Justin Eilers
| Justin Eilers | |
|---|---|
| Born | Justin Mark Eilers June 28, 1978 Boise, Idaho, U.S.[1] |
| Died | December 25, 2008 (aged 30) Nampa, Idaho, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] |
| Weight | 235 lb (106.6 kg; 16.8 st) |
| Division | Heavyweight (265 lb) |
| Style | Boxing, Submission wrestling |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Hitsquad |
| Team | Miletich Martial Arts |
| Years active | 2002–2008 (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 27 |
| Wins | 19 |
| By knockout | 12 |
| By submission | 6 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Justin Eilers (June 28, 1978 – December 25, 2008[2]) was an American professional mixed martial artist, formerly with the UFC and WEC. He trained with Miletich Fighting Systems in Bettendorf, Iowa.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Justin Mark Eilers was raised in Nampa, Idaho, and developed an early love of football. He began wrestling in the sixth grade and through high school, but he missed a football scholarship out of high school due to his low SAT scores, and soon took up karate at a local school.[4] He began competing in small full contact shows around Idaho, where he met up and coming fighter Jens Pulver, who was fighting with the same promotion.
After being accepted to Butte Junior College near Chico, California, Eilers left mixed martial arts behind for football, and was recruited by Iowa State University as a linebacker. He would go on to play for Iowa State for the next four years, After college, Eilers took time off to fully heal a shoulder injury. It was during this time that he had another chance meeting with Jens Pulver, who was now a popular fighter in the UFC. Pulver urged Eilers to try fighting again, and after a few months of training, he made his MMA debut in 2002 facing classic UFC fighter Dan Severn at Victory Fighting Championships 3 (a local Iowa MMA organization). He would lose the fight via decision, but the experience pushed Eilers to focus full time on the sport of mixed martial arts. Just one month later Eilers returned to MMA competition, taking a quick KO victory over Jeff Gerlick at an Extreme Challenge event.
Eilers went undefeated in his next 4 fights, before losing a close split decision victory to Cabbage Correira at SuperBrawl 30. Coming off the loss to Cabbage, Eilers won his next five fights, all by KO, and was signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2004. His first fight in the octagon was against an old friend from high school, Mike Kyle at UFC 49. Eilers knocked Kyle out in just 1:14 of the first round, but was suspended after the fight by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to injury sustained to his hand in the fight. He returned in February 2005 at UFC 51 to face top heavyweight contender Paul Buentello. Three minutes into the first round, Eilers was caught by a right hook from Buentello, which ended the fight. Four months later at UFC 53, Eilers would get a title shot, facing Andrei Arlovski. Unfortunately he would suffer another KO loss at the hands of the heavyweight champion Arlovski. Eilers suffered extensive injuries in this match, breaking both hands, his jaw, and tearing his ACL.
Following his loss to Arlovski, Eilers took eight months off, and returned to the octagon at UFC 57 to face Brandon Vera. In yet another brutal knock out, he was dazed by a high kick to the top right side of the head and then dropped by a vicious knee to the same area. Eilers was released from the UFC in 2006, and returned to MMA competition at Combat in the Cage 2, finally scoring a KO victory (his first victory in almost 2 years) over Sherman Pendergarst.
In June 2006, Eilers faced Jimmy Ambriz at World Extreme Cagefighting 21, taking a TKO victory due to doctor stoppage. In his next five fights Eilers proceeded to beat Rocky Batastini (by submission due to strikes), Wade Hamilton (by submission due to strikes), Josh Diekman (by TKO due to strikes), John Dixon (by submission due to strikes) and Jihoon Kim (by submission due to strikes). Eilers' winning streak came to an end when, on March 9, 2007, he lost to Pedro Rizzo by unanimous decision. The fight took place at the début show of the Undisputed Arena Fighting Championships, and was held in Dallas, Texas.[citation needed]
[edit] Death
