Civil rights activists at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 1963

Barricade at the Paris Commune, 1871

Activism consists of intentional efforts to promote, impede or direct social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing businesses, rallies, street marches, strikes, sit-ins, and hunger strikes.

Activists can function in roles as public officials, as in judicial activism. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. introduced the term "judicial activism" in a January 1947 Fortune magazine article titled "The Supreme Court: 1947."^[1]

Some activists try to persuade people to change their behavior directly, rather than to persuade governments to change or not to change laws. The cooperative movement seeks to build new institutions which conform to cooperative principles, and generally does not lobby or protest politically, and clergymen often exhort their parishioners to follow a particular moral code or system.

As with those who engage other activities such as singing or running, the term may apply broadly to anyone who engages in it even briefly, or be more narrowly limited to those for whom it is a vocation, habit or characteristic practice. In the narrower sense environmental activists that align themselves with Earth First or Road Protestors would commonly be labelled activists, whilst a local community fighting to stop their park or green being sold off or built on would fit the broader application, due to their using similar means to similarly conservative ends. In short activism is not always an action by Activists.^[2]

Methods[link]

This article mainly consists of lists. The information may be better understood by either replacing or supporting with prose. You can help by consulting the relevant guideline and making appropriate changes or additions. Editing help is available. (February 2012)

The longest running peace vigil in US history, started by activist Thomas in 1981.

• Civil disobedience
• Community building
  • Activism industry
  • Conflict transformation
  • Cooperative movement
  • Craftivism
  • Voluntary simplicity
• Economic activism
  • Boycott
    • Veganism (boycott of animal usage)
    • Vegetarianism (boycott of animal meat usage)
  • Divestment (a.k.a. Disinvestment)
  • Simple living
  • Tax resistance
• Franchise activism
• Lobbying
• Media activism
  • Culture jamming
  • Hacktivism
  • Internet activism
• Nonviolence
• Peace activist and Peace movement
• Political campaigning
• Propaganda
  • Guerrilla communication
• Protest
  • Demonstration
  • Direct action
  • Protest songs
  • Theater for Social Change
• Strike action
• Youth activism
  • Student activism
  • Youth-led media

See also[link]

• Advocacy Evaluation
• Advocacy group
• Agitator
• Community leader
• Feminism
• Master Legend
• Restorationism
• Social engineering (political science)
• Social movement
• Virtual volunteering

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Paul Rogat Loeb, Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time (St Martin's Press, 2010). ISBN 978-0-312-59537-1.
• Randy Shaw, The Activist's Handbook: A Primer for the 1990s and Beyond (University of California Press, 1996). ISBN 0-520-20317-8.
• David Walls, The Activist's Almanac: The Concerned Citizen's Guide to the Leading Advocacy Organizations in America (Simon & Schuster/Fireside, 1993). ISBN 0-671-74634-0.
• Victor Gold, Liberwocky (Thomas Nelson, 2004). ISBN 978-0-7852-6057-8.

Kal Penn
Kal Penn in 2009
Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement
Incumbent
Assumed office April 8, 2009
President	Barack Obama
Personal details
Born	Kalpen Suresh Modi (1977-04-23) April 23, 1977 (age 35) Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles (B.A.)
Profession	Actor, Politician
Religion	Hinduism

Kalpen Suresh Modi (born April 23, 1977), best known by his stage name Kal Penn, is an American film and television actor, producer, and civil servant.

As an actor, he is known for his roles portraying the character Dr. Lawrence Kutner on the television program House and the character Kumar Patel in the Harold and Kumar comedy films. He is also recognized for his performance in the critically acclaimed film The Namesake. Penn has also taught at the University of Pennsylvania as a visiting lecturer in the Cinema Studies Program.

On April 8, 2009, it was announced that Penn would join the Obama administration as an Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement.^[1] This necessitated that his character Lawrence Kutner be written out of the TV series House.^[1][2] Penn resigned his post as Barack Obama's associate director of public engagement on June 1, 2010, for a brief return to his acting career.^[3] He filmed the third installment of the Harold and Kumar series, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, then returned to the White House Office of Public Engagement as an Associate Director.^[4] In July 2011, he again left the White House, this time for a role in How I Met Your Mother,^[5] and then went back to his political duties.

