification, forfeit, technical draw, or no contest. The latter two outcomes have no winners.
Judging criteria[link]
The ten-point must system is in effect for all UFC fights; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points, the loser nine points or fewer. Scores of 10–8 are typically awarded for dominant rounds and anything more dominant is scored less, but being rare, 10-8 is the score mentioned a majority of the time because it is much more common in the scoring of a dominant round, as rounds aren't usually more dominant than when a round is considered a 10-8.
Fouls[link]
The Nevada State Athletic Commission currently lists the following as fouls:[103]
- Biting
- Eye-gouging
- Groin attacks
- Small joint manipulation
- Hair pulling
- Head-butting
- Fish-hooking
- Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent (see Fish-hooking)
- Striking to the spine or the back of the head (see Rabbit punch)
- Striking downward using the point of the elbow (see Elbow (strike))
- Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea
- Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh
- Grabbing the clavicle
- Kicking the head of a grounded opponent
- Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent
- Stomping a grounded opponent
- Kicking to the kidney with the heel
- Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck (see Piledriver)
- Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area
- Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent
- Spitting at an opponent
- Engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent
- Holding the ropes or the fence
- Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area
- Attacking an opponent on or during the break
- Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee
- Attacking an opponent after the bell (horn) has sounded the end of a round
- Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee
- Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury
- Interference by the corner
- Throwing in the towel during competition
- Blowing hard on an opponenent (especially in the eyes, so they have to blink to remoisturise thus opening up chances for ground and pound or submission attempts during the blinks)
When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.[104]
Match conduct[link]
- After a verbal warning the referee can stop the fighters and stand them up if they reach a stalemate on the ground (where neither are in a dominant position or working towards one). This rule is codified in Nevada as the stand-up rule.
- If the referee pauses the match, it is resumed with the fighters in their prior positions.
- Grabbing the cage brings a verbal warning, followed by an attempt by the referee to release the grab by pulling on the grabbing hand. If that attempt fails or if the fighter continues to hold the cage, the referee may charge a foul.
- Early UFC events disregarded verbal sparring / "trash-talking" during matches. Under unified rules, antics are permitted before events to add to excitement and allow fighters to express themselves, but abusive language during combat is prohibited.
Evolution of the rules[link]
- UFC 1 – Although the advertising said There Are No Rules, there were in fact some rules: no biting, no eye-gouging and no groin attacks. Fights ended only in the event of a knockout, Submission or the corner throwing in the towel. Despite this, the first match in UFC 1 was won by referee stoppage, even though it was not officially recognized as such at the time.
- UFC 2 – Striking the groin was unbanned but it was still illegal to grab the genitals. Time limits were dropped ending the need for judges. Modifications to the cage were added (higher fences and less floor padding).
- UFC 3 – The referee was officially given the authority to stop a fight in case of a fighter being unable to defend himself. A fighter could not kick if he was wearing shoes. This rule would later be discarded, then changed to 'no kicking with shoes while on the ground' and then reinstated, before finally being discarded.
- UFC 4 – After tournament alternate Steve Jennum won UFC 3 by winning only one bout, alternates (replacements) were required to win a pre-tournament bout to qualify for the role of an alternate.
- UFC 5 – The organizers introduced a 30-minute time limit. UFC 5 also saw the first Superfight, a one-off bout between two competitors selected by the organizers with the winner being crowned 'Superfight champion' and having the duty of defending his title at the next UFC.
- UFC 6 – The referee was given the authority to restart the fight. If two fighters were entangled in a position where there was a lack of action, the referee could stop the fight and restart the competitors on their feet, in their own corner. In UFC 6 they officially adopted the 5 minute extension to the 30 minute rule which had been used in UFC 5.
- UFC 8 – Time limit changed to 10 minutes in the first two rounds of the tournament, 15 minutes in the tournament final and Superfight. Fights could now be decided by a judges decision if the fight reached the end of the time limit. The panel was made up of three judges who simply raised a card with the name of the fighter they considered to be the winner. In this fashion, a draw was not possible since the only two possible outcomes of a decision were 3 to 0 or 2 to 1 in favor of the winner.
- UFC 9 – To appease local authorities, closed fisted strikes to the head were banned for this event only. The commentators were not aware of this last minute rule that was made to prevent the cancellation of the event due to local political pressures. Referee "Big John" McCarthy made repeated warnings to the fighters to "open the hand" when this rule was violated. However, not one fighter was reprimanded.
- Ultimate Ultimate 1996 – This event was the first to introduce the "no grabbing of the fence" rule.
- UFC 12 – The main tournament split into a heavyweight and lightweight division; and the eight-man tournament ceased. Fighters now needed to win only two fights to win the competition. The Heavyweight Champion title (and title bouts) was introduced, replacing the Superfight title (albeit matches were still for a time branded as "Superfights").
- UFC 14 – The wearing of padded gloves, weighing 110 to 170 g (4 to 6 ounces), becomes mandatory. Gloves were to be approved by the UFC.
- UFC 15 – Limits on permissible striking areas were introduced. Headbutts, groin strikes, elbow strikes to the back of the neck and head, kicks to a downed opponent, small joint manipulation, and hair-pulling became illegal.
- UFC 21 – Five minute rounds were introduced, with preliminary bouts consisting of two rounds, regular non-title bouts at three rounds, and title bouts at five rounds. The "ten point must system" was introduced for scoring fights (identical to the system widely used in boxing).
- UFC 28 – The New Jersey Athletic Control Board sanctions its first UFC event, using the newly developed Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Major changes to the UFC's rules included barring knee strikes to the head of a downed opponent, elbow strikes to the spine and neck and punches to the back of the neck and head. Limits on permissible ring attire, stringent medical requirements, and regulatory oversight were also introduced. A new weight class system was also introduced.[105] This new set of rules is currently the de facto standard for MMA events held in the U.S. and is still in use by the UFC.
- UFC 31 – Weight classes are re-aligned to the current standard. Bantamweight moves from 150 to 155 and becomes known as lightweight. Lightweight becomes known as welterweight, middleweight becomes light heavyweight, and a new middleweight class is introduced at 185 pounds.
- UFC 43 – In the event of a stoppage fights restart in the position the fight was stopped.
- UFC 94 – After an incident where Georges St. Pierre was accused of putting vaseline on his back, corner men were disallowed from bringing vaseline into The Octagon. Lubricant may now only be applied outside The Octagon before the commencement of the first round.
- UFC 98 – Foot-stomps are banned.
- UFC 99 – Foot-stomps are allowed again.
- UFC 133 - Speedo style trunks are banned.[106]
- UFC 138 - First 5 round non-title main event.[107]
[edit] The Ultimate Fighter
Fights that occur on The Ultimate Fighter are classified as exhibition matches under NSAC sanctioning, and thus do not count toward the professional record of a fighter. Match outcomes also do not need to be immediately posted publicly, which allows for fight results to be unveiled as the series progresses.
These exhibition matches variably have two or three rounds, depending on the rules used for each season. In most seasons, preliminary matches (before the semi-final bouts) were two rounds; in season two, all matches had three rounds. For two-round matches, if there is a draw after two rounds, an extra five-minute round ("sudden victory") is contested. If the extra round concludes without a stoppage, the judges' decision will be based on that final round. All matches past the first round use three rounds as per standard UFC bouts. During the finales for each series, the division finals have the standard three rounds, plus a fourth round if the judges score a tie.
