- published: 10 Dec 2012
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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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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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Denver, Colorado
Denver ( /ˈdɛnvər/) (Arapaho: Niinéniiniicíihéhe' ) is the largest city and the capital of the U.S. state of Colorado. As Denver County, it is the second most populous county in Colorado after El Paso County, which surpassed Denver County as of the 2010 Census. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Denver downtown district is located immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek with the South Platte River, approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Denver is nicknamed the Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile (1.6 km) or 5,280 feet (1,609.344 m) above sea level, which is defined by the elevation of the spot of a benchmark on the steps of the State Capital building. The elevation of the entire city ranges from 5,130 to 5,680 feet. The 105th meridian west of Greenwich passes through Union Station and is the temporal reference for the Mountain Time Zone.
wn.com/Denver,_Colorado -
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan ( /ˈdoʊθən/) is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the Georgia state line and 18 miles (29 km) north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County. Its name derives from Genesis 37:17: "let us go to Dothan." According to the 2010 census the city's population was 65,496, making it the largest town in this part of the state.
Dothan is the principal city of the Dothan Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Geneva, Henry, and Houston counties; the small portion that lies in Dale County is part of the Enterprise–Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area. The combined population for the entire Dothan metropolitan area in 2000 was 137,916. The city serves as the main transportation and commercial hub for a significant part of southeastern Alabama, southwest Georgia, and nearby portions of the Florida Panhandle. Since approximately one-fourth of the U.S. peanut crop is produced nearby, with much of it being processed in the city, Dothan calls itself "The Peanut Capital of the World."
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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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Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (/lɑːs ˈveɪɡəs/) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its consolidated casino–hotels and associated entertainment. A growing retirement and family city, Las Vegas is the 28th-most populous city in the United States, with a population at the 2010 census of 583,756. The 2010 population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area was 1,951,269.
Established in 1905, Las Vegas was incorporated as a city in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, Las Vegas was the most populous American city founded in that century (a distinction held by Chicago in the 19th century). The city's tolerance for various forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and this image has made Las Vegas a popular setting for films and television programs. There are numerous outdoor lighting displays on Fremont Street, as well as elsewhere in the city.
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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 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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African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States that have ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa.
African Americans make up the single largest racial minority in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States. However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations, or their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term.
African-American history starts in the 16th century with African slaves who quickly rose up against the Spanish explorer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and progresses to the present day, with Barack Obama as the 44th and current President of the United States. Between those landmarks there have been events and issues, both resolved and ongoing, including slavery, racism, Reconstruction, development of the African-American community, participation in the great military conflicts of the United States, racial segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement.
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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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AOL
AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL, previously known as America Online, written as "AOL" and stylized as "Aol." but commonly pronounced as an initialism) is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services. AOL is headquartered in New York City, but has many offices throughout cities in North America, such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Beverly Hills, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Dulles, Mountain View, Orlando, San Francisco, and Toronto. London and Tokyo are its foreign offices. As of December 2011, it serves 3.3 million paid subscribers.[citation needed]
AOL is best known for its online software suite, also called AOL, that allowed customers to access the world's largest "walled garden" online community and eventually reach out to the Internet as a whole. At its prime, AOL's membership was over 30 million members worldwide, most of whom accessed the AOL service through the AOL software suite. The company has claimed that it had 34 million subscribers at its peak, although an undisclosed portion were using free hours.
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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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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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B.J. Penn
Jay Dee "B.J." Penn (born December 13, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Penn was the first non-Brazilian winner of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the black-belt category. BJ Penn is regarded as one of the most gifted martial arts fighters in the world. He is known for his incredible flexibility and his willingness to fight anyone regardless of their weight class, fighting as high as Light Heavyweight (weighed in at 191 lb) when he competed against Lyoto Machida (who weighed in at 225 lb) in 2005. His jab and his boxing are considered the best in MMA. He is the most decorated Jiu-Jitsu athlete in America.
A former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Welterweight Champion, he is only the second fighter in UFC history to win titles in two different weight classes, with the first being UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture. Penn served as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show. As of February 2012, Penn is ranked as the #10 welterweight fighter in the world by Sherdog. Penn holds the distinction of being one of only a very few fighters who have never been submitted and never been knocked down. He is on hiatus after losing to Nick Diaz at UFC 137 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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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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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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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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Cutman
A cutman is a person responsible for preventing and treating physical damage to a fighter during the breaks between rounds of a full contact match such as a boxing, kickboxing or a mixed martial arts bout. Cutmen typically handle swelling, nosebleeds and lacerations (commonly called cuts). The rules of full contact sports stipulate that these injuries can be a cause for premature match stoppage, counting as a loss to the injured fighter. The cutman is therefore essential to the fighter, and can be a decisive factor in the outcome of the match.
The compensation for cutmen varies, generally staying within 1-3% of fighter's prize money. For many fighters on a low budget, the cutman duties are performed by their cornerman. While most athletic commissions require cutmen to be licensed, there is usually no formal training or certification required. Most cutmen learn their trade through apprenticeship and self-education.
Unlike boxing, cutmen for mixed martial arts events are generally provided by the promotion, rather than the fighter's corner. This is to prevent allegations of "greasing" (applying petroleum jelly to areas other than the forehead, which provides an unfair advantage in grappling situations).
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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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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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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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Georges St-Pierre
Georges St-Pierre (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ sɛ̃ pjɛʁ]; born May 19, 1981), often referred to as GSP, is a French Canadian mixed martial artist and the current Welterweight Champion of the UFC. St-Pierre is ranked as the No. 1 Welterweight in the world according to Sherdog, and numerous other publications. St-Pierre is ranked the No. 2 pound for pound fighter by ESPN sports,Yahoo! Sports (in 2011) and Sherdog. In 2008, 2009, and 2010 he was named the Canadian Athlete of the Year by Rogers Sportsnet.
Georges St-Pierre was born on May 19, 1981 in Saint-Isidore, Quebec, to Roland and Pauline St-Pierre. St-Pierre had a difficult childhood, attending a school where others would steal his clothes and money. He started learning Kyokushin karate at age seven from his father and later from a Kyokushin Karate Master to defend himself against a school bully. He took up wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after his karate teacher died (at this point he also trained in boxing). Before turning pro as a mixed-martial artist, St-Pierre worked as a bouncer at a Montreal night club in the South Shore called Fuzzy Brossard and as a garbageman for six months to pay for his school fees.
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Georges St. Pierre
Georges St-Pierre (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ sɛ̃ pjɛʁ]; born May 19, 1981), often referred to as GSP, is a French Canadian mixed martial artist and the current Welterweight Champion of the UFC. St-Pierre is ranked as the No. 1 Welterweight in the world according to Sherdog, and numerous other publications. St-Pierre is ranked the No. 2 pound for pound fighter by ESPN sports,Yahoo! Sports (in 2011) and Sherdog. In 2008, 2009, and 2010 he was named the Canadian Athlete of the Year by Rogers Sportsnet.
Georges St-Pierre was born on May 19, 1981 in Saint-Isidore, Quebec, to Roland and Pauline St-Pierre. St-Pierre had a difficult childhood, attending a school where others would steal his clothes and money. He started learning Kyokushin karate at age seven from his father and later from a Kyokushin Karate Master to defend himself against a school bully. He took up wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after his karate teacher died (at this point he also trained in boxing). Before turning pro as a mixed-martial artist, St-Pierre worked as a bouncer at a Montreal night club in the South Shore called Fuzzy Brossard and as a garbageman for six months to pay for his school fees.
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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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Jon Jones (fighter)
Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987), known professionally as Jon "Bones" Jones, is an American mixed martial artist from Endicott, New York. He is the reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
Jon Jones, the youngest UFC title holder in history, entered the organization after fighting professionally for only four months. In May 2012, he was ranked as the number one light heavyweight fighter in the world by various media outlets, as well as the #3 pound for pound fighter in the world.
Before beginning his MMA career, Jones was a stand-out high school wrestler and state champion. He won a national JUCO championship at Iowa Central Community College. After transferring to Morrisville State College he decided to drop out of college where he was studying Criminal Justice, to begin his MMA career.
Jones made his professional MMA debut in April 2008. He amassed an undefeated record of 6-0 over a period of three months, finishing all of his opponents. This brought him to the attention of the UFC, who asked him to take a fight as a late replacement on a two week notice in July 2008.
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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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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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Mark Kerr (fighter)
Mark Kerr (born December 21, 1968 in Toledo, Ohio), also known as The Smashing Machine, The Titan, and The Specimen, is an American champion collegiate wrestler and retired mixed martial artist. During his MMA career he was a World Vale Tudo Championship tournament winner, a two-time UFC heavyweight tournament winner, and a PRIDE FC competitor.
In 2003 Kerr was the subject of an HBO documentary entitled The Smashing Machine, which detailed his MMA career fighting in Vale Tudo, the UFC and PRIDE. The Smashing Machine also focused on Kerr's eventual addiction to opiates, his relationships with his then-girlfriend, various training partners, and his friendship with Mark Coleman.
Mark Kerr was born in Toledo, Ohio[citation needed]relationship to THIS city to Tom and Mary Kerr.[citation needed] From early childhood, he would dream of being in the World Wrestling Federation and would hold mock fights with his younger siblings in the back yard.
In 1983 Kerr began his wrestling career in Bettendorf, Iowa[citation needed]relationship to THIS city wrestling as a freshman at Bettendorf High School[citation needed]relationship to THIS school where he shared the wrestling room with another future MMA champion Pat Miletich who was a senior at the time. After his freshman year at Bettendorf, Kerr and his family moved to Toledo, Ohio where he became a high school state champion wrestling for Toledo Waite.
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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 Brown (fighter)
Mike Thomas Brown (born September 8, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization and is a former WEC Featherweight Champion. Mike trains full-time at the main American Top Team academy located in Coconut Creek, Florida.
Mike Brown wrestled at Bonny Eagle High School in Standish, Maine where he won a state championship in 1992, his junior year. He went on to wrestle at Norwich University where he was known for his ability to focus. Although he was an average student in high school, he was able to apply his focus to academics and excelled as a scholar-athlete in college. According to Norwich wrestling Coach Rich Hasenfus, Brown was one of the smartest athletes and strongest wrestlers at Norwich.
Brown had fought in several MMA events including most recently WEC, where he was the (145 lb.) champion. In 2005, Brown suffered a near career-ending loss at Deep 22nd in Japan. Brown's opponent, noted leg-lock expert Masakazu Imanari, dislocated Brown's leg to the point that his leg was pulled out and to the side of his knee joint. His only other Pre-WEC losses were to world-class fighters; besides Imanari, only Joe Lauzon, Genki Sudo, and Hermes Franca (all UFC veterans) had defeated Brown en route to Brown's 18-4 record.