Early life and education[link]

Penn was born to a Hindu Indian family as Kalpen Suresh Modi in Montclair, New Jersey, the son of Asmita, a fragrance evaluator for a perfume company, and Suresh Modi, an engineer.^[6][7] Both of his parents are Gujarati immigrants from India.^[8] He has stated that stories of his grandparents marching with Mahatma Gandhi for Indian independence were a significant influence on his interest in politics.^[9]

He attended Marlboro Middle School in Marlboro Township, New Jersey and and and played baritone saxophone in the jazz band there. Penn attended The Fine and Performing Arts Academy (a magnet program) at Howell High School for freshman, sophomore, and and junior years; he transferred to Freehold Township High School for senior year; both schools are part of the Freehold Regional High School District. He was active in the schools' theater productions and competed on the Freehold Township forensics team. He attended UCLA, where he double majored in film and sociology.^[10]

Acting career[link]

Penn's feature film debut came in 1998 in Express: Aisle to Glory. He has since appeared in American Desi, National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Malibu's Most Wanted, A Lot Like Love, Dude, Where's the Party?, Love Don't Cost a Thing, Superman Returns, National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, Epic Movie, The Namesake, the Harold and Kumar series, and an uncredited appearance in Deck the Halls. Penn was featured in The Lonely Island's rejected comedy pilot, Awesometown.

Penn says that he derived his acting name, Kal Penn, as a lark: "Almost as a joke to prove friends wrong, and half as an attempt to see if what I was told would work (that anglicized names appeal more to a white-dominated industry), I put 'Kal Penn' on my resume and photos." His audition callbacks rose by 50 percent. He has stated that he prefers his birth name and uses "Kal Penn" only for professional purposes.

In January 2007, Penn appeared in the first four episodes of the sixth season of 24 as Ahmed Amar, a teenage terrorist. Penn says he nearly turned down the role due to personal ethics, stating, "I have a huge political problem with the role. It was essentially accepting a form of racial profiling. I think it’s repulsive. But it was the first time I had a chance to blow stuff up and take a family hostage. As an actor, why shouldn’t I have that opportunity? Because I'm brown and I should be scared about the connection between media images and people's thought processes?"^[11]

Also in January 2007, he appeared in the spoof comedy Epic Movie as well as the television show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In May 2007, Penn received the Asian Excellence Award for Outstanding Actor for his performance in The Namesake.^[12]

In fall 2007, Penn joined the cast of the Fox medical drama House as a fellowship applicant.^[13] E! reported that Penn had signed on as a regular on the show along with Olivia Wilde and Peter Jacobson and this was confirmed in the plot of the episode "Games". Penn continued with the series through to the episode "Simple Explanation", which aired April 6, 2009. He made an additional appearance as Lawrence Kutner on the fifth season finale, "Both Sides Now", that aired on May 11, 2009. However, due to his new job at the White House, Penn could not be present for the filming of this episode. The clip of him saying "Too bad it isn't true" was taken from a previous filming. Penn returned to the show for the series finale.^[14]

Beside his role on the T.V. series House, he is best known from his role in Harold & Kumar, Kumar Patel, a cannabis smoker who goes with Harold Lee (John Cho) to White Castle for a hamburger. Unlike his character, he neither smokes marijuana, claiming it is not for him,^{[15][dead link]} nor eats meat.

On July 13, 2011, it was announced on Facebook that Penn would be joining the cast of How I Met Your Mother for the seventh season of the show.^[16]

Political interests[link]

Kal Penn speaking at a rally for Barack Obama at the University of Maryland's Nyumburu Cultural Center.

Penn was an advocate for Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2007 and 2008 and a member of Obama's National Arts Policy Committee.^[17] He appears in the Barack Obama-supporting video "Sí Se Puede Cambiar" by Andres Useche^[18] and appeared with comedian George Lopez on January 18, 2009, at "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial".