UFC events[link]
Main article: List of UFC events
Production team[link]
Comedian and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt[108] Joe Rogan and play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg provide commentary during broadcasts of nearly all UFC events. The "Veteran Voice of the Octagon" is announcer Bruce Buffer.[109] Arianny Celeste and Brittney Palmer[110] are Octagon girls.[111] Each fighter is assigned a cutman by the promotion who cares for the fighter before the fight and in between rounds. Jacob "Stitch" Duran is one of the best known cutmen working for the organization.[112] Matches are made by matchmaker, and VP of Talent Relations, Joe Silva.[113] Burt Watson is the production manager for all UFC events, including fighter weigh-ins and other public events held before fights that frequently draw crowds of fans and reporters.[114][115]
Fighter salaries and contracts[link]
A UFC fighter generally does not have a salary. They are paid per fight, with amounts depending on how well-known the fighters are and how well sponsored a fighter and an event is. Fighters will typically get paid money to fight with an additional bonus if they win. Cash bonuses are also typically awarded for "Fight of the Night", "Knockout of the Night", and "Submission of the Night." The size of these bonuses varies by event, but, for less well-known fighters, they can be several times larger than the contracted amount for the fight.[116] Contracted amounts generally have to be declared to the State Athletic commission however the UFC also pays undisclosed locker-room bonuses to fighters.[117] In recent years UFC fighters' contracts and merchandising rights have been the subject of dispute between fighters (represented by growing the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association) and UFC, which has attempted to defend existing regulations.[118]
Current champions[link]
Main article: List of UFC champions
| Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | 265 lb (120.2 kg; 18.9 st) |  Junior dos Santos |
November 12, 2011 (UFC on Fox) | 1 |
| Light Heavyweight | 205 lb (93.0 kg; 14.6 st) |  Jon Jones |
March 19, 2011 (UFC 128) | 3 |
| Middleweight | 185 lb (83.9 kg; 13.2 st) | Anderson Silva |
October 14, 2006 (UFC 64) | 9 |
| Welterweight | 170 lb (77.1 kg; 12.1 st) |  Georges St-Pierre
Carlos Condit (Interim) |
April 19, 2008 (UFC 143) February 4, 2012 (UFC 143) |
6 2 |
| Lightweight | 155 lb (70.3 kg; 11.1 st) | Benson Henderson |
February 26, 2012 (UFC 144) | 0 |
| Featherweight | 145 lb (65.8 kg; 10.4 st) | José Aldo |
November 20, 2010 (WEC 41) | 3 |
| Bantamweight | 135 lb (61.2 kg; 9.6 st) | Dominick Cruz |
December 16, 2010 (WEC 53) | 2 |
| Flyweight | 125 lb (56.7 kg; 8.9 st) | Vacant |
UFC Hall of Fame[link]
http://wn.com/Ultimate_Fighting_Championship
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Ultimate Fighting Championship
http://cs.wn.com/Ultimate Fighting Championship
http://es.wn.com/Ultimate Fighting Championship
http://ru.wn.com/Ultimate Fighting Championship
http://nl.wn.com/Ultimate Fighting Championship
http://pt.wn.com/Ultimate Fighting Championship
http://pl.wn.com/Ultimate Fighting Championship
http://fr.wn.com/Ultimate Fighting Championship
http://de.wn.com/Ultimate Fighting Championship
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Fighting_Championship
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Vítor Belfort | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Vítor Belfort (1977-04-01) April 1, 1977 (age 35) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Other names | The Phenom |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 186 lb (84 kg; 13 st 4 lb) |
| Division | Middleweight (2008–present) Light Heavyweight (1998-2007) Heavyweight (1996-1997) |
| Reach | 74 in (188 cm) |
| Style | Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Shotokan Karate |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Fighting out of | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Team | Team Vitor Belfort TapouT Training Center Xtreme Couture |
| Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black belt in Judo Purple belt in Shotokan[1] |
| Years active | 1996–present (MMA) |
| Professional boxing record | |
| Total | 1 |
| Wins | 1 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 30 |
| Wins | 21 |
| By knockout | 14 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Losses | 9 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 5 |
| Other information | |
| Spouse | Joana Prado |
| Boxing record from Boxrec | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
|
|
|
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Brazil |
||
| Men's grappling | ||
| ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship | ||
| Bronze | 2001 Abu Dhabi | Absolute |
Vítor Vieira Belfort[2] (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvitoʁ viˈejɾɐ bɛwˈfɔʁ]; born April 1, 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in the middleweight division. He is currently ranked as the #3 middleweight in the world by MMA Weekly.[3]
Contents |
Personal life[link]
Vítor was born on April 1, 1977 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to a French father and a Greek mother.[4] Belfort is married to Joana Prado and together they have three children, a son named Davi (born February 5, 2005), a daughter named Victoria (born October 31, 2007),[5] and a daughter named Kyara (born June 7, 2009).[6]
Belfort also had a small part in a reality show on Brazilian television and appeared next to his wife when she was photographed for the Brazilian edition of Playboy.[7]
On January 9, 2004, Vítor's sister, Priscila Belfort disappeared and the relatives received no information about her. In August 2007, a woman (identified as Elaine Paiva) confessed that she participated in her kidnapping and killing[8] and that she was kidnapped to pay off a four thousand dollar debt Paiva had with drug dealers. Paiva was arrested along with three others alleged to be involved in the kidnapping. The group allegedly buried her body in the woods in Rio de Janeiro where police conducted searches but her remains have never been found. Her family however do not accept this version and believe that Priscila is still alive somewhere. Vítor still maintains a missing sign in the Brazilian version of his website.
Belfort speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish.[9]
He is a dedicated Christian and gives his life first to Jesus who he says gives him peace.[10] Belfort believes the most important key to his success and longevity in the sport is that he is happy with what he does. “I just thank God every day. I’m happy. I’m healthy. Bottom line is it’s just the way you treat life and life will treat you back. Make sure you’re happy with whatever is going on in your life. I think the key of life is just be happy with what’s in front of you and the decision of my life is under God and God knows what’s best for me."[11] Belfort also appeared in a testimonial video on I Am Second, in which he shares his story of his faith in Jesus Christ.
Mixed martial arts career[link]
At the age of 19, Belfort came to the United States to compete. In his first sanctioned mixed martial arts match, an event called Superbrawl in Hawaii, his opponent was Jon Hess, who the young Brazilian defeated in 12 seconds by knockout.
Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]
Soon after, he moved on to compete in the UFC, where he was given the nickname The Phenom. He beat two fighters in his debut event in the UFC, winning the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament. At age 19, Belfort became the youngest fighter to ever score a victory inside the octagon.[12] Belfort's next match saw him score a technical knockout (TKO) against the UFC 6 runner-up Tank Abbott in a non-tournament fight, knocking Abbott down and finishing him with a ground and pound attack.
In 1997 Belfort fought against American Greco-Roman wrestler Randy Couture, the first of three fights they would have. Belfort was upset by TKO 8:16 into the match, his boxing skills negated by Couture's clinch fighting.
After this defeat, he would fight twice more in the UFC. The first of these fights was against a training partner of his, Joe Charles, who he defeated quickly via armbar without throwing a single punch. A year later, Belfort faced rising Brazilian star and future Pride Middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva. Catching Silva early with a left cross, Belfort chased him across the cage with a flurry of punches, TKOing Silva in just 44 seconds.
PRIDE Fighting Championships[link]
Vítor then moved on to fight in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships. His first opponent was Kazushi Sakuraba in 1999. Vítor controlled the first minutes of the fight before breaking his hand,[13] the remainder of the fight was spent on his back being stomped and kicked by Sakuraba. Following the fight he stopped training with Carlson Gracie and started to train with Brazilian Top Team.
He fought five more times in Pride against Gilbert Yvel, Daijiro Matsui, Bobby Southworth, Yoshiki Takahashi, and Heath Herring. For these matches Belfort used his stand-up striking skills less and instead controlled the fights and won by ground-and-pound tactics, with the exception of his fights with Southworth and Takahashi, which he won via rear naked choke and knockout in the first round respectively.
ADCC Championships[link]
In 2001 Belfort participated in the ADCC championships, in their Absolute division. Prior to that competition he had already faced Hiroki Fukuda, winning by submission, and Mark Robinson, losing by points. In the championship Belfort faced Genki Sudo, winning by points, Ricco Rodriguez, winning by points, Ricardo Arona in the semi-final, losing by points and finally in the 3rd place fight defeating Ricardo Almeida by points, winning the bronze medal.
Return to the UFC[link]
Returning to the UFC, Belfort was scheduled to fight Tito Ortiz in the main event of UFC's first Las Vegas show at UFC 33. However, he sustained an injury prior to the event, and the bout was cancelled. Belfort eventually returned and fought Chuck Liddell (losing via decision), then Marvin Eastman (winning via TKO and opening a severe cut on Eastman's eyebrow with a knee strike).
His next fight was on January 31, 2004, a rematch with Randy Couture for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Despite agonizing over his sister Priscila Belfort, who disappeared on January 9, Vitor won the fight in 49 seconds after a seam from his glove cut Couture's eye leaving Couture with a corneal abrasion, prompting a referee stoppage. A third match between the two took place on August 21, 2004. Couture won via doctor stoppage after the third round, recapturing the title.
His next fight in the UFC was against Tito Ortiz on February 5, 2005. Belfort broke Tito's nose with punches in the first round and nearly stopped Ortiz in the second. The battle raged on as Vitor tried to keep it standing as Ortiz looked to continue to take the fight to the ground. Unable to finish the fight, Belfort lost by a controversial split decision, which many believe Belfort won the first and second round.
Pro boxing[link]
On April 11, 2006 Vitor fought in his pro boxing debut against Josemario Neves. Belfort won by TKO within the first minute after knocking his opponent down three times. This has been his sole venture into the sport of professional boxing so far.
Belfort has expressed a desire to return to professional boxing, stating in 2008 that he was interested in talking with Golden Boy Promotions regarding a deal. More recently, in response to former IBA Heavyweight Champion James Toney's challenge to fight an MMA fighter in the boxing ring, Belfort has stated that he wants to represent the sport of MMA against Toney in a 6 round professional match.[14]
Steroid controversy[link]
At Pride 32: The Real Deal on October 21, 2006, Belfort lost a unanimous decision to Pride Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson. After the fight, Belfort tested positive for an illegal substance, 4-hydroxytestosterone.[15] In his defense, Belfort argued that he purchased an over the counter supplement which contained 4-Hydroxytestosterone. Belfort also explained that he may have received 4-Hydroxytestosterone as the result of rehabilitative injections given to him by Brazilian endocrinologist Dr. Rodrigo M. Greco after his surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee in the summer of 2006. The Nevada State Athletic Commission eventually received a statement from Dr. Greco stating that he did give Belfort post surgical injections containing testosterone.[16] While conceding that Belfort may have not known about the testosterone, the NSAC explained that even if Belfort was given injections by a medical practictioner who did not inform him that they contained anabolic steroids, it would still be a violation of the banned substances policy. On December 21, 2006 he was suspended for nine months from the date of the hearing and fined $10,000.
Cage Rage[link]
Vítor Belfort defeated Ivan Serati by TKO at Cage Rage 21 in England on April 21, 2007. He defeated James Zikic on September 22, 2007 at Cage Rage 23 to claim the Cage Rage light heavyweight title in a unanimous decision. He entered the fight with a broken hand and during the fight threw minimal punches and utilized takedowns and ground and pound techniques. He apologized to the crowd for not putting on a good show but promised a better fight next time.[citation needed]
Affliction[link]
Vítor spent a brief time training for his Affliction fight against Terry Martin with Chute Boxe in Brazil. However, he completed his preparation for the fight at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Randy Couture and Shawn Tompkins helped train him for the fight in which he got a second round KO by landing a flying knee and following up with an uppercut straight-left combination.