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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 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.
wn.com/Robbie_Lawler -
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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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".
wn.com/Rorion_Gracie -
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.
wn.com/Royce_Gracie -
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.
wn.com/Sam_Stout -
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.
wn.com/Sean_Sherk -
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.
wn.com/Shane_Carwin -
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.
wn.com/Spencer_Fisher -
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.
wn.com/Tank_Abbott -
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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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.
wn.com/Wanderlei_Silva
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TUF 16 Finale Preview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:19
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
Knockout artist Roy "Big Country" Nelson faces off against Matt Mitrione, his former The Ultimate Fighter teammate. Plus, TUF finalists Colton Smith and Mike Ricci compete for a six-figure UFC contract.
http://wn.com/TUF_16_Finale_Preview
Knockout artist Roy "Big Country" Nelson faces off against Matt Mitrione, his former The Ultimate Fighter teammate. Plus, TUF finalists Colton Smith and Mike Ricci compete for a six-figure UFC contract.
UFC 155: Dos Santos vs Velasquez II Preview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:01
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and former champion Cain Velasquez meet again at UFC 155 with an all-star card rounding out the event: Mr. Wonderful, J-Lau, The Crippler and more.
http://wn.com/UFC_155_Dos_Santos_vs_Velasquez_II_Preview
Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and former champion Cain Velasquez meet again at UFC 155 with an all-star card rounding out the event: Mr. Wonderful, J-Lau, The Crippler and more.
- published: 09 Dec 2012
- views: 43009
- author: UFC
UFC on FOX 5: Post-Fight Presser Highlight
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:46
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
"Everyone on this dais fights aggressively." Hear from Benson Henderson, Nate Diaz, Rory MacDonald and more at the UFC on FOX post-fight press conference.
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FOX_5_Post-Fight_Presser_Highlight
"Everyone on this dais fights aggressively." Hear from Benson Henderson, Nate Diaz, Rory MacDonald and more at the UFC on FOX post-fight press conference.
- published: 09 Dec 2012
- views: 36983
- author: UFC
UFC on FOX 5: Benson Henderson Post-Fight Interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:30
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
Benson Henderson retains the UFC lightweight title with a one-sided decision victory over Nate Diaz. The champ discusses his performance with Joe Rogan at UFC on FOX.
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FOX_5_Benson_Henderson_Post-Fight_Interview
Benson Henderson retains the UFC lightweight title with a one-sided decision victory over Nate Diaz. The champ discusses his performance with Joe Rogan at UFC on FOX.
- published: 09 Dec 2012
- views: 48894
- author: UFC
Rising Star: Alexander Gustafsson
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:54
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
Watch this and other features on UFC® Ultimate Insider, hosted by commentator Jon Anik, Tuesdaysat 10:30PM/7:30PM on FUEL TV. Available internationally on YouTube.
http://wn.com/Rising_Star_Alexander_Gustafsson
Watch this and other features on UFC® Ultimate Insider, hosted by commentator Jon Anik, Tuesdaysat 10:30PM/7:30PM on FUEL TV. Available internationally on YouTube.
- published: 30 Nov 2012
- views: 113490
- author: UFC
UFC 155: Cain Velasquez Pre-Fight Interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:35
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
"I'm going to prove I'm the best when I take my belt back." Former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is hungry to avenge his only loss - and get his belt back - at UFC 155.
http://wn.com/UFC_155_Cain_Velasquez_Pre-Fight_Interview
"I'm going to prove I'm the best when I take my belt back." Former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is hungry to avenge his only loss - and get his belt back - at UFC 155.
- published: 29 Nov 2012
- views: 79636
- author: UFC
UFC 155: Forrest Griffin Pre-Fight Interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:48
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
Legendary light heavyweight Forrest Griffin details what he'll need to win and why he's got what it takes to stymie Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis.
http://wn.com/UFC_155_Forrest_Griffin_Pre-Fight_Interview
Legendary light heavyweight Forrest Griffin details what he'll need to win and why he's got what it takes to stymie Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis.
- published: 28 Nov 2012
- views: 61739
- author: UFC
UFC on FOX: Henderson vs Diaz Post-fight Press Conference
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 36:50
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FOX_Henderson_vs_Diaz_Post-fight_Press_Conference
Dana White UFC on FOX 5 Henderson vs. Diaz vlog day 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:38
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
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: 212640
- author: UFC
UFC on FOX 5: Alex Gustafsson, Matt Brown Post-Fight Interviews
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:17
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
Hear from Alexander Gustafsson and Matt Brown following their noteworthy victories at UFC on FOX.
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FOX_5_Alex_Gustafsson,_Matt_Brown_Post-Fight_Interviews
Hear from Alexander Gustafsson and Matt Brown following their noteworthy victories at UFC on FOX.
- published: 09 Dec 2012
- views: 18764
- author: UFC
Penn vs MacDonald: UFC on FOX 5
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:24
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
Road to the Octagon takes a look at the welterweight clash between BJ Penn and Rory MacDonald that is creating major buzz, including a tense moment at the pre-fight press conference Thursday in Seattle. Watch UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz, Saturday December 8 live on FOX, at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. Prelims begin on Facebook followed by three full hours of prelims on FX at 5PM ET | 2PM PT.
http://wn.com/Penn_vs_MacDonald_UFC_on_FOX_5
Road to the Octagon takes a look at the welterweight clash between BJ Penn and Rory MacDonald that is creating major buzz, including a tense moment at the pre-fight press conference Thursday in Seattle. Watch UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz, Saturday December 8 live on FOX, at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. Prelims begin on Facebook followed by three full hours of prelims on FX at 5PM ET | 2PM PT.
- published: 06 Dec 2012
- views: 74449
- author: UFC
UFC on FOX 5: BJ vs. Rory at the Press Conference
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:44
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
UFC on FOX 5 pre-fight press conference featuring a tense exchange between BJ Penn and Rory MacDonald.
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FOX_5_BJ_vs_Rory_at_the_Press_Conference
UFC on FOX 5 pre-fight press conference featuring a tense exchange between BJ Penn and Rory MacDonald.
- published: 07 Dec 2012
- views: 82034
- author: UFC
Dana White UFC on FOX 5 Henderson vs Diaz vlog day 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:46
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
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: 177217
- author: UFC
UFC 157: Ronda Rousey Belt Feature
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:24
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
Ronda Rousey is crowned the first-ever UFC women's bantamweight champion. Hear what she had to say about the title, her expectations, and headlining UFC 157 in Anaheim.
http://wn.com/UFC_157_Ronda_Rousey_Belt_Feature
Ronda Rousey is crowned the first-ever UFC women's bantamweight champion. Hear what she had to say about the title, her expectations, and headlining UFC 157 in Anaheim.
- published: 07 Dec 2012
- views: 50747
- author: UFC
SHOGUN FIGHT PREPS: UFC ON FOX
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:06
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
Paula Sack checks in with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in the final days leading up to his co-main fight against Swedish phenom Alexander Gustafsson. Watch UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz, Saturday December 8 live on FOX, at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. Prelims begin on Facebook followed by three full hours of prelims on FX at 5PM ET | 2PM PT.
http://wn.com/SHOGUN_FIGHT_PREPS_UFC_ON_FOX
Paula Sack checks in with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in the final days leading up to his co-main fight against Swedish phenom Alexander Gustafsson. Watch UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz, Saturday December 8 live on FOX, at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. Prelims begin on Facebook followed by three full hours of prelims on FX at 5PM ET | 2PM PT.
- published: 05 Dec 2012
- views: 54468
- author: UFC
ROGAN'S FIGHT CARD ANALYSIS: UFC ON FOX
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:54
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
Joe Rogan breaks down the main card for UFC on FOX. Catch UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz, Saturday December 8 live on FOX, at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. Prelims begin on Facebook followed by three full hours of prelims on FX at 5PM ET | 2PM PT.
http://wn.com/ROGAN'S_FIGHT_CARD_ANALYSIS_UFC_ON_FOX
Joe Rogan breaks down the main card for UFC on FOX. Catch UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz, Saturday December 8 live on FOX, at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. Prelims begin on Facebook followed by three full hours of prelims on FX at 5PM ET | 2PM PT.
- published: 05 Dec 2012
- views: 61897
- author: UFC
Road to the Octagon: UFC on FOX 5
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 43:11
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
One of 2012's biggest cards hits Seattle on December 8th. In the main event, UFC lightweight champion "Smooth" Benson Henderson faces fellow 155-pound superstar Nate Diaz in what promises to be a Fight of the Year candidate. Plus, former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn returns to battle Canadian phenom Rory MacDonald. Former light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua faces Swedish contender Alexander Gustafsson, Go behind the scenes and on the road as these six fighters prepare for what is being touted as one of the greatest fight cards ever on network television. UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz, Saturday December 8 live on FOX, at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. Prelims begin on Facebook followed by three full hours of prelims on FX at 5PM ET | 2PM PT.
http://wn.com/Road_to_the_Octagon_UFC_on_FOX_5
One of 2012's biggest cards hits Seattle on December 8th. In the main event, UFC lightweight champion "Smooth" Benson Henderson faces fellow 155-pound superstar Nate Diaz in what promises to be a Fight of the Year candidate. Plus, former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn returns to battle Canadian phenom Rory MacDonald. Former light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua faces Swedish contender Alexander Gustafsson, Go behind the scenes and on the road as these six fighters prepare for what is being touted as one of the greatest fight cards ever on network television. UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz, Saturday December 8 live on FOX, at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. Prelims begin on Facebook followed by three full hours of prelims on FX at 5PM ET | 2PM PT.
- published: 03 Dec 2012
- views: 102793
- author: UFC
UFC on FOX: Henderson vs Diaz
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:25
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
The UFC® returns to Seattle for an epic night of free fights, headlined by a lightweight title bout between Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz. Plus a light heavyweight showdown between Shogun Rua and Alexander Gustafsson and BJ Penn returns to the Octagon to face rising star Rory MacDonald
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FOX_Henderson_vs_Diaz
The UFC® returns to Seattle for an epic night of free fights, headlined by a lightweight title bout between Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz. Plus a light heavyweight showdown between Shogun Rua and Alexander Gustafsson and BJ Penn returns to the Octagon to face rising star Rory MacDonald
- published: 03 Dec 2012
- views: 110387
- author: UFC
UFC on FOX: The Road to the Lightweight Title
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:01
- Updated: 10 Dec 2012
On Dec. 8th, Benson Henderson will defend his UFC lightweight title against Nate Diaz. Click on the video thumbnails to watch 8 free fight from both fighters that were instrumental to their journey to the lightweight title bout.
http://wn.com/UFC_on_FOX_The_Road_to_the_Lightweight_Title
On Dec. 8th, Benson Henderson will defend his UFC lightweight title against Nate Diaz. Click on the video thumbnails to watch 8 free fight from both fighters that were instrumental to their journey to the lightweight title bout.
