Kevin Randleman: Difference between revisions
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Kevin is married to Elizabeth and has two children,Calvin and Jasmine. |
Kevin is married to Elizabeth and has two children, Calvin and Jasmine. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 17:33, 23 April 2007
Kevin "The Monster" Randleman (born August 10, 1971 in Sandusky, Ohio) is an American mixed martial arts fighter. Randleman's background is in freestyle wrestling. Wrestling at 177 pounds, Randleman was a two time Division I NCAA Champion for Ohio State University. Randleman is a former heavyweight champion of the UFC and currently fights in PRIDE at heavyweight and light heavyweight. He is known for his athleticism, explosive power and speed. He is associated with Mark Coleman's Team Hammer House. His professional MMA record is 16-12-0 as of October 21, 2006.
Before MMA
In the documentary Rites Of Passage, Randleman reveals he had a tough childhood, with his mother and father members of the Black Panthers and most of his siblings having been incarcerated at one time or another. In the film he reveals that he had been molested as a youth, and had contemplated committing suicide.
His sports career started in High School where he was a state wrestling champion. He then went on to the Ohio State University where he was a 3 time All-American, 3 time Big Ten Champion and 2 time NCAA National Champion.
His long-time friend, and trainer Mark Coleman, then fighting in the UFC, arranged for Randleman to fight in Brazil.
Fighting in Brazil
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.[1]
At the Brazil Open Fight event on June 15, 1997, he submitted Homem de Neve but lost his next fight to Tom Erikson by KO. He has stated that it was hard to fight Erikson as they knew each other beforehand.
UFC
Randleman fought in the UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions on UFC 19, UFC 20, UFC 23, UFC 26, UFC 28, UFC 31, UFC 35. Beating Maurice Smith to become a top contender, he fought Bas Rutten for the heavyweight title, previously vacated by Randy Couture. Randleman lost via a decision to Rutten, as while Randleman maintained positional superiority with takedowns, it was judged that Rutten was the more active fighter with strikes.
Randleman achieved his goal to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion on November 19, 1999, beating Pete Williams at UFC 23 for the title (which was vacated upon Rutten's retirement) but lost the title to Randy Couture at UFC 28. After losing the title, he moved down to light heavyweight, feeling it was a more natural weight for his body, but suffered a setback, losing to Chuck Liddell in his first fight at that weight before beating Renato Sobral in his final fight with the UFC.
Revolution Fighting Championships
On July 13, 2002, Randleman defeated Brian Foster at the Revolution Fighting Championships 1: The Beginning.
PRIDE FC
In September 2002 , Randleman made his debut in PRIDE, taking on Japanese wrestler Michiyoshi Ohara. Randleman acquired an easy victory, as Ohara appeared to have no intention of trying to fight Randleman right from the off-set, and even tried to flee and grab the ropes several times in an attempt to avoid damage from Randleman. This match was panned by the audience and Randleman himself, who left the ring before being awarded his trophy, visibly angry.
Throughout the course of 2002, Randleman gained victories over Kenichi Yamamoto and Murilo Rua. This winning streak would eventually put him in the spot of contender for the Pride Middeweight Championship, held by Wanderlei Silva. At PRIDE 25 Kevin Randleman faced another middleweight contender, fellow American wrestler Quinton Jackson, in a match that determined the number one contender for Silva’s belt. In the first round, Randleman suffered his first loss in PRIDE, due to a vicious ground and pound by Jackson.
Following a submission loss to Kazushi Sakuraba in 2003, Randleman would become one of the 16 participants in the PRIDE 2004 Heavyweight Tournament, alongside teamate Mark Coleman. His first round match up at PRIDE Total Elimination 2004 was against feared heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop Filipović, a participant heavily favored to win the entire tournament. In what many consider to be one of the greatest upsets in MMA history[1], Randleman knocked out Crocop with a left hook while Cro Cop was expecting him to shoot for a takedown.
In the second round, at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004, Randleman faced off against the reigning Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko. Again a heavy underdog, in a short bout he managed to take down and then suplex Fedor onto his head, landing in north south position. This maneuver failed to damage Fedor, who quickly capitalized on Randleman's characteristic failure to inflict damage upon opponent from a dominant position by reversing him and submitting him with a kimura armlock, thereby eliminating him from the tournament.
His tournament journey over, Randleman would square off against friend and fellow American wrestler Ron Waterman at PRIDE Final Conflict 2004, submitting to a keylock in the first round.
] At PRIDE Shockwave 2004 Randleman offered a rematch to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović. Filipovic would make Randleman submit in the first round, adding another loss to Randleman’s losing streak. In the opening round of the 2005 PRIDE Grand Prix tournament, Kevin Randleman would lose to Kazuhiro Nakamura via judges decision. In November of 2005, Randleman appeared in Bushido Europe-Rotterdam Rumble, Europe's first Bushido event, and would defeat Fatih Kocamis via judges decision, ending his losing streak, and giving him his first win in nearly a year.
Randleman was taken ill with a serious fungal lung infection [2] after his Rotterdam bout that had unknowingly been present for sometime. He underwent a successful surgery to have the infection removed. After recovering, he was scheduled to fight against Vitor Belfort at a Strikeforce event, but was unable to, due to a shoulder injury.
Kevin Randleman returned to Pride FC for their first show on American soil, PRIDE 32: The Real Deal on October 21 2006 where he was quickly submitted via kneebar in the first round by 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Mauricio Rua. This matchup was made partly to capitalize on an incident where Mark Coleman fought Mauricio Rua and Rua broke his own arm trying to regain his balance following a Coleman takedown. After the referee stopped the fight, a brawl ensued due to Mark Coleman striking Rua after the referee had ruled the match over. Chute Boxe and Hammer House members then entered the ring, clashing verbally and physically, creating bad blood between the two teams over Coleman's behaviour after the injury.
Illness and suspension from fighting
On October 21, 2006, Randleman submitted a urine sample lacking any hormones. This indicated that the sample was fake and Randleman is likely to face the same penalties as a positive drug test [3]. On January 19 2007, Randleman was hospitalized[4] due to serious damage to his kidneys. In an interview with Mmaweekly, he stated he failed to submit a urine sample due to his use of painkillers and antibiotics after his previous surgeries that may have prevented him from being cleared to fight, and his current health issues were a result of the cumulative effects of his surgeries, medication and fighting on his body.
The Nevada Athletic Commission met on 16 February 2007 to discuss the fake sample and revoked Randleman's license to fight. He is able to reapply for a license after October 21, 2007, a year on from the date of his loss to Mauricio Rua.[5][6]
MMA Record
Honors
- Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 4 tournament winner
- Former UFC Heavyweight Champion
- Inducted into the Ohio State Hall Of Fame September 11, 2004
- Awarded 2004 “Knock Out Of The Year” by sportsbook.com[7]
- Inducted into the Sandusky High School Hall of Fame May 6th, 2006
Personal life
Kevin is married to Elizabeth and has two children, Calvin and Jasmine.
References
- "Fraudulent drug test likely to lead to suspension" by Dave Meltzer, November 7, 2006, retrieved November 7, 2006
- "Randleman discusses his medical condition", by MMAWeekly.com January 24, 2007, retrieved January 25, 2007
- "Kevin Randleman out of hospital", by MMAWeekly.com January 31, 2007, retrieved February 01, 2007
- Greatest Pride Fighting Knockouts, Video of the total elimination with Mirko Filipovic, retrieved February 16, 2007