After the fight, Couture said Belfort was thinking about moving to Las Vegas and training at Xtreme Couture full time.
Belfort's next fight was slated to be against Matt Lindland at the second Affliction event, however, he was forced to pull out due to a hand-injury sustained during the Terry Martin fight. The second Affliction event was postponed anyway and rescheduled for January 2009, enabling Vítor to fight on that card.
After rumours of a possible bout with reigning Dream Middleweight Grand Prix winner Gegard Mousasi were circulating, it was announced that Vítor would finally fight Lindland at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Lindland was originally slated to fight Renato Sobral at a catchweight, but promoters of Affliction preferred the Belfort vs. Lindland fight at Middleweight. The fight ended in a KO within thirty-seven seconds as Belfort delivered a strong left to Lindland's jaw and followed up with four unanswered power shots as he hit the ground.
Second return to the UFC[link]
During a press conference, Dana White announced that the UFC had re-signed Belfort to a contract. His first match was against Rich Franklin at a catchweight of 195 lbs, headlining UFC 103, which he won by knockout three minutes and two seconds into the first round.
Belfort was expected to face Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108. However, Silva's manager, Ed Soares, announced that Silva would not be fully recovered from his injury by that time, so the fight was postponed.[17] Belfort was again slated to fight Silva on February 6, 2010 at UFC 109 and April 10, 2010 at UFC 112, respectively, but both fights were canceled because of a surgery for Silva and an injury suffered by Belfort.[18] Belfort was scheduled to fight Yushin Okami at UFC 122. However, Dana White tweeted Belfort would instead challenge Silva at UFC 126 for the belt.[19]
Belfort lost via KO with 1:35 left in the first round after being knocked down by a left front kick to the face and taking two punches after falling to the mat. After having the belt put on him, Silva took it off and knelt at Belfort's feet, showing his respect, same as he had done after fighting Chael Sonnen.
Belfort made his return at UFC 133 against Yoshihiro Akiyama.[20] Belfort initially thought the UFC would try to put him on the card at UFC 134 in Brazil, but the fight with Akiyama came together to help bolster the card in Philadelphia.[21] Belfort contracted Hepatitis A in April, shortly after accepting the fight, but his representative, Pedro Lima, said that it would not jeopardize the bout with Akiyama.[22] Belfort was successful in his return, winning the fight by knockout one minute and fifty-two seconds into the first round.
Belfort was briefly linked to a matchup with Cung Le, expected to take place on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139.[23] However, Belfort was removed from the bout due to injury and replaced by Wanderlei Silva.[24]
Belfort faced Anthony Johnson on January 14, 2012 at UFC 142.[25] During the UFC 142 weigh ins, Johnson came in 11 pounds over the 186 lb weight allowance and was fined 20 percent of his earnings.[26] Belfort requested that Johnson not weigh more than 205 lbs the day of the fight. The UFC had Johnson weigh in a second time. Johnson officially weighed in at 204 lbs on fight day, and the fight with Belfort proceeded as scheduled, with Belfort winning via rear naked choke in the first round, his first submission win in over a decade.[27]
Belfort was selected to coach The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil against Wanderlei Silva. The rematch between Belfort and Silva was expected to take place on June 23, 2012 at UFC 147.[28] However, on May 27, 2012, Belfort was forced to pull out of the bout, citing a broken hand in training, and replaced by Rich Franklin.[29]
Championships and awards[link]
Mixed martial arts[link]
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
- UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament Winner
- Knockout of the Night (Two times)
- Cage Rage
- Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
Submission grappling[link]
- ADCC
- ADCC 2001 Absolute division – Bronze medal
Mixed martial arts record[link]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 30 matches | 21 wins | 9 losses |
| By knockout | 14 | 3 |
| By submission | 3 | 1 |
| By decision | 4 | 5 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 21–9 | Anthony Johnson | Submission (rear naked choke) | UFC 142 | 02012-01-14January 14, 2012 | 1 | 4:49 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Catchweight of 197 lbs. |
| Win | 20–9 | Yoshihiro Akiyama | KO (punches) | UFC 133 | 02011-08-06August 6, 2011 | 1 | 1:52 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Knockout of the Night. |
| Loss | 19–9 | Anderson Silva | KO (front kick and punches) | UFC 126 | 02011-02-05February 5, 2011 | 1 | 3:25 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | For the UFC Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 19–8 | Rich Franklin | KO (punches) | UFC 103 | 02009-09-19September 19, 2009 | 1 | 3:02 | Dallas, Texas, United States | Catchweight of 195 lbs. Knockout of the Night. |
| Win | 18–8 | Matt Lindland | KO (punches) | Affliction 2 | 02009-01-24January 24, 2009 | 1 | 0:37 | Anaheim, California, United States | |
| Win | 17–8 | Terry Martin | KO (punches) | Affliction: Banned | 02008-07-19July 19, 2008 | 2 | 3:12 | Anaheim, California, United States | Middleweight Debut. |
| Win | 16–8 | James Zikic | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Rage 23 | 02007-09-22September 22, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | Won the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 15–8 | Ivan Serati | TKO (punches) | Cage Rage 21 | 02007-04-21April 21, 2007 | 1 | 3:47 | London, England | |
| Loss | 14–8 | Dan Henderson | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 32 | 02006-10-21October 21, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. |
| Win | 14–7 | Kazuo Takahashi | KO (punch) | Critical Countdown Absolute | 02006-07-02July 2, 2006 | 1 | 0:36 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 13–7 | Alistair Overeem | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce: Revenge | 02006-06-09June 9, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | San Jose, California, United States | Catchweight of 210 lbs. |
| Win | 13–6 | Antony Rea | KO (punches) | Cage Rage 14 | 02005-12-03December 3, 2005 | 2 | 1:14 | London, England | |
| Loss | 12–6 | Alistair Overeem | Submission (guillotine choke) | Pride Total Elimination 2005 | 02005-04-23April 23, 2005 | 1 | 9:36 | Osaka, Osaka, Japan | |
| Loss | 12–5 | Tito Ortiz | Decision (split) | UFC 51 | 02005-02-05February 5, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 12–4 | Randy Couture | TKO (doctor stoppage) | UFC 49 | 02004-08-21August 21, 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 12–3 | Randy Couture | TKO (cut) | UFC 46 | 02004-01-31January 31, 2004 | 1 | 0:49 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 11–3 | Marvin Eastman | TKO (knees and punches) | UFC 43 | 02003-06-06June 6, 2003 | 1 | 1:07 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 10–3 | Chuck Liddell | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 37.5 | 02002-06-22June 22, 2002 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 10–2 | Heath Herring | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 14 | 02001-05-27May 27, 2001 | 3 | 5:00 | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | |
| Win | 9–2 | Bobby Southworth | Submission (rear naked choke) | Pride 13 | 02001-03-25March 25, 2001 | 1 | 4:09 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 8–2 | Daijiro Matsui | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 10 | 02000-08-27August 27, 2000 | 2 | 10:00 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 7–2 | Gilbert Yvel | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 9 | 02000-06-04June 4, 2000 | 2 | 10:00 | Nagoya, Aichi, Japan | |
| Loss | 6–2 | Kazushi Sakuraba | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 5 | 01999-04-29April 29, 1999 | 2 | 10:00 | Nagoya, Aichi, Japan | |
| Win | 6–1 | Wanderlei Silva | TKO (punches) | UFC Brazil | 01998-10-16October 16, 1998 | 1 | 0:44 | São Paulo, Brazil | Light Heavyweight Debut. |
| Win | 5–1 | Joe Charles | Submission (armbar) | UFC Japan | 01997-12-21December 21, 1997 | 1 | 4:03 | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | |
| Loss | 4–1 | Randy Couture | TKO (punches) | UFC 15 | 01997-10-17October 17, 1997 | 1 | 8:16 | Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States | UFC Heavyweight title eliminator. |
| Win | 4–0 | Tank Abbott | KO (punches) | UFC 13 | 01997-05-30May 30, 1997 | 1 | 0:52 | Augusta, Georgia, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Scott Ferrozzo | TKO (punches) | UFC 12 | 01997-02-07February 7, 1997 | 1 | 0:43 | Dothan, Alabama, United States | Won the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament. |
| Win | 2–0 | Tra Telligman | Submission (strikes) | UFC 12 | 01997-02-07February 7, 1997 | 1 | 1:17 | Dothan, Alabama, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Jon Hess | KO (punches) | SuperBrawl 2 | 01996-10-11October 11, 1996 | 1 | 0:12 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
Submission grappling record[link]
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
| Win | Ricardo Almeida |
Technical Submission (Injury) | ADCC 2001 Absolute Division | 2001 | 3rd Place Spot-Wins Bronze Medal | ||
| Loss | Ricardo Arona |
Points | ADCC 2001 Absolute | 2001 | Semi-Finals | ||
| Win | Ricco Rodriguez |
Points | ADCC 2001 Absolute | 2001 | Quarter-Finals | ||
| Win |  Genki Sudo |
Points | ADCC 2001 Absolute | 2001 | Opening Round | ||
| Loss | Mark Robinson |
Points | ADCC 2011 +99KG | 2001 | Quarter-Finals | ||
| Win | Hiroki Fukuda |
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | ADCC 2001 +99KG | 2001 | Opening Round |
Boxing record[link]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xWin | 1–0 | Josemario Neves |
KO (left hook)[30] | 02006-04-11April 11, 2006 | 1 | 1:01 | Antonio Balbino Gymnasyum, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil |
Boxing Debut |
References[link]
- ^ Erik Engelhart (October 5, 2009). "Vitor Belfort earns Karate blue belt". http://www.tatame.com/2009/10/05/Vitor-Belfort-earns-Karate-blue-belt. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
- ^ http://boxing.nv.gov/2011%20Results%20Web/02-05-11MMA.pdf
- ^ "Middleweight MMA Top 10". MMAWeekly.com. February 27, 2012. http://mmaweekly.com/middleweight-division-185-pound-limit-mma-top-10.