- published: 02 Dec 2012
- views: 74555
- author: UFC
UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs. Condit - Episode 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 22:01
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
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: 673419
- author: UFC
UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs. Condit - Episode 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 21:59
- Updated: 10 Dec 2012
As Georges St-Pierre prepares to re-enter the Octagon a better athlete than ever before, Carlos Condit steels himself to defend the belt he earned in GSP's absence. 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 restaurants through ...
http://wn.com/UFC_Primetime_St-Pierre_vs_Condit_Episode_2
As Georges St-Pierre prepares to re-enter the Octagon a better athlete than ever before, Carlos Condit steels himself to defend the belt he earned in GSP's absence. 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 restaurants through ...
- published: 10 Nov 2012
- views: 375168
- author: UFC
UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs. Condit - Episode 3
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 21:40
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and interim champion Carlos Condit make final preparations before their long-awaited bout at UFC 154.
http://wn.com/UFC_Primetime_St-Pierre_vs_Condit_Episode_3
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and interim champion Carlos Condit make final preparations before their long-awaited bout at UFC 154.
- published: 17 Nov 2012
- views: 219626
- author: UFC
UFC 155: Junior Dos Santos Pre-Fight Interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:53
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
"Heavyweights finish fights" - UFC champion Junior dos Santos talks about what he'll do differently in his rematch with Cain Velasquez, and what won't change one bit.
http://wn.com/UFC_155_Junior_Dos_Santos_Pre-Fight_Interview
"Heavyweights finish fights" - UFC champion Junior dos Santos talks about what he'll do differently in his rematch with Cain Velasquez, and what won't change one bit.
- published: 21 Nov 2012
- views: 133327
- author: UFC
photo: AP / Reed Saxon
10 Dec 2012
The wreckage of a small plane believed to be carrying Mexican-American singing superstar Jenni Rivera has been found in northern Mexico and there are no apparent survivors, authorities said. Transportation and Communications Minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza said on Sunday that "everything points toward" it being the US-registered Learjet 25 carrying Rivera and six other people from Monterrey en route to Toluca, Mexico ... 192 Source. ... Share ... ....(size: 17.5Kb)
photo: USAF / Staff Sgt. Jonathan Lovelady
10 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. In the desert of central Australia still resides a primitive tribe known as the Arunta. This non-technological and stateless group, which mainly depends on hunting and gathering, had suffered several inexplicable deaths ... Therefore, they organized an atinga, or revenge group ... When the guiltless tribe learned of their approach, they sent out a delegation of young women as a token of peace....(size: 5.8Kb)
photo: AP / Todd Williamson
10 Dec 2012
MÉXICO, D.F., diciembre 9 (EL UNIVERSAL).- La Voz México, programa de talentos de Televisa, confirmó la muerte de la cantante Jenni Rivera, a través de su Twitter. "Que toquen fuerte las bandas, suelten por mí mariposas, apláudanme con sus palmas... http.//twitpic.com/bkmhl0 .Descanse en paz Jenni Rivera" ... Además, anunció un homenaje luctuoso dedicado a la cantante ... Descanse en Paz" ... ....(size: 2.1Kb)
photo: AP / Bullit Marquez
11 Dec 2012
The death toll brought about by typhoon “Pablo” continued to rise with 714 persons confirmed dead by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) yesterday while those missing ballooned to 890 as massive search, retrieval and relief operations continue in the typhoon-ravaged areas in Mindanao ... 4 ... They were subsequently brought to Caraga Regional Hospital ... (NHMFC) (P100,000) ... With AFP ....(size: 5.4Kb)
photo: AP / A.M. Ahad
11 Dec 2012
Violence has flared in many parts of Bangladesh as schools and most businesses were shut after opposition groups enforced a dawn-to-dusk strike. They called the strike to protest against attacks on their supporters during a road blockade on Sunday. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies have been demanding a caretaker government be put in place to oversee the next parliamentary polls ... "The situation is under control now ... ....(size: 2.2Kb)
The Examiner
12 Dec 2012
Hominick, a perennial UFC contender, said on the Dec. 11 edition of FUEL TV's "UFC Tonight" that he's hanging up the gloves for good. “Over the last 11 years, I’ve followed my passion in the UFC," Hominick said. "Now, I’ll say UFC 154 was my last fight in the Octagon as I’m retiring and moving on to next phase of my career....(size: 1.7Kb)
CNN
12 Dec 2012
Yves Lavigne (center) has become one of the UFC's most prominent referees ... "I don't like to talk about the old days, because if people hear me talk about being a competitor they might think I'm comparing myself to the gentlemen I'm now in the cage with," said the 51-year-old, who over the past six years has become one of the most prominent referees for UFC fights....(size: 24.7Kb)
The Examiner
12 Dec 2012
Pierre, Jose Aldo, Junior dos Santos and other elite UFC fighters just don't capture the imagination in the same way their predecessors did ... No longer is the UFC left to promote a major PPV with a media that refuses to cooperate ... Pierre and Anderson Silva continue to dominate the UFC like few have before them, Americans focus as much on their lack of charisma and command of English as they do on their in cage abilities ... ....(size: 3.4Kb)
TSN Canada
12 Dec 2012
Canberra Times
12 Dec 2012
AAP. Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett believes the Suns can meet their goal of an AFL premiership within the next three years ... "I think it's a fantastic thing," Ablett told reporters on Wednesday ... The nature of that injury didn't put him off welcoming some of the stars of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to Carrara on Wednesday ahead of a UFC bout on the Gold Coast this weekend ... ....(size: 1.8Kb)
Newsday
12 Dec 2012
The Knicks traveled to Brooklyn for the second time this season to take on the Nets. advertisement . advertise on Newsday. ... 0. Click to rate. Comments ... PrevNext ... Francis 61 Copiague 54, Longwood 46 Long Island Lutheran 61, Farmingdale 54 Kevin Youkilis Mets Kids Holiday Party 2012 Outrageous sports photos from around the world UFC on Fox 5 ... . . . . ... ....(size: 8.3Kb)
Newsday
12 Dec 2012
The Yankees have signed third baseman Kevin Youkilis to a one-year, $12-million deal, according to multiple sources. advertisement . advertise on Newsday. View all Be the first to rate. 0. Click to rate. Comments ... Log in ... PrevNext. 0 ... Kevin Youkilis Mets Kids Holiday Party 2012 Outrageous sports photos from around the world UFC on Fox 5 ... . . . . ... ....(size: 8.0Kb)
Newsday
12 Dec 2012
Stony Brook improved to 7-2 with a 77-61 win over St. Francis Tuesday in an Division I men's basketball game. advertisement . advertise on Newsday. ... Francis 61 Copiague 54, Longwood 46 Long Island Lutheran 61, Farmingdale 54 Kevin Youkilis Mets Kids Holiday Party 2012 Outrageous sports photos from around the world UFC on Fox 5 ... . . . . ... ....(size: 8.3Kb)
Newsday
12 Dec 2012
Jason Kidd hit the game-winning 3-pointer as the Knicks defeated the Nets, 100-97, on Tuesday at Barclays Center. advertisement . advertise on Newsday. ... 0 ... Comments ... PrevNext ... Francis 61 Copiague 54, Longwood 46 Long Island Lutheran 61, Farmingdale 54 Kevin Youkilis Mets Kids Holiday Party 2012 Outrageous sports photos from around the world UFC on Fox 5 ... . . . . ... ....(size: 8.4Kb)
TSN Canada
11 Dec 2012
For a breakdown of the UFC champions click here ... No major movement in the division as of late, but the title clash at UFC 155 between Dos Santos and Velasquez this month and Overeem vs. Antonio (Bigfoot) Silva at UFC 156 in February, should bring some clarity to the division. ... With his loss at UFC on FOX 5, Shogun moves out of the top five and Gustafsson moves in....(size: 4.1Kb)
The Examiner
11 Dec 2012
10 report from MMA Mania, Miesha Tate never turned down the opportunity to fight Ronda Rousey in the UFC ... Clearly when I made those statements, that was before women were coming to the UFC for sure ... Earlier this month, the UFC announced that Ronda Rousey will fight Liz Carmouche at UFC 157, essentially leaving Tate in the dark. Tate thinks the UFC is ......(size: 1.9Kb)
The Examiner
11 Dec 2012
11 report from MMA Junkie, a heavyweight bout between Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt is set for UFC on Fuel TV 8 ... Our next event at Saitama Arena on March 3 will continue to showcase how popular the UFC and mixed martial arts has become on the global stage." ... UFC President Dana White stated....(size: 1.5Kb)
"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
|
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.
| Alexander Gustafsson | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1987-01-15) January 15, 1987 (age 25)[1] Arboga, Sweden |
| Other names | The Mauler |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[1] |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)[2] |
| Division | Light Heavyweight (205 lb) |
| Reach | 76 |
| Style | Boxing |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Team | Stockholm Shoot Gladius MMA Alliance MMA |
| Rank | Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2007 - present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 15 |
| Wins | 14 |
| By knockout | 9 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Losses | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
|
|
|
Alexander L. Gustafsson[3] (born January 15, 1987) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist who has competed for Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, Shooto, FinnFight and UFC in his career. He is currently signed with the UFC fighting in their light heavyweight division. As of April 2012, Gustafsson is ranked the #7 light-heavyweight in the world by MMAWeekly[4] and as #4 by Fight! Magazine [5]
Contents |
Mixed martial arts career[link]
Early career[link]
Gustafsson started training MMA in 2006, and before that he trained in boxing which he started when he was around 10 years old. Before signing with the UFC, Gustafsson fought mostly in smaller promotions in Sweden and other parts of Europe. By 2009, he had racked up a perfect pro-record of 8-0, with 6 wins coming by the way of KO/TKO.
Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]
He made his UFC debut against Jared Hamman on November 14, 2009 at UFC 105.[6] Gustafsson won the fight via KO at 0:41 in round 1.