At 10:45 p.m. on December 25, 2008, Eilers was shot during an apparent domestic dispute by his stepfather, 48-year-old James Robert Malec, at Malec's and his mother's residence in Nampa, Idaho. He died from a single gunshot to the chest. Malec, a former correctional officer, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.[2][5][6]
Eilers leaves behind a son, whom was also in the home that night. Malec was convicted on the lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
[edit] Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 27 matches | 19 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 12 | 4 |
| By submission | 6 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 3 |
| By disqualification | 0 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 19-7-1 |  Antonio Silva |
TKO (knees and punches) | EliteXC: Unfinished Business | July 26, 2008 | 2 | 0:19 | For Elite XC Heavyweight Championship. Silva tested positive for steroids post-fight. | |
| Win | 19-6-1 |  Wade Shipp |
TKO (punches) | IFC – Caged Combat | April 26, 2008 | 4 | 3:50 | ||
| Win | 18-6-1 | Matt Thompson |
Decision (unanimous) | HDNet Fight | October 13, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | ||
| Win | 17-6-1 | Scott Hough |
TKO (strikes) | FSG: Coliseum Carnage | April 8, 2007 | 1 | 4:11 | ||
| Loss | 16-6-1 | Pedro Rizzo |
Decision (unanimous) | Undisputed Arena Fighting Championships | March 9, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | ||
| Win | 16-5-1 |  Ji Hoon Kim |
Submission (strikes) | World Best Fighter: USA vs. Asia | February 3, 2007 | 1 | 2:10 | ||
| Win | 15-5-1 | Josh Dixon |
Submission (strikes) | Beatdown in Bakersfield | November 17, 2006 | 2 | 0:56 | ||
| Win | 14-5-1 | Josh Diekman |
TKO (strikes) | WEC 24 | October 12, 2006 | 1 | 2:29 | ||
| Win | 13-5-1 | Wade Hamilton |
Submission (strikes) | RMN – MMA: Demolition | September 16, 2006 | 1 | 2:23 | ||
| Win | 12-5-1 | Rocky Batastini |
Submission (strikes) | Xtreme Fight Series 1 | July 15, 2006 | 1 | 2:32 | ||
| Win | 11-5-1 | Jimmy Ambriz |
TKO (doctor stoppage) | WEC 21: Tapout | June 15, 2006 | 1 | 5:00 | ||
| Win | 10-5-1 | Sherman Pendergarst |
KO (punches) | Combat in the Cage 2 | May 20, 2006 | 2 | 4:34 | ||
| Loss | 9-5-1 | Brandon Vera |
KO (kick and knee) | UFC 57 | February 4, 2006 | 1 | 1:25 | ||
| Loss | 9-4-1 |  Andrei Arlovski |
TKO (strikes) | UFC 53 | June 4, 2005 | 1 | 4:10 | For Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship | |
| Loss | 9-3-1 | Paul Buentello |
KO (punch) | UFC 51 | February 5, 2005 | 1 | 3:34 | ||
| Win | 9-2-1 | Mike Kyle |
KO (punch) | UFC 49 | August 21, 2004 | 1 | 1:14 | ||
| Win | 8-2-1 |  Mikhail Bogdanov |
TKO (corner stoppage) | Euphoria: Russia vs USA | March 13, 2004 | 1 | 5:00 | ||
| Win | 7-2-1 | Vince Lucero |
TKO (injury) | SuperBrawl 33 | February 7, 2004 | 1 | 0:11 | ||
| Win | 6-2-1 | Rocky Batastini |
TKO (punch) | International Fighting Championships: Battleground Tahoe | January 31, 2004 | 1 | |||
| Win | 5-2-1 | Gary Marshall |
TKO (strikes) | IFC: Battleground Boise | October 25, 2003 | 1 | 4:25 | ||
| Win | 4-2-1 | Brian Shepard |
TKO (injury) | CFM: Octogono Extremo | September 27, 2003 | 1 | 4:00 | ||
| Loss | 3-2-1 | Wesley Correira |
Decision (split) | SB 30: Collision Course | June 13, 2003 | 3 | 5:00 | ||
| Draw | 3-1-1 | Jason Brilz |
Draw | VFC 4: Wildcard | April 19, 2003 | 3 | 5:00 | ||
| Win | 3-1 | Johnathan Ivey |
Submission (strikes) | Iowa Challenge 9 | April 5, 2003 | 1 | 1:03 | ||
| Win | 2-1 | Seth Peters |
Submission (strikes) | Iowa Challenge 8 | January 11, 2003 | 1 | |||
| Win | 1-1 | Jeff Gerlick |
KO (punch) | MMA Nationals 2002 | December 14, 2002 | 1 | 2:56 | ||
| Loss | 0-1 | Dan Severn |
Decision (unanimous) | VFC 3: Total Chaos | November 23, 2002 | 3 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Justin Eilers' professional mixed martial arts statistics". http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=5936. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
- ^ a b Eilers Shot Dead - Sherdog.com, 2008-12-26
- ^ "MMA fighter Eilers shot dead", Thaindian.com, 2008-12-26
- ^ Ratzloff, Traci (June 3, 2005). "Justin Eilers on the PGA, MMA role models and the UFC". Sherdog. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=2929.
- ^ MMA fighter Eilers shot to death in Idaho- International Herald Tribune All
- ^ UFC Veteran Justin Eilers Shot and Killed- The Fight Network