- ^ http://ethnicelebs.com/vitor-belfort
- ^ "Vitor Belfort Is A Proud Papa Again". Evilmaster.proelite.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080419050557/http://evilmaster.proelite.com/68562. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
- ^ "Em Casa Joana Prado e a filha Kyara já deixaram a maternidade". Ofuxico.terra.com.br. June 8, 2009. http://ofuxico.terra.com.br/materia/noticia/2009/06/08/joana-prado-e-a-filha-kyara-ja-deixaram-a-maternidade-114450.htm. Retrieved July 19, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Vitor Belfort and Joana Prado in Playboy Magazine". http://babado.ig.com.br/materias/054001-054500/54222/54222_1.html. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ^ "Priscila Belfort teria sido seqüestrada por uma dívida de R$ 9 mil com traficantes" (in (Portuguese)). Oglobo.globo.com. April 17, 2006. http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/mat/2007/08/08/297159344.asp. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
- ^ "Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort". PRIDEFC Official Website. Pride. 2005. http://www.pridefc.com/pride2005/index.php?mainpage=fighters&fID=44. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
- ^ Vitor’s Story, IamSecond.com
- ^ "UFC 133’s Vitor Belfort Credits His Success In Life With Being Happy". MMAWeekly.com. August 3, 2011. http://mmaweekly.com/ufc-133%E2%80%99s-vitor-belfort-credits-his-success-in-life-with-being-happy. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
- ^ "UFCStats – Stats and Records from Inside the Octagon". Ufcstats.x10hosting.com. http://ufcstats.x10hosting.com/youngestwin.php. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
- ^ Barbosa, Paulo Ruy (2000-07). "Vitor[dead link] Belfort (interview)"]. Archived from the original on September 7, 2002. http://web.archive.org/web/20020907012608/http://www.geocities.com/global_training_report/vitor2.htm. Retrieved May 22, 2010. ""When I fought Sak I had an accident during the fight, I broke my hand""
- ^ "Vitor Belfort lobbies Dana White to Fight James Toney in the ring". MMASpark.com. http://www.mmaspark.com/vitor-belfort-wants-to-fight-james-toney-in-the-ring/. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
- ^ "Vitor Belfort & Pawel Nastula Test Positive (UPDATED)". MMAweekly.com. 2006-10-26. http://mmaweekly.com/vitor-belfort-pawel-nastula-test-positive-updated-2.
- ^ Trembow, Ivan (December 21, 2006). "Vitor Belfort & Pawel Nastula Suspended". MMMAWeekly.com. http://mmaweekly.com/vitor-belfort-pawel-nastula-suspended-2. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
- ^ "Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort not happening at UFC 108 in January". MMAJunkie.com. October 31, 2009. http://mmajunkie.com/news/16684/anderson-silva-vs-vitor-belfort-not-happening-at-ufc-108-in-january.mma. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
- ^ Morgan, John. (November 28, 2009) Anderson Silva's recovery slow, not fighting Vitor Belfort at UFC 109. MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved on March 2, 2011.
- ^ Vitor Belfort Confirms Likely UFC 127 Title Fight with Anderson Silva. Violent Monkey (September 30, 2010). Retrieved on March 2, 2011.
- ^ "Yoshihiro Akiyama and Vitor Belfort to wage war at UFC 133". ESPN UK. April 21, 2011. http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/86721.html.
- ^ "UFC President Dana White Announces Belfort vs. Akiyama at UFC 133 in Philadelphia". MMAWeekly.com. April 21, 2011. http://mmaweekly.com/ufc-president-dana-white-annoucnes-belfort-vs-akiyama-at-ufc-133-in-philadelphia.
- ^ "Vitor Belfort Stricken with Hep A, Fight with Akiyama at UFC 133 Still a Go". MMAWeekly.com. April 25, 2011. http://mmaweekly.com/vitor-belfort-stricken-with-hep-a-fight-with-akiyama-at-ufc-133-still-a-go.
- ^ "Vitor Belfort says he's fighting Cung Le at UFC 139 in San Jose". mmajunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/25173/vitor-belfort-says-hes-fighting-cung-le-at-ufc-139-in-san-jose.mma. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^ "UFC 139 shakeup: Vitor Belfort out, Wanderlei Silva in against Cung Le". mmajunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/25329/ufc-139-shakeup-vitor-belfort-out-wanderlei-silva-in-against-cung-le.mma. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ^ "Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson slated for UFC 142 in Brazil". mmajunkie.com. November 1, 2011. http://mmajunkie.com/news/25904/vitor-belfort-vs-anthony-johnson-slated-for-ufc-142-in-brazil.mma.
- ^ "UFC 142 weigh-in results". mmajunkie.com. 2012-01-13. http://mmajunkie.com/news/26934/ufc-142-live-and-official-weigh-in-results.mma.
- ^ "Anthony Johnson Misses Weight for UFC 142". mmaweekly.com. 2012-01-13. http://mmaweekly.com/anthony-johnson-misses-weight-by-11lbs-for-ufc-142.
- ^ "UFC 147 official with Silva-Sonnen, Silva-Belfort on June 23 in Rio de Janeiro stadium". mmajunkie.com. 2012-03-26. http://mmajunkie.com/news/27981/ufc-147-official-with-silva-sonnen-silva-belfort-on-june-23-in-rio-de-janeiro-stadium.mma.
- ^ "Rich Franklin steps into UFC 147 headliner against Wanderlei Silva". mmajunkie.com. May 30, 2012. http://mmajunkie.com/news/28961/rich-franklin-steps-into-ufc-147-headliner-against-wanderlei-silva.mma. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ Vitor Belfort – Boxer. Boxrec.com. Retrieved on March 2, 2011.
External links[link]
| Preceded by Randy Couture |
4th UFC Light Heavyweight Champion January 31, 2004 – August 21, 2004 |
Succeeded by Randy Couture |
| Preceded by Don Frye |
UFC Heavyweight Tournament (UFC 12) February 7, 1997 |
Succeeded by Randy Couture |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Belfort, Vitor |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Brazilian martial artist |
| Date of birth | 1977-04-01 |
| Place of birth | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Vitor_Belfort
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Белфорт, Витор
http://fr.wn.com/Vitor Belfort
http://nl.wn.com/Vitor Belfort
http://pt.wn.com/Vítor Belfort
http://de.wn.com/Vitor Belfort
http://it.wn.com/Vitor Belfort
http://pl.wn.com/Vitor Belfort
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitor_Belfort
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Anthony Pettis | |
|---|---|
 Anthony "Showtime" Pettis |
|
| Born | (1987-01-27) January 27, 1987 (age 25) Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Other names | Showtime |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 154.5 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb) |
| Division | Lightweight (155 lb) |
| Reach | 72 in (183 cm) |
| Style | Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Fighting out of | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Team | Roufusport |
| Rank | 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2007 - present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 17 |
| Wins | 15 |
| By knockout | 6 |
| By submission | 6 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Amateur career | |
| Total | 1 |
| Wins | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Website | Official UFC Profile |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Anthony Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division and is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Pettis has made a name for himself mainly fighting in his home state of Wisconsin. He is a former fighter for the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), where he was the last WEC Lightweight Champion before merging the promotion into the UFC.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Born to Eugene Pettis Jr. and Annette Garcia, Anthony Pettis grew up in the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin along with his older brother Ray Pettis and younger brother Sergio "Lil' Showtime" Pettis.[1] Pettis is of Mexican and Puerto Rican ancestry, his grandfather Anglicized the family name from Perez to Pettis, to avoid discrimination. Pettis attended Dominican High School.[2][3]
Career[link]
Anthony "Showtime" Pettis made his professional MMA debut in December 2007. He compiled an undefeated record of 8-0 in shows all based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin before debuting with the WEC. Pettis also has a professional kickboxing background.
Pettis is coached by legendary Kickboxer and MMA trainer Duke Roufus and is a member of Roufusport where he trains with fighters Alan Belcher, Erik Koch, Ben Rothwell, Ben Askren and Danny Downes.[4]
World Extreme Cagefighting[link]
Pettis made his WEC debut at WEC 41, where he defeated Mike Campbell via triangle choke.
He was then expected to fight Rob McCullough at WEC 44 on November 18, 2009, but was pulled off the card with an undisclosed injury.[5]
Pettis suffered his first professional loss on December 19, 2009 at WEC 45, dropping a close, decision to Bart Palaszewski.[6]
Pettis rebounded from the loss with a victory over Danny Castillo on March 6, 2010 at WEC 47, earning Knockout of the Night.[7] Training for the fight, as well as Pettis' family life, were both documented on an episode of the MTV show, World of Jenks.[1]
Pettis suffered virtually no damage in the bout with Castillo and made a quick return at WEC 48 against Alex Karalexis.[8] He won the fight via submission in the second round.
Pettis faced Shane Roller on August 18, 2010 at WEC 50.[9] Pettis surprised many by taking down Roller multiple times and frustrating him with fast paced scrambles. Pettis displayed a diversity of striking not seen in professional mixed martial arts competition, namely two Capoeira kicks. The martelo as well as the aú batido.[10][11][12] After several submission attempts, Pettis finally secured a fight ending triangle choke in the closing moments of the fight, earning a Submission of the Night bonus.