His next fight was against Phil Davis at UFC 112 in the preliminary card.[7] Gustafsson was defeated by Davis due to submission (anaconda choke) at 4:55 of the first round. Prior to this, Gustafsson showed good wrestling and takedown defense which Joe Rogan praised him for. Gustafsson even attempted a takedown of his own. Finally he succumbed to Davis' takedown and was submitted.
Gustafsson faced MMA veteran Cyrille Diabaté at UFC 120. In advance of this bout, Gustafsson traveled to San Diego, USA to train with Alliance MMA for a month. At the training camp, Gustafsson trained with notable UFC fighters like his former opponent Phil Davis, Brandon Vera, Joey Beltran and Travis Browne. He also took grappling tips from Phil Davis and worked to improve his strength and speed. After dominating the first round in stand up as well as on the ground, dropping Diabate twice, Gustafsson defeated Diabate via submission (rear-naked choke) in the second round.
Gustafsson won his second straight UFC fight after he defeated James Te-Huna via rear naked choke in round one at UFC 127.[8][9]
Gustafsson was expected to face Vladimir Matyushenko on August 6, 2011 at UFC 133.[10] But Matyushenko pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by Matt Hamill.[11] In the 2nd round, Gustafsson dropped Hamill with a straight punch followed by two uppercuts, finishing Hamill with punches and elbows from the mount. Hamill announced his retirement shortly after the fight.
Gustafsson eventually faced Matyushenko on December 30, 2011 at UFC 141.[12] He defeated Matyushenko by TKO in the first round.
Gustafsson was expected to face Antônio Rogério Nogueira on April 14, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 2, but Nogueira pulled out of the fight citing an injury and was replaced by Thiago Silva.[13] Gustafsson was able to effectively use his reach and jab to largely outstrike Silva and earned the unanimous decision victory.
Championships and accomplishments[link]
[edit] Submission Grappling
Grapplers Paradise 4 -99kg winner [14]
Mixed martial arts record[link]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 15 matches | 14 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 9 | 0 |
| By submission | 3 | 1 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
| Draws | 0 | |
| No contests | 0 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 14-1 | Thiago Silva | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva | 02012-04-14April 14, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
| Win | 13-1 | Vladimir Matyushenko | TKO (punches) | UFC 141 | 02011-12-30December 30, 2011 | 1 | 2:13 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 12-1 | Matt Hamill | TKO (punches and elbows) | UFC 133 | 02011-08-06August 6, 2011 | 2 | 3:34 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | |
| Win | 11-1 | James Te-Huna | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 127 | 02011-02-27February 27, 2011 | 1 | 4:27 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Win | 10-1 | Cyrille Diabaté | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 120 | 02010-10-16October 16, 2010 | 2 | 2:41 | London, England | |
| Loss | 9-1 | Phil Davis | Submission (anaconda choke) | UFC 112 | 02010-04-10April 10, 2010 | 1 | 4:55 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 9-0 | Jared Hamman | KO (punches) | UFC 105 | 02009-11-14November 14, 2009 | 1 | 0:41 | Manchester, England | UFC Debut |
| Win | 8-0 | Vladimir Shemarov | TKO (punches) | Superior Challenge 3 | 02009-05-30May 30, 2009 | 1 | 2:37 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
| Win | 7-0 | Pedro Quetglas | TKO (punches) | The Zone FC: Shockwave | 02008-11-08November 8, 2008 | 1 | 2:08 | Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| Win | 6-0 | Krzysztof Kulak | Decision (unanimous) | KSW - Extra | 02008-09-13September 13, 2008 | 2 | 5:00 | Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland | |
| Win | 5-0 | Matteo Minonzio | TKO (punches) | The Zone FC: Showdown | 02008-05-10May 10, 2008 | 1 | 3:52 | Gothenburg, Sweden | |
| Win | 4-0 | Florian Muller | TKO (punches) | Fite Selektor | 02008-03-13March 13, 2008 | 2 | 3:44 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 3-0 | Farbod Fadami | TKO (punches) | The Zone FC | 02008-02-09February 9, 2008 | 1 | 2:31 | Stockholm, Sweden | |
| Win | 2-0 | Mikael Haydari | TKO (punches) | FinnFight | 02007-12-15December 15, 2007 | 1 | 0:50 | Turku, Finland | |
| Win | 1-0 | Saku Heikola | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Shooto | 02007-11-17November 17, 2007 | 2 | 3:42 | Lahti, Finland |
References[link]
- ^ a b Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography, and More - Sherdog.com
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://boxing.nv.gov/2011%20Results%20Web/12-30-11%20MMA.pdf
- ^ "Light Heavyweight MMA Top 10". MMAWeekly.com. August 10, 2011. http://mmaweekly.com/light-heavyweight-division-205-pound-limit-mma-top-10. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
- ^ "Light Heavyweight MMA Top 10". Fightmagazine.com. May 22, 2012. http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-rankings/mma-light-heavyweight-rankings.asp. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
- ^ "Gustafsson vs. Hamann Likely For 105". MMA Unltd. http://www.mmaunltd.com/news-detail.asp/NewsID/775/gustaffson-vs-hamman-at-105.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-10. [dead link]
- ^ Jesse Holland. "UFC 112: Phil Davis vs Alexander Gustafsson on tap for April 10". MMA Mania. http://www.mmamania.com/2010/2/15/1311514/ufc-112-phil-davis-vs-alexander.
- ^ "Exclusive: Alexander Gustafsson vs James Te Huna att UFC 127". MMAnews.se. November 30, 2010. http://mmanews.se/mmanews/exclusive-alexander-gustafsson-vs-james-te-huna-att-ufc-127/.
- ^ "Gustafsson vs. Te-Huna Likely at UFC 127". fightersonly.com. http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/news/viewarticle.php?id=5692. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ "Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko in the works for UFC 133 in August". mmaJunkie.com. May 13, 2011. http://mmajunkie.com/news/23596/alexander-gustafsson-vs-agustin-marambio-in-the-works-for-ufc-133-in-august.mma.
- ^ "Vladdy Matyushenko Injured; Matt Hamill Steps in to Face Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 133". MMAWeekly.com. July 14, 2011. http://mmaweekly.com/agustin-marambio-injured-matt-hamill-steps-in-to-face-alexander-gustafsson-at-ufc-133.
- ^ "Vladimir Matyushenko vs Alexander Gustafsson re-booked for Dec. 30 in Las Vegas". mmamania.com. September 21, 2011. http://www.mmamania.com/2011/9/21/2441602/ufc-141-vladimir-matyushenko-vs-alexander-gustafsson-re-booked-for.
- ^ "Silva replaces injured Nogueira, faces Gustafsson at UFC on FUEL TV 2". mmajunkie.com. March 6, 2011. http://mmajunkie.com/news/27744/silva-replaces-injured-nogueira-faces-gustafsson-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-2.mma.
- ^ "Grapplers Paradise 4 -99kg Final Alexander Gustavsson Stockholm Shoot vs Mikael Persson". youtube.com. September 21, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-_fM5rRB58.
External links[link]
- Professional MMA record for Alexander Gustafsson from Sherdog
- Official website
- Alexander Gustafsson on Twitter
- Official UFC Profile
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Gustafsson, Alexander |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | January 15, 1987 |
| Place of birth | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Alexander_Gustafsson
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Alexander Gustafsson
http://pt.wn.com/Alexander Gustafsson
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Gustafsson
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.
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Velasquez and the second or maternal family name is Ramirez.
| Cain Velasquez | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Cain Velasquez Ramirez (1982-07-28) July 28, 1982 (age 29) Salinas, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 240 lb (109 kg; 17 st 2 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Reach | 77 in (196 cm) |
| Style | Boxing, Kickboxing, Wrestling, Guerrilla Jiu Jitsu |
| Fighting out of | San Jose, California |
| Team | American Kickboxing Academy |
| Trainer | Head Trainer: Javier Mendez Strategy Coach: Bob Cook Jiu-Jitsu Coach: Dave Camarillo Boxing Coach: Arturo "Huitzi" Mata Wrestling Coach: Daniel Cormier |
| Rank | Brown belt in Guerrilla Jiu Jitsu[1] |
| Wrestling | NCAA Division I Wrestling |
| Years active | 2006–present (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 11 |
| Wins | 10 |
| By knockout | 9 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 1 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| University | Arizona State University Iowa Central Community College |
| Spouse | Michelle Velásquez |
| Children | 1 |
| Notable school(s) | Kofa High School |
| Website | Official website |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
|
|
|
Cain Velasquez Ramirez[2] (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.[3] 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.[4] He is a two-time 5A state champion in Arizona, compiling a record of 110–10 for Kofa High School in Yuma, Arizona.[5] Cain Velasquez is ranked #2 in the heavyweight division.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Velasquez, a Mexican American,[6] 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.[7] Velasquez has two siblings, Efrain, Jr., and Adela. He was raised in Yuma, Arizona.[2] 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.[2]
After high school, he attended Iowa Central Community College, where he earned an Associates degree. He also wrestled for one season and won the NJCAA National Championship. After Iowa Central Community College, Velasquez graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor's degree in Education.[2] He wrestled there for three seasons and compiled a record of 86–17, placing 5th in the country in 2005, and 4th in 2006. While at ASU, Velasquez also wrestled alongside future UFC fighters Ryan Bader and C.B. Dollaway.[8]
Mixed martial arts career[link]
Cain began his mixed martial arts career right after college, joining American Kickboxing Academy. Velasquez is a brown belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu and a NCAA Division I Wrestler. He has notable wins over Cheick Kongo, Ben Rothwell, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Brock Lesnar.