In early 2009, Penn was offered the position of Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement in the Obama administration, which he accepted. This necessitated his character Lawrence Kutner being written out of the TV series House.^[1][19][20] In his new role with the Obama administration, Modi served as a liaison with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities.^[21] He had gone back to using his birth name, Kalpen Modi.^[22]

Having made a commitment before his employment at the White House, Penn amicably left his post as Barack Obama's associate director of public engagement on June 1, 2010 to return to his acting career.^[3] He returned to office on November 15, 2010, following completion of A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.^[23]

In February 2012, it was announced that Penn would be a co-chair for the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama^[24]

Other activities[link]

In 2008, Penn served as a visiting lecturer in Asian American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.^[10][25] His course was titled "Images of Asian Americans in the Media."^[26]

Penn is currently working on a graduate certificate in international security from Stanford University.^[1][10]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television roles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kal Penn

	Asian Americans portal
	Film portal
	Biography portal

• Kal Penn at the Internet Movie Database
• Kal Penn on Twitter

Jeff Monson
Born	Jeffrey William Monson [1] (1971-01-18) January 18, 1971 (age 41) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Other names	The Snowman
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	238.1 lb (108 kg; 17 st 0 lb)
Division	Heavyweight (265 lb) Light Heavyweight (205 lb)
Reach	74 in (188 cm)
Fighting out of	Coconut Creek, Florida, U.S.
Team	American Top Team
Rank	Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Wrestling	NCAA Division I Wrestling
Years active	1997-present
Professional boxing record
Total	3
Wins	2
By knockout	2
Losses	0
Draws	1
Mixed martial arts record
Total	58
Wins	45
By knockout	2
By submission	27
By decision	16
Losses	13
By knockout	2
By submission	2
By decision	9
Other information
University	Oregon State University
Website	http://jeffmonson.com/
Boxing record from Boxrec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: September 14, 2011 (2011-09-14)

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Men's Submission grappling
ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships
Bronze	2009 Barcelona	+99 kg
Gold	2005 Long Beach	+99 kg
Silver	2001 Abu Dhabi	+99 kg
Silver	2000 Abu Dhabi	-99 kg
Gold	1999 Abu Dhabi	-99 kg
FILA Grappling World Championships
Gold	2008 Lucerne	-125 kg (No Gi)
Gold	2007 Antalya	-125 kg (No Gi)
IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships
Gold	2007 Carson	Open (Black; No Gi)
Silver	2007 Carson	+97 kg (Black; No Gi)
Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championships
Gold	2001 Kissimmee	+100 kg (Blue)

Jeffrey William Monson (born January 18, 1971) is an American mixed martial artist from Olympia, Washington. He is a 2 time winner of the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, and a No Gi Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion. He currently holds the Heavyweight titles in the International Sport Karate Association and the Strength & Honor Championship. He is currently affiliated with American Top Team which is based in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Biography[link]

Monson was a Division I wrestler at Oregon State University and at the University of Illinois, and was a Pac-10 champion.^[2] He also competed at senior level at USA Wrestling events for a number of years.^{[citation needed]}

Monson is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and a two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Champion. He is a mixed martial arts fighter and has had three professional boxing bouts. His professional boxing record is two wins and one draw.

Monson is considered to be one of the world's top submission grapplers. He is a multiple event winner at NAGA, Grapplers Quest and FILA, among other submission tournaments.^{[citation needed]} He is nicknamed "The Snowman" for his performance at the 1999 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship. The Brazilian fighters at the tournament gave him the nickname because he came in as an unknown, but beat four Brazilians in a row to win the 88-98 kilogram weight class. As he went along in the tournament and continued to beat his opponents, they said he was like a snowball (white, compact, rolling and getting bigger and stronger as the tournament went on).^[3]

Monson is known for his anarchist views and affiliations. In an interview, he explained, "I am an anarchist, someone who would like to do away with all class hierarchy in society and the institutions that promote this inequality." ^[4] He correspondingly receives sponsorship from AK Press and has several anarchist symbols tattooed on his body. In solidarity, Monson is a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies).^[5]

Monson has a Bachelor's degree and a Master's Degree in psychology. For a few years he worked as a mental health professional, both in a crisis evaluation role as well as a child/family counselor.^{[citation needed]} He has had such major success in Abu Dhabi and other MMA shows that he left the mental health profession to devote himself full time to mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Jeff Monson vs. Sergej Maslobojev in the Cage Wars Championship event "Decade".