His last WEC fight came against Ben Henderson on December 16, 2010 at WEC 53 for the WEC Lightweight Championship.[13] The fight was closely contested throughout, providing back and forth action, both standing and on the ground. In the fifth round, Pettis combined Parkour with a Savate Fouette to create what is now called the Showtime Kick by springing off of the cage with his right foot, making a shearing movement with his left leg, then kicking Henderson in the face with his right foot.[14][15] Pettis won the fight via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 48-47) to become the final WEC Lightweight Champion. The fight was also awarded as Fight of the Night which won Henderson and Pettis an extra $10,000.[16]
Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]
In October 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, a majority of the WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.[17]
Pettis was expected to face the winner of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, which took place at UFC 125.[18] However, the bout was declared a draw, and Edgar/Maynard 3 was scheduled for UFC 130, but both fighters received sustained injuries before the fight, which was postponed.[19]
Instead of waiting for the winner of Edgar/Maynard 3, Pettis faced Clay Guida on June 4, 2011 at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale.[20] Despite repeatedly getting taken down by Guida, Pettis showed good defense off his back, controlling Guida's wrists and making multiple submission attempts, while taking little damage, even securing Guida's back but Guida was able to escape and in return secured Pettis's back to end the third round ultimately giving Guida the victory via unanimous decision.[21][22]
Pettis defeated Jeremy Stephens via split decision on October 8, 2011 at UFC 136 in a closely contested bout. Pettis used superior wrestling which was showcased in round 2, where he was able to take Stephens down three times.[23]
Pettis faced Joe Lauzon on February 25, 2012 at UFC 144.[24] He won the fight via first round KO, with a head kick followed by punches. His performance earned Knockout of the Night honors.
Showtime Sports Bar[link]
Along with Duke Roufus, Pettis owns the Showtime Sports Bar in Milwaukee.[25][26]
Commercials[link]
Pettis along with Jon Jones, Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez, Mark Muñoz, Chad Mendes, and Scott Jorgensen starred in a Form Athletics (now owned by K-Swiss) commercial.[27]
Championships and Accomplishments[link]
Mixed Martial Arts[link]
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Knockout of the Night (One Time)
- World Extreme Cagefighting
- WEC Lightweight Championship (One time, final)
- Knockout of the Night (One time)
- Submission of the Night (One time)
- Fight of the Night (One time)
- Gladiators Fighting Series
- Gladiators Fighting Series Lighweight Championship
- Sherdog
- MMA Live
- 2010 Breakout Star of the Year[29]
Mixed martial arts record[link]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 17 matches | 15 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 0 |
| By submission | 6 | 0 |
| By decision | 3 | 2 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 15–2 | Joe Lauzon | KO (head kick and punches) | UFC 144 | 02012-02-26February 26, 2012 | 1 | 1:21 | Saitama, Japan | Knockout of the Night. |
| Win | 14–2 | Jeremy Stephens | Decision (split) | UFC 136 | 02011-10-08October 8, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
| Loss | 13–2 | Clay Guida | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale | 02011-06-04June 4, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 13–1 | Ben Henderson | Decision (unanimous) | WEC 53 | 02010-12-16December 16, 2010 | 5 | 5:00 | Glendale, Arizona, United States | Won the WEC Lightweight Championship, Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 12–1 | Shane Roller | Submission (triangle choke) | WEC 50 | 02010-08-18August 18, 2010 | 3 | 4:51 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Submission of the Night. |
| Win | 11–1 | Alex Karalexis | Submission (triangle choke) | WEC 48 | 02010-04-24April 24, 2010 | 2 | 1:35 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Win | 10–1 | Danny Castillo | KO (head kick and punches) | WEC 47 | 02010-03-06March 6, 2010 | 1 | 2:27 | Columbus, Ohio, United States | Knockout of the Night |
| Loss | 9–1 | Bart Palaszewski | Decision (split) | WEC 45 | 02009-12-19December 19, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 9–0 | Mike Campbell | Submission (triangle choke) | WEC 41 | 02009-06-07June 7, 2009 | 1 | 1:49 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Win | 8–0 | Gabe Walbridge | TKO (punches) | GFS: Season's Beatings | 02008-12-13December 13, 2008 | 1 | 0:56 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | Defended Gladiators Fighting Series Lighweight Championship |
| Win | 7–0 | Jay Ellis | Submission (punches) | GFS 55 | 02008-10-04October 4, 2008 | 1 | 1:12 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | Defended Gladiators Fighting Series Lighweight Championship |
| Win | 6–0 | Sherron Leggett | Decision (split) | GFS: Fight Club | 02008-06-21June 21, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | Won Gladiators Fighting Series Lighweight Championship |
| Win | 5–0 | Mike Lambrecht | KO (head kick) | GFS: Knockout Kings | 02008-03-29March 29, 2008 | 1 | 1:49 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | George Barrazza | TKO (punches) | GFS: The Warriors | 02008-02-16February 16, 2008 | 1 | 4:31 | Wisconsin, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Michael Skinner | Submission (punches) | GFS: Seasons Beatings | 02007-12-01December 1, 2007 | 1 | 0:36 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Lonny Amdahl | Submission (injury) | GFS: Rumble in the Cage | 02007-08-17August 17, 2007 | 1 | 0:12 | Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Tom Erspamer | TKO (punches) | GFS: Super Brawl | 02007-01-27January 27, 2007 | 1 | 0:24 | United States |
Television[link]
Pettis appeared on episode 4 of World of Jenks, where documentary maker Andrew Jenks lived with Pettis for a week before his fight against Danny Castillo at WEC 47.[1] The episode gave an inside look into Pettis' fight preparations as well as giving insights into his family life.[1]
References[link]
- ^ a b c d Presenters: Andrew Jenks (September 27, 2010). "Fifty Fists". World of Jenks. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/videos/world-of-jenks-ep-4-fifty-fists/1648770/playlist.jhtml#series=2211&seriesId=31526&channelId=1.
- ^ http://www.jsonline.com/sports/etc/47108257.html Fighting chance: Pettis finds MMA stage despite obstacles
- ^ http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/mma-article.asp?aid=657&issid=44 5 Minutes With Anthony Pettis
- ^ Kyle Nagel. "Fight Path: WEC's Anthony Pettis found MMA after father's tragic death". http://mmajunkie.com/news/14940/fight-path-wecs-anthony-pettis-found-mma-after-fathers-tragic-death.mma.
- ^ "Anthony Pettis forced out of WEC 44, Rob McCullough's new opponent uncertain". mmajunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/16556/anthony-pettis-forced-out-of-wec-44-rob-mcculloughs-new-opponent-uncertain.mma. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
- ^ "Bart Palaszewski vs. Anthony Pettis on tap for WEC 45 in December". mmajunkie.com. 2009-10-30. http://mmajunkie.com/news/16665/bart-palaszewski-vs-anthony-pettis-on-tap-for-wec-45-cerrone-vs-ratcliff-in-december.mma.
- ^ "Danny Castillo and Anthony Pettis meet in lightweight matchup at WEC 47". www.mmajunkie.com. 2010-01-25. http://mmajunkie.com/news/17683/danny-castillo-and-anthony-pettis-meet-in-lightweight-matchup-at-wec-47.mma.
- ^ "Anthony Pettis vs. Alex Karalexis in the works for star-studded WEC 48 event". mmajunkie.com. 2010-03-13. http://mmajunkie.com/news/18286/anthony-pettis-vs-alex-karalexis-in-the-works-for-star-studded-wec-48-event.mma.
- ^ "Anthony Pettis vs. Shane Roller on tap for WEC 50 in August". mmajunkie.com. 2010-06-09. http://mmajunkie.com/news/19464/anthony-pettis-vs-shane-roller-on-tap-for-wec-50-in-august.mma.
- ^ Steve Cofield "In a classic, Pettis triangles Roller at WEC 50", [1], Yahoo! Sports, August 18, 2010
- ^ Michael David Smith "WEC 50: Anthony Pettis Submits Shane Roller", [2], Aol Sports, August 18, 2010
- ^ Kid Nate "Bloody Elbow Judo Chop: Anthony Pettis Unleashes the Aú Batido on Shane Roller at WEC 50", [3], SB Nation, August 19, 2010
- ^ "HENDERSON VS. PETTIS OFFICIAL FOR WEC DEC 16". MMAweekly.com. 2010-09-23. http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=12683&zoneid=13.
- ^ Mitch Ciccarelli "Anthony Pettis' Kick and the Best Finishing Moves in MMA History", [4], Bleacher Report, December 17, 2011
- ^ Seth Pollack "Anthony Pettis 'Showtime' Kick Seen Cageside Changed My View Of MMA", [5], SB Nation, December 17, 2011
- ^ "WEC 53 bonuses: Wineland, Roller, Pettis and Henderson earn $10K awards". http://mmajunkie.com/news/21790/wec-53-bonuses-wineland-roller-pettis-and-henderson-earn-10k-awards.mma.
- ^ "UFC and WEC set to merge in 2011; events to air on Versus and Spike TV". mmajunkie.com. October 28, 2010. http://mmajunkie.com/news/21189/ufc-and-wec-set-to-merge-in-2011-events-to-air-on-versus-and-spike-tv.mma.
- ^ "The Heart of a Champion: Anthony Pettis Looks to Unify the Lightweight Titles". mmagospel.com. December 24, 2010. http://www.mmagospel.com/the-heart-of-a-champion-anthony-pettis-looks-to-unify-the-lightweight-titles/.