Early career[link]
Velasquez made his MMA debut on October 7, 2006 against Jesse Fujarczyk at Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello, he won by TKO in the first round. Velasquez then faced Jeremiah Constant at BodogFight: St. Petersburg, he won via TKO in the first round at the 4 minute mark.[9]
Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]
Velasquez made his UFC debut against Brad Morris at UFC 83 and won due to strikes in the first round.[10] In his next fight, Velasquez defeated Jake O'Brien at UFC Fight Night 14 by TKO in round one.[11] Velasquez then faced Denis Stojnić at UFC Fight Night 17 and the fight was stopped in round two with Velasquez earning the victory by TKO. Velasquez also earned Knockout of the Night honors for his performance.[12] Velasquez's next fight was in UFC 99 against former kickboxer and established UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo. Velasquez was once again dominant, landing 251 strikes and winning the bout by unanimous decision (30–27 on all cards).[13]
His next opponent was expected to be Shane Carwin[14] with the winner likely challenging for the UFC Heavyweight Championship held by Brock Lesnar. However that bout was scrapped[15] and Velasquez was instead told he would be fighting Ben Rothwell at UFC 104.[16][17] He defeated Rothwell by second round TKO.[18]
Velasquez faced former Pride Heavyweight Champion and former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on February 20, 2010 at UFC 110.[19] Going into the fight, some commentators predicted that Nogueira would take the victory due to a supposed lack of striking power for Velasquez.[20] They were proven wrong when Velasquez defeated Nogueira via first round knockout, earning Knockout of the Night honors.[20]
UFC Heavyweight Champion[link]
Dana White announced via SportsNation that the UFC would be bringing back UFC Primetime to promote Lesnar vs. Velasquez.[21] Velasquez defeated Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship via TKO in the first round, earning Knockout of the Night honors.[22]
Velasquez suffered a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder during his fight with Lesnar at UFC 121 and was expected to be sidelined for at least 6–8 months.[23] Surgery on the shoulder was successful and Velasquez planned to return as early as Fall 2011.[24]
Velasquez was expected to make his first title defense against Junior dos Santos, with a target date of November 19, 2011 at UFC 139,[25] but the fight was later moved to November 12, 2011 to headline the first UFC on Fox 1.[26]
Velasquez suffered his first loss via KO (punches) at 1 minute and 4 seconds of the first round at the hands of then title contender, Junior dos Santos.
Post title loss[link]
Velasquez was originally set to fight Frank Mir on May 26, 2012 at UFC 146.[27] However, Mir was moved up to face Junior dos Santos after Alistair Overeem was pulled from the card. Velasquez instead faced Antonio Silva.[28] Velasquez defeated Silva via first round TKO. Dana White strongly hinted after the fight that Velasquez will be the next fighter to challenge for the Heavyweight Title.[29]
Personal life[link]
Velasquez speaks English and Spanish. He has been a guest star on the Spanish-language television networks Telemundo and Univision.[30] In addition to his Spanish-language TV appearances, he was also a featured guest on the TBS late night TV show, Lopez Tonight, starring George Lopez.[31]
Velasquez and his girlfriend, Michelle, welcomed a daughter on May 6, 2009. The couple married on May 28, 2011.[32][33]
Championships and accomplishments[link]
[edit] Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Heavyweight Championship (One time)
- Knockout of the Night Honors (Three times)
- Inside MMA
- 2010 Fighter of the Year Bazzie Award
- MMAFighting.com
- 2010 Fighter of the Year
- MMAjunkie.com
- 2010 Fighter of the Year[34]
- Sherdog
- 2010 Fighter of the Year
- 2010 All-Violence 1st Team
- MMA Live
- 2010 Fighter of the Year
[edit] Collegiate wrestling
- National Collegiate Athletic Association
- NCAA Division I All-American (2005, 2006)
- Pac-10 Conference Championship (2005, 2006)
- Pac-10 Conference Wrestler of the Year (2005)
- NCAA Division I 285 1b – 5th place out of Arizona State University (2005)[35]
- NCAA Division I 285 1b – 4th place out of Arizona State University (2006)[35]
- National Junior College Athletic Association
- NJCAA Junior Collegiate Championship (2002)
- NJCAA All-American (2002)
- USA Wrestling
- Arizona Interscholastic Association
Mixed martial arts record[link]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 11 matches | 10 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 9 | 1 |
| By submission | 0 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 10–1 | Antonio Silva | TKO (punches) | UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir | 02012-05-26May 26, 2012 | 1 | 3:36 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 9–1 | Junior dos Santos | KO (punches) | UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos | 02011-11-12November 12, 2011 | 1 | 1:04 | Anaheim, California, United States | Lost the UFC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–0 | Brock Lesnar | TKO (punches) | UFC 121 | 02010-10-23October 23, 2010 | 1 | 4:12 | Anaheim, California, United States | Won the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Knockout of the Night. |
| Win | 8–0 | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | KO (punches) | UFC 110 | 02010-02-21February 21, 2010 | 1 | 2:20 | Sydney, Australia | UFC Heavyweight title eliminator. Knockout of the Night. |
| Win | 7–0 | Ben Rothwell | TKO (punches) | UFC 104 | 02009-10-24October 24, 2009 | 2 | 0:58 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | Cheick Kongo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 99 | 02009-06-13June 13, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Cologne, Germany | |
| Win | 5–0 | Denis Stojnić | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens | 02009-02-07February 7, 2009 | 2 | 2:34 | Tampa, Florida, United States | Knockout of the Night. |
| Win | 4–0 | Jake O'Brien | TKO (punches) | UFC: Silva vs Irvin | 02008-07-19July 19, 2008 | 1 | 2:02 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Brad Morris | TKO (punches) | UFC 83 | 02008-04-19April 19, 2008 | 1 | 2:10 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 2–0 | Jeremiah Constant | TKO (punches) | Bodog Fight | 02006-12-16December 16, 2006 | 1 | 4:00 | St. Petersburg, Russia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Jesse Fujarczyk | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello | 02006-10-07October 7, 2006 | 1 | 1:58 | Fresno, California, United States |
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ "CAIN VELASQUEZ HAS A BROWN BELT.". DstryrSG.com. 2010-12-22. http://www.dstryrsg.com/2010/12/cain-velasquez-has-brown-belt-you.html. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
- ^ a b c d "Cain Velasquez Player Bio". THESUNDEVILS.CSTV.com. 2010-07-06. http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/mtt/velasquez_cain00.html. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ Hatcher, Jason (2009-11-05). "Mexican American Prospect Cain Velasquez". Fighters. http://www.fighters.com/11/05/ufc-108-rodrigo-nogueira-to-take-on-mexican-american-prospect-cain-velasquez?submit_foot=f. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ^ "Cain Velasquez: Searching For Aztec Gold". FIGHTMAGAZINE.com. 2010-01. http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/mma-article.asp?aid=443&issid=32. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ "Cain Velasquez: "I'm going to build my way up to the top"". FIVEOUNCESOFPAIN.com. 2009-02-04. http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/02/04/cain-velasquez-im-going-to-build-my-way-up-to-the-top. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ ""UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez" main card officially announced for Oct. 23". MMAJUNKIE.com. 2010-08-16. http://mmajunkie.com/news/20296/ufc-121-lesnar-vs-velasquez-main-card-officially-announced-for-oct-23.mma. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Cain Velasquez: Like Father, Like Son". LOWKICK.com. 2010-10-03. http://www.lowkick.com/UFC/Cain-Velasquez-Like-Father-Like-Son-9108. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Cain Velasquez". WRESTLINGHALLOFFAME. 2010-10-03. http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/wrestlers.php?wrestler=12087. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Bodog Fight – Clash of the Nations". http://www.sherdog.com/events/Bodog-Fight-Clash-of-the-Nations-4864.
- ^ "Could Cain Velasquez Be the Future of the Heavyweight Division?". CAGEPOTATO.com. 2008-04-21. http://www.cagepotato.com/2008/04/21/could-cain-velasquez-be-the-future-of-the-heavyweight-division. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Cain Velasquez vs. Jake O'Brien". SPIKE.com. 2008-07-19. http://www.spike.com/blog/cain-velasquez-vs/66706. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "UFC Fight Night 17: As expected Cain Velasquez beats Denis Stojnic". MMACRUNCH.com. 2009-02-08. http://www.mmacrunch.com/ufc-fight-night-17-as-expected-cain-velasquez-beats-denis-stojnic. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Cheick Kongo got hit in the head 251 times by Cain Velasquez at UFC 99". URDIRT.com. 2009-06-16. http://urdirt.com/2009/06/16/cheick-kongo-got-hit-in-the-head-251-times-by-cain-velasquez-at-ufc-99. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ Savage, Greg (2009-07-01). "Carwin-Velazquez Likely for UFC 104". Sherdog.com. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Carwin-Velazquez-Likely-for-UFC-104-18288. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ Helwani, Ariel (2009-08-20). "Shane Carwin vs. Cain Velasquez Off; Carwin to Challenge Lesnar for UFC Title". MMAFighting.com. http://www.mmafighting.com/2009/08/20/shane-carwin-vs-brock-lesnar-official-for-ufc-106. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ McNeil, Franklin (2009-10-22). "Rothwell fight a blessing for Velasquez". ESPN.Go.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=4577065. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ Morgan, John (2009-08-20). "Cain Velasquez and Ben Rothwell set for heavyweight contest at UFC 104 in Los Angeles". MMAJunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/15923/cain-velasquez-vs-ben-rothwell-set-for-heavyweight-contest-at-ufc-104-in-los-angeles.mma. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ Okamoto, Brett (2009-10-25). "Cain Velasquez impressive in win, may still have to wait for title shot". LasVegasSun.com. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/oct/25/cain-velasquez-impressive-win-may-still-have-wait-. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ Knapp, Brian (2010-02-20). "Velasquez Stops Nogueira at UFC 110". Sherdog.com. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Velasquez-Stops-Nogueira-at-UFC-110-22785. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
- ^ a b "UFC 110 main card recap: Velasquez stuns Nogueira in first, Silva returns to win column". MMAJUNKIE.com. 2010-02-21. http://mmajunkie.com/news/18024/ufc-110-main-card-recap-velasquez-stuns-nogueira-in-first-silva-returns-to-win-column.mma. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez UFC Primtime". MMAFighting.com. 2010-08-26. http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/8/25/1650475/via-sportsnation-chat-w-dana.
- ^ "UFC 121 Results & Live Play-by-Play". Sherdog.com. 2010-10-23. http://www.cdn.sherdog.com/news/news/UFC-121-Results-amp-Live-Play-by-Play-27640. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
- ^ "Trainer: UFC champ Velasquez out a minimum of 6–8 months with torn rotator cuff". MMAJunkie.com. 2010-12-29. http://mmajunkie.com/news/21892/trainer-ufc-champ-velasquez-out-a-minimum-of-6-8-months-with-torn-rotator-cuff.mma.
- ^ "Injured UFC champ Cain Velasquez already back in the gym, return date TBD". MMAJunkie.com. 2011-01-17. http://mmajunkie.com/news/22122/injured-ufc-champ-cain-velasquez-already-back-in-the-gym-return-date-tbd.mma.
- ^ "UFC flexes strong fall schedule with Velasquez defense". latimes.com.com. 2011-06-16. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2011/06/ufc-adds-more-muscle-to-fall-schedule-with-jon-jones-rampage-fight.html?dlvrit=53320.
