Jeff Monson
Jeffrey 'Jeff' "The Snowman" Monson (born January 18, 1971) is a mixed martial arts fighter from Olympia, Washington and an anarchist. He is affiliated with American Top Team which is based in Coconut Creek, Florida.
Biography
Monson is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and an ADCC Submission Wrestling World Champion. He is also a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter with a professional record of 24 wins and 7 losses. Monson has also had three professional boxing bouts. His boxing record is two wins and one draw.
Monson is also known for his anarchist views and affiliations. In an interview, he explained, "I am an anarchist, someone who would like to do away with all class hierarchy in society and the institutions that promote this inequality."[1] He correspondingly receives sponsorship from AK Press and has several anarchist symbols tattooed on his body. In solidarity, Monson is a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies). [2]
Monson has a Bachelor's degree and a Master's Degree in psychology. For a few years he worked as a mental health professional, both in a crisis evaluation role as well as a child/family counselor.[citation needed] After initial success in Abu Dhabi and other MMA arenas, he left the professional world of psychology to devote himself full time to his MMA endeavors.
He is nicknamed "The Snowman" for his performance at the 1999 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship. The Brazilian fighters at the tournament gave him the nickname because he came in as an unknown, but beat four Brazilians in a row to win the 88-98 kilogram weight class. As he went along in the tournament and continued to beat his opponents, they said he was like a snowball (white, compact, and rolling and getting bigger and stronger as the tournament went on).[3]
Mixed martial arts career
On November 18, 2006 at UFC 65, Monson fought Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight championship. Monson lost a five round decision and would later ask to be relinquished from his UFC contract in hopes of facing PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko at a BodogFIGHT scheduled for March 2007.[citation needed] However, negotiations fell through and the match never came to fruition.[citation needed]
At PRIDE 34, on April 8, 2007, Monson defeated Kazuyuki Fujita by rear naked choke at 6:37 of the opening round.
His next fight was scheduled to be against Chris Guillen on August 17, 2007 for the Global Fighting Championships' heavyweight title, but the event was canceled after four of the eight scheduled bouts were removed from the card.[4] He lost his latest fight against Pedro Rizzo at Art of War 3 which was held on September 1, 2007. During the bout, Monson displayed a much improved level of striking, and kept the fight standing virtually the entire time.
On September 7, 2007, Monson won a total of two matches in the FILA World Championship in Turkey, defeating France's Zoro Piere and Great Britain's Tom Blackledge with submissions. Monson was awarded the 275-pound gold medal when his final opponent Ramon Diaz suffered an injury and was forced to bow out.
Personal life
Monson has two children, Joshua and Michaela.[5] Monson was a Division I wrestler at Oregon State and at the University of Illinois, and was a Pac-10 champion.[citation needed] He also competed on the Senior level in USA Wrestling events for a number of years.[citation needed]
Record
See also
References
- ^ "An Interview with Anarchist Jeff "The Snowman" Monson of the Ultimate Fighting Championship".
- ^ Gabriel Thompson. "Jeff Monson: The Ultimate Fighting Anarchist". Alternative Press Review.
- ^ "Jeff Monson's official website".
- ^ Shapiro, Andy (August 17, 2007). "Friday's Global FC Event Cancelled". Sherdog. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
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(help) - ^ He's been wrestling for more than half his life, has endured recovery from two bicep tears earlier this decade and is ready to leave the training grind behind to spend more time with his kids, Joshua and Michaela.
External links
- Jeff Monson's official website
- Professional MMA record for Jeff Monson from Sherdog
- Boxing record for Jeff Monson from BoxRec (registration required)