- ^ "Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard 3 (not Anthony Pettis) next up for lightweight champion". mmamania.com. January 2, 2011. http://www.mmamania.com/2011/1/2/1908674/frankie-edgar-vs-gray-maynard-3-not-anthony-pettis-next-up-for.
- ^ "Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida set, tapped The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale headliner". mmajunkie.com. January 21, 2011. http://mmajunkie.com/news/22176/anthony-pettis-vs-clay-guida-set-tapped-headliner-of-tuf-13-finale.mma.
- ^ Frank, Hyden. "Has Clay Guida Earned a Title Shot?". Has Clay Guida Earned a Title Shot?. MMATorch. http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/hydenstake/article_9563.shtml. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ^ Matt, Erickson. "TUF 13 Finale Live Blog: Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida Updates". TUF 13 Finale Live Blog: Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Guida Updates. MMA Fighting. http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/06/04/tuf-13-finale-live-blog-anthony-pettis-vs-clay-guida-updates/. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ^ "UFC 136: Anthony Pettis vs Jeremy Stephens announced for Oct. 8 in Houston, Texas". mmamania.com. July 16, 2011. http://www.mmamania.com/2011/7/16/2279302/ufc-136-anthony-pettis-vs-jeremy-stephens-announced-for-oct-8-in.
- ^ "Anthony Pettis-Melvin Guillard Official for UFC 144 in Japan, Not Vegas". heavymma.com. November 15, 2011. http://www.heavy.com/mma/mma-news/2011/11/anthony-pettis-joe-lauzon-official-for-ufc-144-in-japan-not-vegas/.
- ^ "Roufus Pettis Showtime Sports Bar & Grill". http://showtimemke.com/. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ City of Milwaukee. "Property List". http://isdweb1.ci.mil.wi.us/cgi-bin/Iscola.dll?colaid=biadmin&sid=7448534&colaseq=38517&formid=biremast&Taxkey=1800411000&btnremast=Yes. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ "FORM Apparel Collection - Fall 2011 Lookbook Preview". FORM Athletics. http://www.heavy.com/mma/mma-videos/mma-video/2011/02/video-form-athletics-2011-commercial/. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/5/Sherdogs-2010-Misc-Awards-29168
- ^ http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5999438
External links[link]
| Preceded by Ben Henderson |
7th WEC Lightweight Champion December 16, 2010 - December 16, 2010 |
Vacant
WEC Lightweight division
was dissolved into the UFC |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Pettis, Anthony |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | American martial artist |
| Date of birth | January 27, 1987 |
| Place of birth | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Anthony_Pettis
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Anthony Pettis
http://pt.wn.com/Anthony Pettis
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Pettis
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Dana White | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | (1969-07-28) July 28, 1969 (age 42) Manchester, CT, U.S. |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | President |
| Known for | Managing The Ultimate Fighting Championship |
| Style | Boxercise [1] |
| Net worth |  US$150 million (2010)[2] |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in |
| Spouse | Anne |
| Children | 3 |
Dana White (born July 28, 1969) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.
Contents |
Biography[link]
Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969, White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ware, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.[3]
White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms[4] in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.
While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president.[5] White currently owns about 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.[3]
White failed to comment on a potential network broadcast deal at the UFC 136 press conference. The next day it was confirmed that the UFC and Fox broadcast networks had made a multiple year deal.[6]
Controversy[link]
Loretta Hunt[link]
On April 1, 2009, White was videotaped in a verbal tirade against Loretta Hunt, a sportswriter for Sherdog, in response to an article she wrote. In the video posted on his YouTube account, White used derogatory language in an obscenity-laced rant. The video was pulled from his official UFC YouTube page but has been widely republished across the internet and come under fire, including by GLAAD for his use of anti-gay slurs.[7][8][9] White would later apologize for his slurs. He specifically did not include Hunt in the apology.[10] Hunt responded by saying "I stand by the story. It's accurate."[citation needed]
Miguel Torres[link]
In December of 2011, White cut fighter Miguel Torres from the UFC after Torres tweeted "If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises." In an interview with Sports Illustrated confirming Torres' firing over the controversial remarks, White claimed "Now there's no explanation for that. There's absolutely nothing I could say to make any sense of that. And the fact that he even thinks that's funny or that's a joke, it disturbs me. It bothers me." The firing of Torres immediately sparked controversy after it was revealed that White did not similarly punish two fighters of greater marquee value – Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans, both of whom have fought in the main event of multiple Pay-Per-View cards and the latter slated to fight in the main event of a fight card scheduled to air on the FOX network on January 28, 2012 – for making similarly offensive remarks:[11] Griffin commenting that "Rape is the new missionary"[12] and Evans evoking the recent child abuse scandal involving Penn State University while promoting a fight.[13] Torres has since re-signed with the UFC after having a talk with Dana.
Charity[link]
In December 2010 White donated $50,000 to the Fransisco Espinoza foundation. White donated approximately $8,000 to help pay for the brain tumor treatment of two-year-old British girl, Ruby Owen. The young girl's family had described themselves as being "shocked and over the moon". Ruby Owen's uncle, being a UFC fan had contacted White via email and asked if he could help by donating to the Ruby Owen fund raising website. White and Owen have never officially met.[14] In an act of compassion towards a fan, he gave $300 to one man without hesitation who said that he "just received a speeding ticket while racing across town to meet him".[15] Shortly after being named 2009 Nevada Sportsman of The Year, White added $100,000 from his pocket to the $250,000 total raised for the fund raising marathon sponsored by ESPN Radio 1100 for Las Vegas.[16]
Feud with M-1 Global[link]
After signing negotiations with M-1 Global Russian Heavyweight MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko fell through in 2009,[17] White and the UFC became the subject of debate and criticism from fans and experts alike. On several occasions, White referred to Emelianenko as "a fake, a phony and a farce.[18][19]
On June 26th, 2010 following Emelianenko's first legitimate defeat of his career to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum, White shared a simple ":)" via Twitter.[20] The same symbol was expressed by White following Emelianenko's 2nd round doctor stoppage loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the opening round of the 2011 Strikeforce GP.[21] White followed this with an insult to Fedor's manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein.[22] This began a war of words on the social networking site. M-1 Global’s director of operations, Evgeni Kogan, stood up for Finkelstein and invited White to repeat his words to Finkelstein in person. When fans attempted to reason with White, they were met with similar contempt and insults.[23]
There is controversy over whether Fedor Emelianenko and White have actually met.[24] White has claimed to have met Emelianenko on a "crazy island in the middle of nowhere".[25] In 2011, Emelianenko denied that this encounter ever took place.[26]
Personal life[link]
White and his wife have two sons and a daughter.[27] He is an atheist, and has stated that he is "fascinated" by religion.[28]
Accomplishments[link]
- Nevada Sportsman of the Year (2009)[29]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards
- Promoter of the Year (2005–2011/present)[30][31]
- World MMA Awards
- Leading Man of the Year 2011
- Leading Man of the Year 2010
- Armed Forces Foundation
- Patriot Award[32]
References[link]
- ^ "Dana White, King of MMA". thefightnerd.com. http://www.thefightnerd.com/dana-white-king-of-mma-review-of-the-tell-all-biography-by-dana-whites-mom/. Retrieved 2011-3-28.
- ^ Dana White Salary. celebritynetworth.com
- ^ a b McCarthy, Michael (2005-04-10). "Battles yield winning 'Fighter'". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2005-04-10-white-usat_x.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- ^ Willert, Tim (1997-04-16). "Box aerobics class packs serious punch". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lasvegasnewspapers.com/. Retrieved 1997-04-16.
- ^ Wickert, Marc (2004). "Dana White and the future of UFC". Knucklepit.com. Mirror
- ^ Jonathan Stenvall. "BackstageOL With UFC 136′s Dana White, Edgar, Maynard, Aldo and Florian". http://www.backstageol.com/interviews/backstageol-with-ufc-136s-dana-white-edgar-maynard-aldo-and-florian/. BackstageOL. http://www.backstageol.com/interviews/backstageol-with-ufc-136s-dana-white-edgar-maynard-aldo-and-florian/. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ Marvez, Alex (2009-04-02). "White's rant sends UFC down dangerous path". Fox Sports. http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/9408882/White's-rant-sends-UFC-down-dangerous-path. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "White uses slurs in video blog". ESPN. 2009-04-02. http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=4038031. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "UFC boss curses out female reporter in tirade". Fox Sports. 2009-04-02. http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/9407680/UFC-boss-curses-out-female-reporter-in-tirade. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "White sorry for anti-gay slur". ESPN.com. April 3, 2009. http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=4038944.