- ^ "Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos headlines UFC's debut on FOX". mmajunkie.com. September 2, 2011. http://mmajunkie.com/news/25064/xx-vs-xx-headlines-ufcs-debut-on-fox.mma. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- ^ "Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir title-eliminator added to UFC 146". mmajunkie.com. March 7, 2012. http://mmajunkie.com/news/27762/cain-velasquez-vs-frank-mir-title-eliminator-added-to-ufc-146.mma. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ "UFC 146: Cain Velasquez vs Antonio Silva booked for May 26 in Las Vegas". mmamania.com. April 22, 2012. http://www.mmamania.com/2012/4/22/2967443/ufc-146-cain-velasquez-vs-antonio-silva-booked-for-may-26-in-las-vegas. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
- ^ "With UFC 146 wins, Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II on tap". mmajunkie.com. May 27, 2012. http://mmajunkie.com/news/28923/with-ufc-146-wins-junior-dos-santos-vs-cain-velasquez-ii-on-tap.mma. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
- ^ "Cain Velasquez Brings a Little Bit of Bad-Ass to Latin Grammy Awards, Rothwell to Face Cro Cop in Australia?". CAGEPOTATO.com. 2009-11-05. http://www.cagepotato.com/cain-velasquez-brings-little-bit-bad-ass-latin-grammy-awards-rothwell-face-cro-cop-australia. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Cain Velasquez Interviewed on the George Lopez Tonight Show". Mexican-American.org. 2010-10-25. http://mexican-american.org/videos/sports/cain-velasquez_george-lopez-tonight-show_UFC-121.html. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ "Cain Velasquez got married". Fightlinker.com. 2011-05-31. http://www.fightlinker.com/cain-velasquez-got-married. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- ^ "Raising Cain: An MMAmania.com interview exclusive with Cain Velasquez". MMAMANIA.com. 2009-05-06. http://www.mmamania.com/2009/05/06/raising-cain-an-mmamaniacom-interview-exclusive-with-cain-velasquez/. Retrieved 2009-05-10.
- ^ "MMAjunkie.com reader poll: Who is the 2010 Fighter of the Year?". MMAjunkie.com. 8 January 2011. http://mmajunkie.com/news/22029/mmajunkie-com-reader-poll-who-was-the-2010-fighter-of-the-year.mma. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ a b Cain Velasquez. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Museum
External links[link]
- Official UFC Profile
- Cain Velasquez's profile at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Arizona State Wrestling Bio
- Cain Velasquez on Twitter
- Cain Velasquez at the Internet Movie Database
- Professional MMA record for Cain Velasquez from Sherdog
- Cain Velasquez Heavy Weight Belt Loss
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brock Lesnar |
15th UFC Heavyweight Champion October 23, 2010 – November 12, 2011 |
Succeeded by Junior dos Santos |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Velasquez, Cain Ramirez |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | American mixed martial artist |
| Date of birth | July 28, 1982 |
| Place of birth | Salinas, California, U.S. |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Cain_Velasquez
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Веласкес, Кейн
http://fr.wn.com/Cain Velasquez
http://pt.wn.com/Cain Velasquez
http://de.wn.com/Cain Velasquez
http://it.wn.com/Cain Velasquez
http://pl.wn.com/Cain Velasquez
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain_Velasquez
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.
| Forrest Griffin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | (1979-07-01) July 1, 1979 (age 32) Columbus, Ohio, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) |
| Division | Light Heavyweight Heavyweight |
| Reach | 77 in (196 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Team | Throwdown Training Center & Xtreme Couture |
| Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Robert Drysdale[1] |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 25 |
| Wins | 18 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 7 |
| By decision | 8 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 5 |
| By decision | 2 |
| University | University of Georgia |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
|
|
|
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.
Contents
|
Early life[link]
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.[2] 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.[3]
He trained at The HardCore Gym in Athens[4] for five years under Adam and Rory Singer.[5] He later left law enforcement to pursue a career in professional mixed martial arts.[6] Griffin is also an MMA instructor at Throwdown Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.[7]
Early Mixed martial arts career[link]
Before the Ultimate Fighter he fought the likes of Jeff Monson, Jeremy Horn, Chael Sonnen and early UFC veteran Dan Severn in his first pro fight. Forrest Griffin is also known for a fight with Edson Paradeo, in which Edson broke Griffin's left arm with what appeared to be a badly blocked roundhouse kick aimed at the body. Forrest continued on to win the fight by knockout with his right hand after escaping a deep armbar. As a result from the armbar and the badly-blocked body kick, he has a huge permanent lump on his left forearm.[8]
The Ultimate Fighter[link]
Griffin first became well known by taking part in the first-season of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter, a mixed martial arts reality show. At the time, he had given up mixed martial arts and taken a job with the Augusta/Richmond County Sheriffs Department in Georgia, but he was persuaded by Dana White to take part in the show.
Griffin vs. Bonnar[link]
Main article: Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar
On the show, he reached the finals where he defeated Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision. The fight was credited by Dana White as the "most important fight in UFC history"[9] and the fight that brought the UFC into the mainstream. For winning the competition he was given a six-figure professional contract to fight with the UFC.[5][10] The Stephan Bonnar fight was declared the #1 UFC fight of all time in the UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights program.
Rise To Fame[link]
Griffin vs. Ortiz[link]
On April 15, 2006, Griffin took on his toughest opponent yet when he fought former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 59, in which he lost a controversial split decision. Despite his loss on the judges scorecards he won over the fans with his ability to withstand everything that Tito could throw at him.
Griffin vs. Bonnar II[link]
At UFC 62, Griffin then fought Stephan Bonnar in a rematch from their earlier fight.[11] Griffin won by unanimous decision, sweeping all three rounds.[12] The fight was not as explosive as their previous encounter but was still an exciting bout.[12]
Griffin vs. Jardine[link]
Griffin was then defeated by Ultimate Fighter 2 semifinalist Keith Jardine at UFC 66 by way of TKO at 4:41 of the first round. After the fight, a visibly distraught Griffin sat in his corner crying. Moments later, he walked away from Joe Rogan's attempt to interview him, saying "I don't ev...Keith came in and he did exactly what I wanted to do and he knocked me the fuck out. Let's go home."[13] Griffin then walked off camera, leaving Joe Rogan to speak to the camera by himself. Moments later, Griffin reappeared heading the opposite direction saying, "I'll be back," as he headed out of the Octagon.
Griffin vs. Ramirez[link]
Griffin's next fight was supposed to be at UFC 70 against Lyoto Machida on April 21, 2007 but he was unable to fight due to a staph infection.[14]
On June 16, 2007 Griffin defeated Hector Ramirez at UFC 72 in Belfast, Northern Ireland via unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 30–27 to Griffin, during the fight Forrest was able to land 38 leg kicks breaking the UFC record for most leg kicks landed in three five minute rounds.[15] This record has since been broken by Amir Sadollah, who landed 46 against Peter Sobotta at UFC 122.[16]
Griffin vs. Shogun[link]
At UFC 76, Griffin fought against PRIDE's 2005 Middleweight (205 lb) Grand Prix champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.[17] At the time, Shogun was ranked the #1 light heavyweight fighter in the world by several MMA publications. Griffin won by rear naked choke at 4:45 of round three after dominating Shogun for the majority of the fight. It has since been reported that Griffin required surgery after the fight due to a shoulder injury that was sustained before the bout. It was also been reported that this shoulder has been a recurring problem for Griffin.[18]
Coaching The Ultimate Fighter 7[link]
On The Ultimate Fighter 6 finale, Dana White announced that Griffin was not only the number one contender for the Light Heavyweight title, but also one of the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 7 and would fight the other coach at the end of the series.[19] The other coach, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was announced by Dana White on December 9 at Spike TV's Video Game Awards show.
During the season all fighters of Team Forrest would make it to the finals consisting of Jesse Taylor and Amir Sadollah, although Taylor was removed from the finals after a security recording was presented to Dana White. He was shown kicking out one of the side windows of a rented limousine. The staff of the hotel where the incident occurred reported that a drunken Taylor had frightened female patrons and confronted hotel security by acting aggressively and screaming that he was a UFC fighter. Dana White told Taylor that this type of behavior was unacceptable and that he believed Taylor did not possess the mental discipline to deal with the pressures of fame and popularity that being in the UFC would put on him. White told Taylor that because of his actions he had forfeited his place in the final match, a decision that an emotional Taylor did not try to protest. His replacement, Team Rampage member C.B. Dollaway, went up against Team Forrest participant Amir Sadollah, with Amir going on to win by armbar in the first round.
On June 20, 2008, Griffin co-hosted the 25 Tuffest Moments in The Ultimate Fighter with Stephan Bonnar and Dana White.[20]
Winning and Losing the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship[link]
Griffin vs. Jackson[link]
On July 5, 2008, Griffin fought the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Viewed as a heavy underdog by many going into the fight,[21] Griffin faced Jackson in a hard fought battle that was named "Fight of the Night" by UFC president Dana White.[22] Griffin won a unanimous decision victory and became the new undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
Griffin appeared to be in trouble in the first round after being dropped by an uppercut, but he rallied in the second round and landed a damaging leg kick early that severely wobbled Jackson. Griffin followed up with ground strikes and cemented his control, preventing Jackson from mounting any significant offense for the entire round. After three more back and forth rounds, Griffin would go on to win the fight by unanimous decision to capture the light heavyweight title.[23]
The decision was described as controversial by some commentators.[24][25][26] After the fight, Jackson's trainer Juanito Ibarra, unhappy with the judges scoring, expressed plans to protest the unanimous decision with the Nevada State Athletic Commission but never filed as it would not have changed the decision.[27]
Griffin's documented pay for the fight was $310,000. $100,000 to fight, win bonus of $150,000 and $60,000 for the Fight of the Night award.[28]
Griffin vs. Evans[link]
Griffin's first title defense came at UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008, against undefeated challenger Rashad Evans.[29] After Griffin controlled most of the first two rounds with effective striking, Evans caught one of Griffin's kicks and took him down, defeating Griffin by TKO in the third round with ground and pound from inside the champion's guard.[30] The loss was Griffin's third loss since entering the UFC. During the fight Griffin broke his hand,[31] sidelining him for several months.
Decline and Redemption[link]
Griffin vs. Silva[link]
After recovery, Griffin signed on to fight pound-for-pound stalwart Anderson Silva at UFC 101.[32] Griffin was slated to take on Brazilian Thiago Silva, but on April 28, 2009, UFC President Dana White confirmed that he would instead accommodate Anderson's return to the light heavyweight division following his middleweight title defense against Thales Leites at UFC 97. During the bout, Griffin was knocked down three times in the first round by Silva. During the third knockdown, Griffin charged Silva with a flurry of punches, each of which were avoided by sways from Silva, who then countered with a compact right hand whilst retreating, knocking Griffin out.