After 14 straight victories Monson turned to the UFC. At UFC 57 Monson submitted Branden Lee Hinkle by North-South Choke in the first round. At UFC 59 Monson fought BJJ black belt Marcio Cruz (his long time rival and ADCC veteran). Monson won by decision after 3 rounds. At UFC 61 Monson fought BJJ black belt Anthony Perosh, against whom Monson won by TKO in the first round.

On November 18, 2006 at UFC 65, Monson fought Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight championship. Monson lost a five round decision and would later ask to be released from his UFC contract in the hopes of facing then PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko at a BodogFIGHT scheduled for March 2007.^{[citation needed]} However, negotiations fell through and the match never happened.

At PRIDE 34, on April 8, 2007, Monson defeated Kazuyuki Fujita by rear naked choke at 6:37 of the opening round.

His next fight was scheduled to be against Chris Guillen on August 17, 2007 for the Global Fighting Championships' heavyweight title, but the event was canceled after four of the eight scheduled bouts were removed from the card.^[6] He lost the fight against Pedro Rizzo at Art of War 3 which was held on September 1, 2007. During the bout, Monson displayed a much improved level of striking, and kept the fight standing virtually the entire time.

On September 7, 2007, Monson won a total of two matches in the FILA World Championship in Turkey, defeating France's Zoro Piere and Great Britain's Tom Blackledge with submissions. Monson was awarded the 275-pound gold medal when his final opponent Ramon Diaz suffered an injury and was forced to bow out.

Jeff Monson defeated Ricco Rodriguez in the main event of Mixed Fighting Alliance "There Will Be Blood" event on December 13, 2008. He avenged a loss to Rodriguez from almost 7 years prior.

On March 21, 2009, Jeff won a controversial decision against "Big Country" Roy Nelson on Roy Jones Jr.'s hybrid boxing/MMA card "March Badness". He then beat Sergej Maslobojev on a Cage Wars card on On March 29, 2009. Jeff immediately went to Japan and beat top Russian Heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov on April 5, 2009 at Dream 8, giving him 3 wins within two weeks.

On September 12, 2009 at Bitetti Combat MMA 4, Monson had his seven fight win streak snapped, losing to Pedro Rizzo by unanimous decision.

At 5150 Combat League / Xtreme Fighting League - New Years Revolution, Monson defeated John Brown by Split Decision on January 16, 2010.

On March 13, 2010 Monson fights in France at 100% Fight II and defeated Francisco Nonato by Submission (Guillotine Choke) in the 1st Round. Monson losing to Travis Wiuff by Split Decision at XKL Evolution 2 on April 24, 2010. On May 14, 2010 Monson losing in Abu Dhabi to Shamil Abdurahimov by Majority Decision at Abu Dhabi Fighting Championship in the Quarter Finals of the 2010 Openweight Grand Prix.

Jeff Monson defeated Bira Lima at Impact FC 1 - The Uprising: Brisbane in Australia on July 10, 2010 by Unanimous Decision.

Monson faced Jason Guida on August 21, 2010 at the event called "Fight Time 1".^[7] Monson defeated Jason Guida at 3:04 of the second round with a guillotine choke.

His next fight was scheduled to be against Neil Wain at "KnuckleUp - Kings of the North", but Neil Wain has had to pull out his fight, due to injuries occurred from his last fight. Stepping in to replace Neil Wain, is the very man who took Wain out of the fight, Dave Keeley.^[8] Monson defeated Keeley via Submission (North-South Choke) in the 1st Round.