- ^ Treadway, Dan (2011-12-12). "Miguel Torres Rape Joke: MMA Fighter Released By UFC Following Controversial Tweet". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/12/miguel-torres-rape-joke-tweet-ufc_n_1140176.html. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ Klopman, Michael (2011-11-09). "Forrest Griffin Rape Jokes: MMA Fighter Sparks Controversy On Twitter". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/09/forrest-griffin-rape-jokes-twitter_n_1084471.html. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ "UFC president speaks to fighter Rashad Evans after Penn State trash talk". The Winnipeg Free Press. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/breakingnews/ufc-president-speaks-to-fighter-rashad-evans-after-penn-state-trash-talk-135269453.html. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ UFC president makes charity donation | Ruby Owen | Dana White. This is Staffordshire (2010-03-01). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
- ^ Dana White Pays For A Fan’s $300 Speeding Ticket. Fightofthenight.Com (2010-08-01). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
- ^ Wrestling – Dana White Named 2009 Nevada Sportsman Of The Year. 411mania.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
- ^ Fedor Emelianenko Signs With Strikeforce. Five Ounces of Pain. Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
- ^ Dana White: “Fedor Emelianenko is a Fake, a Phony and a Farce”. 5thRound.com (2010-07-03). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
- ^ Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography. Sherdog.com (1976-09-28). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
- ^ Dante Hulligan Dana White Twitter on Fedor vs Werdum Fight : A Very Big SMILEY!! tekkenphilippines.com. June 27, 2010
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Dana White Issues Lengthy Response to Fedor Emelianenko Loss. 5thRound.com (2011-02-13). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
- ^ Dana White Twitter War: UFC President Destroys Fedor Fans After Loss To Silva – Bleacher Report. February 13, 2011
- ^ Will Someone Introduce Dana White to Fedor Emelianenko?. MMA Fighting. Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
- ^ Dana White Describes Meeting With Fedor Emelianenko For The First Time. FightLine.com (2010-11-01). Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "UFC boss fights clock Gung-ho White wishes there were more hours in day". ReviewJournal.com. 2009-07-07. http://www.lvrj.com/news/50118557.html. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ "Dana White Tells Playboy About His Atheism, Steroid Use and Love for Donald Trump". MMA Fighting. http://www.mmafighting.com/2008/08/14/dana-white-tells-playboy-about-his-atheism-steroid-use-and-love. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ "Dana White honored as "Sportsman of the Year" while $2K awarded to The Caring Place. Dana White has been quoted as saying "June 26, 2010 is the happiest day of my life.". MMAjunkie. 2009-07-27. http://mmajunkie.com/news/15646/dana-white-honored-as-sportsman-of-the-year-while-250k-awarded-to-the-caring-place.mma. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 26, 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Campbell, CA): 1–40. ISSN 10839593.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 30, 2012). "Jan 30 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Gigantic year-end awards issue, best and worst in all categories plus UFC on FX 1, death of Savannah Jack, ratings, tons and tons of news". Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Campbell, CA). ISSN 10839593.
- ^ Mrosko, Geno. (2009-03-19) UFCs Dana White accepts Patriot Award for humanitarian efforts to raise money for injured soldiers. MMAmania.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-23.
External links[link]
- UFC homepage
- June/July Men's Fitness cover story
- Dana White at the Internet Movie Database
- Dana White on Twitter
- Dana White Signs Fox
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | White, Dana |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | President of the UFC |
| Date of birth | 1969-07-28 |
| Place of birth | Manchester, CT, U.S. |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Dana_White
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Уайт, Дэйна
http://fr.wn.com/Dana White
http://pt.wn.com/Dana White
http://de.wn.com/Dana White
http://it.wn.com/Dana White
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_White
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Donald Cerrone | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Donald Anthony Cerrone (1983-03-29) March 29, 1983 (age 29) Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
| Other names | Cowboy |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 156 lb (71 kg; 11.1 st) |
| Division | Lightweight |
| Reach | 73.0 in (185 cm)[1][2] |
| Style | Kickboxing |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Team | Jackson's Submission Fighting |
| Trainer | Greg Jackson Duane Ludwig |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 29 |
| Wins | 28 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 23 |
| Wins | 18 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 13 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Losses | 4 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 3 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Website | http://www.donaldcerrone.com |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
|
|
|
Donald Anthony Cerrone (born March 29, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist and Muay Thai kickboxer who fights out of Albuquerque, New Mexico and currently competes as a lightweight in the UFC.
Contents |
Mixed martial arts career[link]
Donald started his career in Commerce City, Colorado at a gym called Freedom Fighters, winning his first 25 Muay Thai bouts. Cerrone began training with Jon JonesRashad Evans, Nathan Marquardt, Keith Jardine, Georges St. Pierre, Leonard Garcia and other skilled MMA fighters at Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting Gaidojutsu school in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He was featured on the Versus television series TapouT, where he was sponsored before his fight with Anthony Njokuani. Cerrone won the fight in the first round with a triangle choke.
World Extreme Cagefighting[link]
Cerrone was signed to fight in the WEC. His first fight in the promotion was against Kenneth Alexander. Originally a win via submission in 0:54 seconds of the first round, the decision was changed to a no contest when Cerrone tested positive for the banned substance hydrochlorothiazide.[3]
Cerrone was scheduled to face Rich Crunkilton at WEC 34, but Crunkilton was forced off the card with an injury and replaced by Danny Castillo.[4] Cerrone won the bout via submission at 1:30 of the first round.
At WEC 38 he fought WEC lightweight champion, Jamie Varner, for the abovementioned title, losing via technical split decision. The fight was highly competitive and won the Fight of the Night award. However, the fight was stopped prematurely in the fifth round when Cerrone hit Varner's temple with an illegal knee while Varner was still on the ground. Varner was given time to recover, but he was unable to continue, noting that he had double vision and had sustained a broken hand.
Cerrone was again scheduled to face Rich Crunkilton on June 7, 2009 at WEC 41, but Crunkilton was forced off the card with an injury and replaced by James Krause.[5] Cerrone defeated James Krause via first round submission.
Cerrone and Varner had agreed to a rematch, tentatively at WEC 43, but Varner was unable to receive medical clearance as a result from his hand injury. Cerrone fought Ben Henderson for the WEC Interim Lightweight Championship on October 10, 2009 at WEC 43 in San Antonio, Texas,[6] losing by unanimous decision. The fight was awarded Fight of the Year honors by Sherdog for 2009. Cerrone credited Henderson for being "a hell of a fighter" and conceded that he was slow to start the action, which may have cost him the match.[7]
Cerrone defeated Ed Ratcliff via third round submission at WEC 45 on December 19, 2009.[8] The bout also earned Cerrone Fight of the Night honors.
Cerrone fought Ben Henderson in a rematch of their 2009 fight of the year, this time for the WEC Lightweight Championship on April 24, 2010 at WEC 48.[9] Cerrone lost via first round guillotine choke submission.[10]
Cerrone faced rival Jamie Varner in their highly anticipated rematch on September 30, 2010 at WEC 51.[11] He won the fight via unanimous decision, winning all 3 rounds. In between rounds, there were often many shoves and middle fingers given by both fighters to one another, including a shove at the very end of the match. In the post fight interview, Cerrone declared he'd be willing to do a rematch in Arizona, Varner's home state, to settle their score once and for all. The bout won Fight of the Night honors.
Cerrone instead faced Chris Horodecki on December 16, 2010 at WEC 53.[12] He won via submission in the second round after holding his triangle choke for a long period of time. During the post fight interview Cerrone called out Cole Miller for his UFC debut. However, it is already planned that Cole Miller will fight Matt Wiman at UFC: Fight For The Troops 2.
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.[13]
Cerrone faced Paul Kelly on February 5, 2011 at UFC 126, replacing an injured Sam Stout.[14] Cerrone defeated Kelly via tapout due to a rear naked choke. For their performance, both fighters earned "Fight of the Night" honors.
Cerrone was expected to face Mac Danzig on June 11, 2011 at UFC 131.[15] However, Danzig was forced out of the bout with a chest injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Vagner Rocha.[16] Cerrone won the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26), having neutralized his opponent's ability to get close and grapple by way of punishing leg kicks. During the post-fight interview Cerrone apologized for his performance, admitting he "fought to not lose, not to win."[17]
Cerrone was expected to face Paul Taylor on August 14, 2011 at UFC on Versus 5, replacing an injured John Makdessi. On July 7 it was announced that Taylor had broken his foot and was forced out of the bout and replaced by Charles Oliveira.[18] He didn’t waste much time in the fight, landing a hook to the body of Oliveira that dropped him. He then swarmed Oliveira, defeating him via TKO three minutes into the opening round, earning Knockout of Night honors for the performance.[19]
Cerrone faced Dennis Siver on October 29, 2011 at UFC 137, replacing Sam Stout.[20] Cerrone defeated Siver via first round submission, earning Submission of the Night honors.
Cerrone lost to Nate Diaz at UFC 141 via unanimous decision, in a performance that earned both participants Fight of the Night honors.[21] Despite knocking Diaz off of his feet multiple times with leg kicks, Cerrone could not offset the volume punches from Diaz, as Diaz landed 82% of the strikes he threw en route to his victory over Cerrone.[22] On his loss to Diaz Cerrone stated, "You know instinct, I think that's the thing a lot of people aren't doing. That's where I made the mistake in my last fight, is, you need to learn to turn your brain off and just go by reactions. Don't go in there and try and think and do things and fight with your brain, because that's the thing, I got angry and tried to kill him, and when you try to go to hard you just can't do it."[23]
Cerrone was expected to face Yves Edwards on May 15, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier.[24] However, Edwards was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by Jeremy Stephens.[25] Cerrone defeated Stephens by unanimous decision.
Personal[link]
Cerrone currently lives on a 10-acre (40,000 m2) ranch and is looking to house several fighters that want to make a career in MMA. He calls it the "TapOut Ranch" and has dedicated an entire wing for fighters wanting to live and train with world class talent. He lives there with best friend, Leonard Garcia.