After the fight, Griffin got up from the canvas, left the cage, and jogged out of the arena. It was initially suggested that Griffin was rushed to a hospital due to a dislocated jaw and trouble hearing in one ear.[33] However, it turned out there was no injury to Griffin's jaw.[34][35][36][37][38] Both fighters were awarded $60,000 as Fight of the Night bonuses and Silva received an additional $60,000 in bonus money for Knockout of the Night.
Griffin vs. Ortiz II[link]
When Mark Coleman got injured and had to drop out of his matchup against Tito Ortiz, Griffin accepted a rematch against Ortiz at UFC 106.[39] Griffin also wore white and black fight shorts instead of his trademark tan shorts for the fight. Griffin went on to win the gory battle by split decision, showing superior striking skills and a stronger ground game than in their previous fight. After the fight Griffin said, “Tito was a great fight for me to come back, we’ll have to do a third that’s 1-1 man.” With a split decision in both of their fights, Griffin seemed more than willing to get a rubber match put together with Ortiz to settle the score once and for all. “You could tell he was a guy getting ready for Mark Coleman, no offense, and he’s a guy coming off back surgery. We’ll do it again, I won’t break my foot, he’ll be in better shape,” commented Griffin.[40]
Griffin vs. Franklin[link]
Griffin was expected to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on May 29, 2010 at UFC 114, but he pulled out of the fight due to a shoulder injury.[41] He was replaced by Jason Brilz.[42]
Griffin faced former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin on February 5, 2011 at UFC 126.[43] Griffin controlled the majority of the fight showing superior kicks and combinations knocking Franklin down in the second round and also took Franklin down and controlled him on the ground in the 1st round, Griffin went on to win by unanimous decision.[44]
Griffin vs. Shogun II[link]
A rematch with Maurício Rua took place on August 27, 2011 at UFC 134.[45] Griffin lost the bout via KO (punches) in the first round and is out up to 6 months with possible right-foot and jaw injuries.[46] Before the fight, Griffin was updated that his wife had gone into labor. Dana White also voiced his support for Griffin, stating that he was very proud of him regardless of the loss.[47]
Griffin vs. Ortiz III[link]
Griffin is expected to face Tito Ortiz for a third time on July 7, 2012 at UFC 148.[48]
Personal life[link]
Griffin and his longtime girlfriend Jaime Logiudice were married on September 18, 2009.[49] The couple expected their first child, a daughter, in September 2011.[50] Forrest's wife was going into labor (nine days early) as he competed against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 134 on August 27, 2011.[51]
Championships and awards[link]
[edit] Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
- The Ultimate Fighter: Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner
- Fight of the Night (Three times)
- Submission of the Night (One time)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Fight of the Year 2005: vs Stephan Bonnar (The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale)
- Fight of the Year 2008: vs Quinton Jackson (UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin)
- FIGHTING SPIRIT magazine
- Fight of The Year 2006: vs Tito Ortiz (UFC 59: Reality Check)[52]
Mixed martial arts record[link]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 25 matches | 18 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 5 |
| By submission | 7 | 0 |
| By decision | 8 | 2 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 18–7 | Maurício Rua | TKO (punches) | UFC 134 | 02011-08-27August 27, 2011 | 1 | 1:53 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 18–6 | Rich Franklin | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 126 | 02011-02-05February 5, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 17–6 | Tito Ortiz | Decision (split) | UFC 106 | 02009-11-21November 21, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 16–6 | Anderson Silva | KO (punch) | UFC 101 | 02009-08-08August 8, 2009 | 1 | 3:23 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Fight of the Night. Beatdown of the Year. |
| Loss | 16–5 | Rashad Evans | TKO (punches) | UFC 92 | 02008-12-27December 27, 2008 | 3 | 2:46 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Lost the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship; Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 16–4 | Quinton Jackson | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 86 | 02008-07-05July 5, 2008 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Fight of the Night. Fight of the Year (2008). |
| Win | 15–4 | Maurício Rua | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 76 | 02007-09-22September 22, 2007 | 3 | 4:45 | Anaheim, California, United States | Submission of the Night. |
| Win | 14–4 | Hector Ramirez | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 72 | 02007-06-16June 16, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| Loss | 13–4 | Keith Jardine | TKO (punches) | UFC 66 | 02006-12-30December 30, 2006 | 1 | 4:41 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 13–3 | Stephan Bonnar | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 62 | 02006-08-26August 26, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 12–3 | Tito Ortiz | Decision (split) | UFC 59 | 02006-04-15April 15, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Anaheim, California, United States | Fight of the Year (2006). |
| Win | 12–2 | Elvis Sinosic | TKO (punches) | UFC 55 | 02005-10-07October 7, 2005 | 1 | 3:30 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 11–2 | Bill Mahood | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 53 | 02005-06-04June 4, 2005 | 1 | 2:18 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 10–2 | Stephan Bonnar | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale | 02005-04-09April 9, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | UFC Debut. Won the TUF 1: Light Heavyweight. Fight of the Year (2005). |
| Win | 9–2 | Edson Silva | KO (punch) | Heat FC 2: Evolution | 02003-12-18December 18, 2003 | 1 | 1:04 | Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil | |
| Loss | 8–2 | Jeremy Horn | KO (head kick) | IFC: Global Domination | 02003-09-06September 6, 2003 | 2 | 3:40 | Denver, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 8–1 | Chael Sonnen | Submission (triangle choke) | IFC: Global Domination | 02003-09-06September 6, 2003 | 1 | 2:25 | Denver, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 7–1 | Ebenezer Fontes Braga | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Heat FC 1: Genesis | 02003-07-31July 31, 2003 | 1 | N/A | Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil | |
| Win | 6–1 | Steve Sayegh | Submission (punches) | King of the Cage 20: Crossroads | 02002-12-15December 15, 2002 | 1 | 1:45 | Bernalillo, New Mexico, United States | |
| Win | 5–1 | Travis Fulton | TKO (doctor stoppage) | CC 1: Halloween Heat | 02002-10-26October 26, 2002 | 1 | 5:00 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
| Win | 4–1 | Jeff Monson | Decision (unanimous) | WEFC 1: Bring It On | 02002-06-29June 29, 2002 | 4 | 4:00 | Marietta, Georgia, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Kent Hensley | Submission (triangle choke) | ISCF: Battle at the Brewery | 02002-04-12April 12, 2002 | 1 | 2:26 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
| Win | 2–1 | Jason Braswell | Decision (split) | RSF 7: Animal Instinct | 02002-01-26January 26, 2002 | 3 | 4:00 | Lakeland, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 1–1 | Wiehan Lesh | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Pride and Honor | 02001-11-24November 24, 2001 | 1 | N/A | South Africa | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Dan Severn | Decision (unanimous) | RSF 5: New Blood Conflict | 02001-10-27October 27, 2001 | 3 | 4:00 | Augusta, Georgia, United States |
Books[link]
Griffin is the author of two books, 2009's Got Fight?: 50 Zen Principles of Hand-to-Face Combat and 2010's Be Ready When The Shit Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse, which both received positive reviews.[citation needed]
TV, movie and video game career[link]
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. On November 20, 2007 he had a brief cameo in the episode "Fight" as an MMA champion and murder suspect. But he was fatally shot within the first few minutes.[53]
- Human Weapon. On September 28, 2007 he had a cameo in the episode of MMA: America's Extreme Fighting.[54]
- UFC 2009 Undisputed. Griffin is the cover athlete for U.S. and European copies of "UFC 2009 Undisputed", he is also a playable character.
- I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. Griffin had a brief cameo in the film "I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell". He played the role of a police officer inside a local police station.
- UFC Undisputed 2010. Griffin is a playable character in "UFC Undisputed 2010]".
- UFC Undisputed 3. He also is a playable character in the third installent of the series.
- Unrivaled. Griffin played a full combat fighter named Landon 'The Brither' Popoff in 2010
- 13. Played the character Joey Blarro in 2010.
- Locked Down 2011(film).
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ "Forrest Griffin earns black belt in BJJ". mixedmartialarts.com. November 14, 2010. http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/280118/Forrest-Griffin-earns-black-belt-in-BJJ/.
- ^ Forrest Griffin News, Photos and Videos | FIGHT3R.com
- ^ http://www.ultimate-fighter.ca/blog/2007/forrest-griffin-interview-exclusive-to-ultimate-fighter-discussion/
- ^ http://www.forrestgriffin.net/news/news_8.html
- ^ a b Forrest Griffin - The Ultimate Fighter
- ^ Forrest Griffin - The Ultimate Fighter
- ^ Throwdown Training Center
- ^ Forrest Griffin: Arm Break + KO - Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums
- ^ Dave Meltzer. "UFC’s greatest hits: the middle years". Yahoo!. http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dm-ufcmiddle112408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns.
- ^ Forrest Griffin - The Ultimate Fighter
- ^ UFC 62 - Liddell vs. Sobral
- ^ a b http://martialarts.about.com/od/news/a/ufc62.htm
- ^ http://www.themmaboards.com/showthread.php?t=2632
- ^ Bolduc, Justin (February 23, 2007). "Arlovski vs. Werdum at UFC 70". nokaut.com. http://www.nokaut.com/?id=12&solo_news=719&lang=e&cur=eur.
- ^ "UFC 72 "Victory" Live Play-by-Play". Sherdog. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/UFC-72-Victory-Live-Play-by-Play-7931.
- ^ "Congrats @amirmma Sadollah Breaks Record For Most Leg Kicks In A UFC Fight". FightMetric.com. November 14, 2010. http://blog.fightmetric.com/2010/11/congrats-amirmma-sadollah-breaks-record.html.
- ^ "Shogun to Face Griffin, Not Machida". nokaut.com. July 19, 2007. http://www.nokaut.com/?id=12&solo_news=949&lang=e&cur=eur. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
- ^ "Forrest Griffin to have shoulder surgery". ufcmania.com. February 23, 2007. http://ufcmania.com/2007/10/16/report-forrest-griffin-to-have-shoulder-surgery/.
- ^ "One Coach Officially Announced for The Ultimate Fighter 7". MMAFrenzy. http://mmafrenzy.com/2007/12/09/one-coach-officially-announced-for-the-ultimate-fighter-7.