Monson defeated Sergey Shemetov at the inaugural Israel Fighting Championship event on Nov. 9. After the fight, he said he wanted to drop down to 205 pounds for his next fight and his friend, Ricco Rodriguez, who later won his fight in the main event, said he wanted to fight Monson for the IFC at light heavyweight.^[9]

In 2011, Monson defeated Lee Mein on January 7,^[10] and Tony Lopez on April 1 by five round decision. Jeff Monson's next fight was against Maro Perak where he won a three round decision.^[11]

Monson says that after he fights in April and May, he hopes the UFC wants him back, but this time he would like to fight in the light heavyweight division.^[12]

Monson stepped in for injured Shane del Rosario to face prospect Daniel Cormier on the June 18 Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum card in Dallas, and lost the fight via unanimous decision.^[13]

Monson defeated Paul 'The Terror' Taylor in Tower Ballroom, Birmingham (UK) at the Sprawl n Brawl promotion on October 9, 2011.^[14]

Monson fought Fedor Emelianenko at M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Monson on November 20, 2011 in Moscow, Russia and lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Personal life[link]

Monson and his ex-wife have two children, Joshua and Michaela.^[15][16] Monson married his second wife, Danielle Dughan, on April 10, 2010. They have a daughter Willow who was born June 9, 2010. ^[1]

On January 14, 2009, Monson was charged with First Degree Malicious Mischief, for vandalizing the Washington State Capitol by spray-painting "an anarchy symbol, a peace symbol and the words 'no poverty' and 'no war'"^[17] on the large columns at the front of the building. A warrant was issued by a Thurston County Superior Court Judge ^[18] after pictures of Monson committing the "crime" were printed in ESPN magazine.^[19]

On July 29, 2009 Monson plead guilty to malicious mischief and entered an Alford plea for graffiti.^[20] In October 2009, he was sentenced to 90 days of work release and ordered to pay $21,894 in restitution. The price of the fine has since accrued interest, with the current amount being $24,749.80.^[21][22] As of January 2011, he had only paid $421 of his court-ordered restitution.^[21]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Mixed Martial Arts[link]

• International Sport Karate Association
  • ISKA World Heavyweight Championship (One time; First; Current)

• Sprawl 'N Brawl
  • SB Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (One time; Current)

• Strength and Honor Championship
  • SHC Heavyweight Championship (One time; Current)

• Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
  • Cage Warriors Heavyweight Championship (One time)

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Knockout of the Night (One time)
  • Submission of the Night (One time)

• X Fighting Championships
  • XFC Heavyweight Championship (One time)

• SportFight
  • SportFight Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Submission grappling[link]

• Abu Dhabi Combat Club
  • 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Bronze Medalist
  • 2005 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Gold Medalist
  • 2001 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Silver Medalist
  • 2000 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Silver Medalist
  • 1999 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Gold Medalist

• International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
  • 2008 FILA Grappling World Championships Senior No-Gi Gold Medalist
  • 2007 FILA Grappling World Championships Senior No-Gi Gold Medalist

• International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
  • 2007 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships Black Belt No-Gi Absolute Gold Medalist
  • 2007 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships Black Belt No-Gi Silver Medalist
  • 2001 Pan American Championships Blue Belt Gold Medalist

• USA Wrestling
  • FILA World Team Trials Senior No-Gi Winner (2007, 2008)
  • FILA World Team Trials Senior No-Gi Runner-up (2009)

• On the Mat
  • 2009 Submission Grappler of the year
  • 2004 Submission Grappler of the Year

Amateur wrestling[link]

• USA Wrestling
  • Northwest Senior Greco-Roman Regional Championship (1998)
  • Northwest Senior Freestyle Regional Championship Runner-up (1998)

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • Pac-10 Conference Championship (1992)

Mixed martial arts record[link]

Professional boxing record[link]

2 Wins (2 knockouts, 0 decisions), 0 Losses, 1 Draw
Res.	Record	Opponnent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	2-0-1	JC Hillard	TKO	2 (4), 2:11	2004-11-20	Club Ovation, Boynton Beach, Florida, United States
Win	1-0-1	Kenyatta Quitman	TKO	2 (4), 2:12	2004-05-15	Club Ovation, Boynton Beach, Florida, United States
Draw	0-0-1	Matt Ives	PTS	4	2004-04-23	Club Med, Port Saint Lucie, Florida, United States