Championships and achievements[link]
Mixed martial arts[link]
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (Two times)
- Knockout of the Night (One time)
- Submission of the Night (One time)
- World Extreme Cagefighting
- Fight of the Night (Five times)
- Sherdog
- 2009 Fight of the Year (against Ben Henderson)[26]
- 2008 Round of the Year (against Rob McCullough, Round 1)
- World MMA Awards
- 2011 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year
Muay Thai[link]
- 2006 S-1 United States Muay Thai champion
- 2006 Dominion Warrior Light Heavyweight World champion
Mixed martial arts record[link]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 23 matches | 18 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 0 |
| By submission | 13 | 1 |
| By decision | 4 | 3 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 18–4 (1) | Jeremy Stephens | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier | 02012-05-15May 15, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Fairfax, Virginia, United States | |
| Loss | 17–4 (1) | Nate Diaz | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 141 | 02011-12-30December 30, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 17–3 (1) | Dennis Siver | Submission (rear naked choke) | UFC 137 | 02011-10-29October 29, 2011 | 1 | 2:22 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Submission of the Night |
| Win | 16–3 (1) | Charles Oliveira | TKO (punches) | UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle | 02011-08-14August 14, 2011 | 1 | 3:01 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | Knockout of the Night |
| Win | 15–3 (1) | Vagner Rocha | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 131 | 02011-06-11June 11, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Win | 14–3 (1) | Paul Kelly | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 126 | 02011-02-05February 5, 2011 | 2 | 3:48 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night |
| Win | 13–3 (1) | Chris Horodecki | Submission (triangle choke) | WEC 53 | 02010-12-16December 16, 2010 | 2 | 2:43 | Glendale, Arizona, United States | |
| Win | 12–3 (1) | Jamie Varner | Decision (unanimous) | WEC 51 | 02010-09-30September 30, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | Fight of the Night |
| Loss | 11–3 (1) | Benson Henderson | Submission (guillotine choke) | WEC 48 | 02010-04-24April 24, 2010 | 1 | 1:57 | Sacramento, California, United States | For WEC Lightweight Championship |
| Win | 11–2 (1) | Ed Ratcliff | Submission (rear-naked choke) | WEC 45 | 02009-12-19December 19, 2009 | 3 | 3:47 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night |
| Loss | 10–2 (1) | Benson Henderson | Decision (unanimous) | WEC 43 | 02009-10-10October 10, 2009 | 5 | 5:00 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | For Interim WEC Lightweight Championship, Fight of the Night, Sherdog Fight of the Year |
| Win | 10–1 (1) | James Krause | Submission (rear-naked choke) | WEC 41 | 02009-06-07June 7, 2009 | 1 | 4:38 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Loss | 9–1 (1) | Jamie Varner | Technical Decision (split) | WEC 38 | 02009-01-25January 25, 2009 | 5 | 3:10 | San Diego, California, United States | For WEC Lightweight Championship; Fight of the Night; Varner hit with illegal knee in 5th round. |
| Win | 9–0 (1) | Rob McCullough | Decision (unanimous) | WEC 36 | 02008-11-05November 5, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | WEC Lightweight Championship #1 contendership; Fight of the Night |
| Win | 8–0 (1) | Danny Castillo | Submission (armbar) | WEC 34 | 02008-06-01June 1, 2008 | 1 | 1:30 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| NC | 7–0 (1) | Kenneth Alexander | No Contest: Overturned by NSAC | WEC 30 | 02007-09-05September 5, 2007 | 1 | 0:56 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Originally a win by triangle choke. Tested positive for banned substances. |
| Win | 7–0 | Yasunori Kanehara | Submission (triangle choke) | GCM: Cage Force 3 | 02007-06-09June 9, 2007 | 2 | 2:46 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 6–0 | Anthony Njokuani | Submission (triangle choke) | ROF 29: Aftershock | 02007-04-28April 28, 2007 | 1 | 4:30 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Ryan Roberts | Submission (armbar) | ROF 28: Evolution | 02007-02-16February 16, 2007 | 1 | 1:49 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Jesse Brock | Submission (triangle choke) | ROF 26: Relentless | 02006-09-09September 9, 2006 | 1 | 1:35 | Castle Rock, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Craig Tennant | Submission (armbar) | ROF 24: Integrity | 02006-06-17June 17, 2006 | 1 | 1:26 | Castle Rock, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Cruz Chacon | Submission (triangle choke) | ACF: Genesis | 02006-02-24February 24, 2006 | 2 | 2:25 | Denver, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Nate Mohr | Submission (triangle choke) | ROF 21: Full Blast | 02006-02-11February 11, 2006 | 1 | 1:42 | Castle Rock, Colorado, United States |
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ http://www.fightmagazine.com/fighters/donald-cerrone-2607.htm
- ^ http://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/bouts/ufc-131-mac-danzig-vs-donald-cowboy-cerrone
- ^ Trembow (2007-09-12). "Cerrone tests positive for diuretic at WEC 30". MMA Weekly. http://www.mmaweekly.com/cerrone-tests-positive-for-diuretic-at-wec-30. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
- ^ "Castillo replaces Crunkilton at WEC 34". mmajunkie.com. 2008-05-28. http://mmajunkie.com/news/4438/castillo-replaces-crunkilton-at-wec-34.mma.
- ^ "Rich Crunkilton Out vs. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, James Krause In:". bloodyelbow.com. http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/4/15/838338/wec-ufc-bout-changes-rich. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
- ^ "WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson on October 10 in San Antonio, Texas". MMAFrenzy.com. 2009-01-02. http://mmafrenzy.com/11420/wec-43-cerrone-vs-henderson-on-october-10-in-san-antonio-texas/. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
- ^ "Donald Cerrone on WEC 43 main event: Benson Henderson definitely won that fight". MMAJunkie.com. 2009-10-10. http://mmajunkie.com/news/16455/donald-cerrone-on-wec-43-main-event-benson-henderson-definitely-won-that-fight.mma. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
- ^ "Lightweight Donald Cerrone says WEC 45 plan for quick start ended at "charge"". MMAJunkie.com. 2009-12-20. http://mmajunkie.com/news/17293/lightweight-donald-cerrone-says-wec-45-plan-for-quick-start-ended-at-charge.mma.
- ^ "WEC 48: Ben Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone II booked for PPV debut on April 24". mmamania.com. http://www.mmamania.com/2010/2/3/1291116/henderson-vs-cerrone-ii-set-for. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- ^ "WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber – Live Results and Commentary". BLOODYELBOW.com. 2010-04-24. http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/4/24/1441784/wec-48-aldo-vs-faber-live-results. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ^ "VARNER VS. CERRONE 2 SIGNED FOR WEC 51". mmaweekly.com. 2010-07-20. http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=12103&zoneid=13.
- ^ "Donald Cerrone vs. Chris Horodecki slotted for WEC 53 in December". mmajunkie.com. October 21, 2010. http://mmajunkie.com/news/21096/donald-cerrone-vs-chris-horodecki-slotted-for-wec-53-in-december.mma.
- ^ "UFC and WEC set to merge in 2011; events to air on Versus and Spike TV". mmajunkie.com. October 28, 2010. http://mmajunkie.com/news/21189/ufc-and-wec-set-to-merge-in-2011-events-to-air-on-versus-and-spike-tv.mma.
- ^ "Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone Steps In To Face Paul Kelly At UFC 126". mmaweekly.com. January 3, 2011. http://mmaweekly.com/donald-cowboy-cerrone-steps-in-to-face-paul-kelly-at-ufc-126.
- ^ "Mac Danzig vs. Donald Cerrone grudge match slotted for UFC 131 in Vancouver". mmajunkie.com. March 14, 2011. http://mmajunkie.com/news/22832/mac-danzig-vs-donald-cerrone-grudge-match-slotted-for-ufc-131-in-vancouver.mma.
- ^ "Mac Danzig out at UFC 131, Vagner Rocha now faces Donald Cerrone". MMAJunkie.com. May 17, 2011. http://mmajunkie.com/news/23641/mac-danzig-out-at-ufc-131-vagner-rocha-now-faces-donald-cerrone.mma.
- ^ "UFC 131 Results: Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone Punishes Vagner Rocha To Win Unanimous Decision". mmaweekly.com. 2011-06-11. http://mmaweekly.com/ufc-131-results-donald-cowboy-cerrone-punishes-vagner-rocha-to-win-unanimous-decision. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
- ^ "Paul Taylor gets Cerrone examination on August 14". espn.co.uk.. June 27, 2011. http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/98453.html.
- ^ "UFC on Versus 5 Fighters Score $65,000 Bonuses". MMAweekly.com. 2011-08-14. http://mmaweekly.com/ufc-on-versus-5-fighters-score-65000-bonuses-chris-lytle-rakes-it-in.
- ^ "Donald Cerrone replaces Sam Stout at UFC 137, meets Dennis Siver". mmajunkie.com. August 29, 2011. http://mmajunkie.com/news/25009/donald-cerrone-replaces-sam-stout-at-ufc-137.mma. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^ Marrocco, Steven (October 30, 2011). "Donald Cerrone vs. Nate Diaz targeted for UFC 141 in Las Vegas". MMAjunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/25880/donald-cerrone-vs-nate-diaz-targeted-for-ufc-141-in-las-vegas.mma. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.mmamania.com/2012/3/14/2872076/donald-cowboy-cerrone-jeremy-stephens-ufc-mma-fuel-tv-3
- ^ {{cite web|url=ref>"Donald Cerrone vs. Yves Edwards added to May's UFC on Fuel TV 3 event". MMAjunkie.com. February 8, 2012. http://mmajunkie.com/news/27337/donald-cerrone-vs-yves-edwards-added-to-mays-ufc-on-fx-3-event.mma. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- ^ "Edwards out, Stephens in against Cerrone at UFC on FUEL TV 3". MMAjunkie.com. February 27, 2012. http://mmajunkie.com/news/27603/edwards-out-stephens-again-against-cerrone-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-3.mma. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Sherdogs-Fight-of-the-Year-21996
External links[link]
- Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone Official site
- Tapout Ranch Official site
- Blue Chip Management Official site
- Professional MMA record for Donald Cerrone from Sherdog
- UFC Profile
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cerrone, Donald |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | American martial artist |
| Date of birth | March 29, 1983 |
| Place of birth | Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