- ^ Forrest Griffin - MMA Fighter Profile - ProElite
- ^ "No Joke. Griffin on Serious Rampage for Jackson". sherdog.com. July 4, 2008. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=13545. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
- ^ "UFC 86 REVIEW: MAIN EVENT WOWS, FORREST WINS!". MMAWeekly.com. July 6, 2008. http://mmaweekly.com/ufc-86-review-main-event-wows-forrest-wins-2. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
- ^ "UFC 86 'Jackson vs. Griffin' Play-by-Play". Sherdog. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/ufc-86-jackson-vs-griffin-play-by-play-13559.
- ^ UFC 86 decision spotlights scoring system - MMA - Yahoo! Sports
- ^ Mike Sloan. "Griffin Snatches UFC Title with Controversial Win". Sherdog. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/griffin-snatches-ufc-title-with-controversial-win-13564.
- ^ UFC 86 REVIEW: MAIN EVENT WOWS, FORREST WINS! - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more
- ^ "Juanito Ibarra Holding Off On Protest". MMAFrenzy.com. http://www.mmafrenzy.com/2008/07/11/juanito-ibarra-holding-off-on-protest.
- ^ John Morgan. "Griffin, Jackson, Guillard and Miller earn $60K UFC 86 bonuses". MMAjunkie. http://mmajunkie.com/news/4741/griffin-jackson-guillard-and-miller-earn-60k-ufc-86-bonuses.mma.
- ^ Joe Hall. "Evans, Mir Crowned; Rampage Gets Revenge". Sherdog. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/evans-mir-crowned-rampage-gets-revenge-15607.
- ^ "UFC 92 Play-by-Play". Sherdog. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/ufc-92-play-by-play-15600.
- ^ "Forrest Griffin Suffers Broken Hand In Loss". MMAWeekly.com. December 28, 2008. http://mmaweekly.com/forrest-griffin-suffers-broken-hand-in-loss. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ^ Kevin Iole. "UFC signs Silva-Griffin blockbuster". Yahoo!. http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ki-silvagriffin042909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns.
- ^ Davies, Gareth A (August 9, 2009). "Forrest Griffin camp reveal dislocated jaw as Anderson Silva contemplates Lyoto Machida". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxingandmma/5998996/Forrest-Griffin-camp-reveal-dislocated-jaw-as-Anderson-Silva-contemplates-Lyoto-Machida.html. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- ^ Davies, Gareth A (August 9, 2009). "UFC 101: Forrest 'not injured' confirms his boxing coach". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/garethadavies/100001149/ufc-101-forrest-not-injured-confirms-his-boxing-coach/. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ "Griffin uninjured, not dealing well with loss". Yahoo!. http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ys-mmaweekly081009&prov=yhoo&type=lgns.
- ^ Staff (August 11, 2009). "Handful of medical suspensions follow UFC 101, Tamdan McCrory needs doctor's clearance". MMAjunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/15802/handful-of-medical-suspensions-follow-ufc-101-tamdan-mccrory-needs-doctors-clearance.mma. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
- ^ "ShowdownJoe's Tweet". August 9, 2009. http://twitter.com/#!/ShowdownJoe/status/3211430858. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ "Why did Forrest Griffin Run – No Broken Jaw!"". August 9, 2009. http://news.lalate.com/2009/08/09/forrest-griffin-jaw-youtube/. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ Brian Knapp. "Ortiz-Griffin Rematch Slated for UFC 106". Sherdog. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/ortiz-griffin-rematch-slated-for-ufc-106-20234.
- ^ "GRIFFIN SETTLES THE SCORE WITH ORTIZ". MMAWeekly.com. November 22, 2009. http://mmaweekly.com/griffin-settles-the-score-with-ortiz-2. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
- ^ "Injury pulls Griffin off UFC 114". sports.yahoo.com. May 4, 2010. http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ys-mmaweek050410.
- ^ "Evans, Bisping, Nogueira win at decision-filled UFC 114". USA Today. May 30, 2010. http://www.usatoday.com/communities/mma/post/2010/05/evans-bisping-nogueira-win-at-decision-filled-ufc-114/1.
- ^ "Rich Franklin vs. Forrest Griffin Fight Planned for Feb. 5 UFC Card". mmafighting.com. October 5, 2010. http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/10/05/rich-franklin-vs-forrest-griffin-fight-planned-for-feb-5-ufc-c/.
- ^ "UFC 126 medical suspensions: Griffin and Ellenberger facing potential long layoffs". MMAjunkie. http://mmajunkie.com/news/22382/ufc-126-medical-suspensions-griffin-and-ellenberger-facing-potential-long-layoffs.mma.
- ^ "Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Rua Rematch to Take Place at UFC Rio Event". MMAfighting. April 15, 2011. http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/15/forrest-griffin-vs-mauricio-rua-rematch-to-take-place-at-ufc-ri/.
- ^ "Forrest Griffin out 6 months possibly". mmajunkie. August 31, 2011. http://mmajunkie.com/news/25026/ufc-134-medical-suspensions-griffin-nedkov-assuncao-and-loveland-out-up-to-six-months.mma.
- ^ UFC 134 Post Fight: Forrest Griffin Makes No Excuses, Dana White Calls Him a Warrior | MMAWeekly.com
- ^ "Tito Ortiz Vs. Forrest Griffin III Set For July's UFC 148". bloodyelbow.com. March 20, 2012. http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/3/20/2886598/forrest-griffin-vs-tito-ortiz-3-ufc-148-july.
- ^ "Forrest Griffin married girlfriend over the weekend". FIVEKNUCKLES.com. 2009-09-23. http://www.fiveknuckles.com/mma-news/Forrest-Griffin-married-girlfriend-over-the-weekend.html. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- ^ "Forrest Griffin blog". Bsnonline.net. 2011-05-31. http://www.bsnonline.net/blog/forrest_griffin.html?entry=1663. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
- ^ "Griffin won't blame distractions for defeat". ESPN.co.uk. 2011-08-29. http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/108341.html. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
- ^ Tito Ortiz Bio, Videos, Photos + Ronin5 MMA Clothing | MMA Shirts | Martial arts t-shirts
- ^ Digg - Forrest Griffin on Law and Order
- ^ mixedmartialartvideos.com
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Forrest Griffin |
- Official website
- Professional MMA record for Forrest Griffin from Sherdog
- UFC Profile
- Griffin's Second Book
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Quinton Jackson |
8th UFC Light Heavyweight Champion July 5, 2008 – December 27, 2008 |
Succeeded by Rashad Evans |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Griffin, Forrest |
| Alternative names | Griffin, Forrest |
| Short description | American mixed martial artist |
| Date of birth | July 1, 1979 |
| Place of birth | Columbus, Ohio, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Forrest_Griffin
Related pages:
http://fr.wn.com/Forrest Griffin
http://pt.wn.com/Forrest Griffin
http://de.wn.com/Forrest Griffin
http://it.wn.com/Forrest Griffin
http://pl.wn.com/Forrest Griffin
http://es.wn.com/Forrest Griffin
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_Griffin
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.
Fox Henderson, Sr. (1853–1918) was a businessman and banking entrepreneur from Troy, Alabama.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Fox Henderson was born in Pike County, Alabama in 1853, the oldest son of Jeremiah Augustus "Gus" Henderson and Mildred Elizabeth Henderson (née Hill)[1]. The Henderson family moved to Troy, Alabama in 1869, where Jeremiah Henderson started a successful farm mercantile business, joined by his sons Fox and Jere Clemens (“Clem”).
Business endeavors[link]
In 1881, at the young age of 28, Henderson and his brother Jere purchased the Pike County Bank[2], and changed the name to the Farmers and Merchants (F&M) Bank. For the next 18 years, as the only bank in the area, the bank’s assets grew immensely[1]. In 1903, the bank received a national charter and the name was changed again to Farmers and Merchants National Bank. Henderson was president of the bank from its inception until his death.[2].
In 1880, Henderson became a partner in Minchenor, Henderson & Company, a business that made handles, spokes, and picker sticks. He also co-founded the Troy Fertilizer Company [3] in 1883 with a couple of partners - Alexander St. Claire Tennille and Oliver C. Wiley. This venture became so successful that Fox bought out his partners in 1902 and merged the fertilizer company with his other venture, the Standard Chemical Company[1]. The newly created Standard Chemical and Oil Company, Inc. was the largest plant of its kind in southern Alabama. In 1887, the new Alabama Midland Railroad came to Troy - Henderson and his partners formed the Alabama Terminal Improvement Company, a business to build and equip the new railroad[2]. In 1890, Henderson and his brother Charles opened the Henderson Knitting Mills, a textile manufacturing enterprise, which was shut down soon after it opened[3]. Henderson was also a cotton merchant and organizer of the unsuccessful Troy Shoe Manufactory[3].
Turn of the century[link]
By 1900, Fox Henderson was one of the largest land owners in and around Troy. He established the Arcadia Dairy on his 6,000 acres (24 km2) of land, which imported Jersey cows to supply the city of Troy with fresh milk[1].
In 1911, Henderson formed a holding company (Fox Henderson & Sons) with his sons as partners[1].
Offices[link]
In 1911, Fox Henderson, Sr. held the following offices:[1]
- President, First National Bank of Dozier
- President, Bank of Luverne
- President, Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Troy
- President, Henderson National Bank of Huntsville
- President, First National Bank of Brantley
- President, Standard Chemical Company of Troy
- Vice-president, First National Bank of Andalusia
- Vice-president, First National Bank of Brundidge
- Vice-president, Henderson Lumber Company of Sanford
- Vice-president, Planters Trading Company of Elba
- Partner, Henderson-Hill of Brantley
- Partner, Cody-Henderson of Luverne
- Partner, Henderson-Black Company of Troy
Henderson was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame.
Family life[link]
As a young man, Henderson married Sallie Wilkerson. The couple had three sons - Fox Henderson Jr., Fred and Jake, and one daughter, Gussie Henderson Jones[1].
He donated land for the Pike County Fair and the Pike Masonic Hospital, the first hospital in Troy, now named Beard Memorial Hospital[1]. He also built the courthouse in Troy with his business partner Joe Minchener[2]. Though he never apparently expressed any interest in running for political office, he was the chief contributor to his brother Charles Henderson’s successful campaign for governor of Alabama in 1914[1].
Henderson died in 1918 at the age of 65. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy next to his wife, Sallie[2].
References[link]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Trojan Influence. Rice, William J.
- ^ a b c d e Troy 1838-2006. Rice, Bill Sr.
- ^ a b c One Hundred Fifty Years in Pike County Alabama 1821-1971, Farmer, Margaret Pace, 1971.
External links[link]
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Henderson, Fox |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1853 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 1918 |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Fox_Henderson
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Henderson
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.