See also[link]

	Anarchism portal
	Biography portal
	Martial arts portal
	Oregon portal

• List of male mixed martial artists
• List of mixed martial artists with professional boxing records
• List of people from Olympia, Washington
• List of people who entered an Alford plea

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Professional MMA record for Jeff Monson from Sherdog
• Professional boxing record for Jeff Monson from BoxRec
• Profile at MMA Fighting
• Jeff Monson articles at libcom.org

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Men's freestyle wrestling
World Championships
Bronze	2007 Baku	-96 kg
Pan American Games
Bronze	2007 Rio de Janeiro	-96 kg
Gold	2003 Santo Domingo	-96 kg
Pan American Championships
Gold	2002 Maracaibo	-96 kg

Daniel Cormier (born March 20, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and a former Olympic wrestler. He is currently signed to Strikeforce, fighting in the heavyweight division. Cormier is ranked #4 in the heavyweight division by Fight Matrix.

Biography[link]

Cormier is the son of Joseph and Audrey Cormier.^[1] He has an older brother named Joseph and a sister named Felicia.^[1] When Cormier was seven, his father was shot and killed on Thanksgiving Day in 1986 by the father of his second wife.^[1]

He was a three-time Louisiana wrestling state champion in high school and high school All-American. In high school, Northside High School, he suffered only two losses after his freshman year, both coming in injury defaults. He had a 101–9 record during his high school career and was also an All-State performer in football.^[2] After high school he attended Colby Community College where he was a two-time junior college national champion. After Colby he transferred to wrestling powerhouse Oklahoma State University where he was an NCAA runner-up, losing to Cael Sanderson in the finals.

Since graduating from college Daniel was on 5 United States world wrestling teams and the 2004 Olympic wrestling team, ending in 4th place, after losing to Khadjimourat Gatsalov in the semi-finals.^[3] Daniel was also a member of the 2008 Olympic wrestling team for the USA, where he was named team captain, but did not compete due to kidney failure.^[4] Daniel also competed and represented the Oklahoma Slam team in the now defunct Real Pro Wrestling league and was crowned a champion in the first and only season in the 211 lb weight class. While he competed in Real Pro Wrestling, he was also teammates with fellow Strikeforce mixed martial arts competitor Muhammed Lawal, who also was a season 1 champion, in the 184 lb weight class. At Oklahoma State University he earned a degree in Sociology.

Mixed martial arts[link]

He decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts, in the heavyweight division. He has trained with Cain Velasquez, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck at American Kickboxing Academy.^[5] Cormier signed an eight-fight deal with the Strikeforce organization and made his professional debut at Strikeforce Challengers: Kennedy vs. Cummings,^[6] defeating Gary Frazier by TKO. In his second MMA fight Cormier defeated John Devine via first round KO. Cormier was the wrestling coach on The Ultimate Fighter 12 alongside Josh Koscheck with whom he wrestled at the NCAA Finals.

After a shortage of fights for Strikeforce, Cormier traveled to Australia and fought for Xtreme MMA. He defeated Lucas Browne to win the XMMA Heavyweight title on July 31. Just two weeks later he won his second MMA championship by winning the KOTC Heavyweight title on August 13 from Tony Johnson. He landed a solid punch on Johnson in the first round, causing his larger opponent to shoot in, but Cormier quickly gained the advantage with superior wrestling and Grappling and won the fight via rear naked choke. Just 8 days later he forced Jason Riley to tap out due to strikes at Strikeforce: Houston. He most recently defended the XMMA title in November 2010 against Soa Palelei. He won via submission to punches yet again in the first round, but broke his hand during the fight.

Cormier next fought Devin Cole at the Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Saffiedine event on January 7, 2011, in Nashville, Tennessee.^[7] He won via unanimous decision, the first time a fight of his has gone the distance. Cormier was to face Shane del Rosario at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum on June 18, 2011, in Dallas, Texas,^[8] but his opponent was involved in a car accident and withdrew from the bout. Cormier instead faced Jeff Monson and won via a decision. Cormier used his striking to dominate Monson on the feet and didn't allow for any takedowns, negating Monson's submission ability.

Cormier faced Antonio Silva on September 10, 2011 at Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, replacing Alistair Overeem.^[9] In a shocking upset, he won the fight via KO (punches) in the first round, catching Silva with multiple hits to the jaw, causing him to collapse, and then finishing with two hammer blows to the face of the grounded Silva before the ref could stop the fight. Cormier later revealed that he broke his hand during the fight.^[10]

He faced fellow finalist Josh Barnett on May 19, 2012 at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier.^[11] Cormier dominated the five round fight, winning the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship and Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Championship by unanimous decision. He beat Barnett convincingly by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46).

Personal life[link]

Cormier had one daughter, Kaedyn Imri Cormier, who died in a car accident on June 14, 2003.^[1] He was married to a woman named Robin.^[1] On February 16, 2011, he and his girlfriend had a son Daniel Ryan Cormier II, they are expecting a second child in March. Cain Velasquez and Todd Duffee are among his good friends within the sport of MMA.

Championships and accomplishments[link]

Mixed martial arts[link]

• Strikeforce
  • Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship (One time; current)
  • Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion

• King of the Cage
  • KOTC Heavyweight Championship (One time)

• Xtreme MMA
  • XMMA Heavyweight Championship (One time; Current)

• Inside MMA
  • 2011 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year Bazzie Award

• ESPN
  • 2011 Upset of the Month vs. Antonio Silva on September 10

• Bleacher Report
  • 2011 MMA All-Star Second Team

Professional wrestling[link]

• Real Pro Wrestling
  • RPW Season One 211 lb National Championship

Amateur wrestling[link]

• International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
  • 2008 USA Senior Freestyle Olympic Team Captain
  • 2007 FILA Wrestling World Championships Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
  • 2007 Pan American Games Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
  • 2007 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
  • 2005 Super Cup Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist
  • 2005 World Cup Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist
  • 2005 Ivan Yarygin Memorial Tournament Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
  • 2004 Boutiatyr Grand Prix Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
  • 2003 FILA Absolute Championship Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
  • 2003 Ivan Yarygin Cup Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
  • 2003 Pan American Games Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
  • 2002 Medved International Championships Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
  • 2002 Sunkist Kids/ASU International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
  • 2002 Pan American Championships Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
  • 2002 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
  • 2001 Sunkist Kids International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
  • 2001 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
  • 1995 FILA Wrestling World Championships Cadet Greco-Roman Bronze Medalist

• USA Wrestling
  • USA Senior Freestyle Olympic Team Trials Winner (2004, 2008)
  • FILA Senior Freestyle World Team Trials Winner (2005, 2006, 2007)
  • FILA Senior Freestyle World Team Trials Runner-up (2001, 2002)
  • USA Senior Freestyle National Championship (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
  • Northwest Senior Freestyle Regional Championship (2008)
  • John Smith Freestyle Wrestler of the Year Award (2007)
  • ASICS Tiger High School All-American (1996, 1997)

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • NCAA Division I Collegiate National Championship Runner-up (2001)
  • NCAA Division I All-American (2001)
  • Big 12 Conference Championship Runner-up (2000, 2001)

• National Junior College Athletic Association
  • NJCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee (2009)
  • NJCAA Junior Collegiate National Championship (1998, 1999)
  • NJCAA All-American (1998, 1999)

• National High School Coaches Association
  • NHSCA Senior High School National Championship 3rd Place (1997)
  • NHSCA Senior All-American (1997)

• Louisiana High School Athletic Association
  • LHSAA Division I High School State Championship (1995, 1996, 1997)
  • LHSAA Division I All-State (1995, 1996, 1997)

Mixed martial arts record[link]

See also[link]

• List of current mixed martial arts champions
• List of current Strikeforce fighters

References[link]

External links[link]

• Professional MMA record for Daniel Cormier from Sherdog
• Daniel Cormier profile at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
• Olympic profile at sports-reference.com