Jason Tan
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Jason Tan born in England is a mixed martial arts fighter. He competes in the Welterweight division. He lost his last fight at UFC 84 against Dong Hyun Kim on May 24, 2008.
Biography
Tan started out in kickboxing at the age of 15 before studying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA. It is said in previous interviews that Tan's inspiration to study Jiu Jitsu and MMA was through watching Rickson Gracie's "Choke" documentary.
Tan has travelled extensively to pursue training in mixed martial arts. He has trained with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and Pride Veteran Chris Brennan at the original Next Generation Fighting Academy, California. On his return to the United Kingdom, Tan co-created Next Generation MMA UK in Liverpool with Paul Rimmer, whom he trained with in the United States Next Generation MMA. Tan spent the majority of 2004 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were he trained with Gracie Barra earning his purple belt.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Tan sports a professional mixed martial arts record of 6-2. He began his career on the local show in Liverpool, known as Cage Fighting Championships & Cage Gladiators, defeating opponents such as Joey Van Wanrooy and Leslee Ojugbana. At this time Tan was not a prominent figure on the British MMA scene as he was only fighting in local shows. However this changed when he agreed to fight London's Alex Reid at the Manchester Evening News Arena on the "WCFC: No Guts, No Glory" event. Tan took the fight on two hours notice and some interviews state that he was actually in the middle of a McDonald's feast when he received the call. Tan dominated the fight both standing and on the ground earning a decision victory. Tan's first defeat came against Jim Wallhead who hails from Leicester and is a part of Team Rough House in Nottingham. Over a tough three round battle the judges scored a decision victory for Wallhead. However many of Tan's supporters believe that Tan actually won the fight, although educated followers agreed it was a tough battle between two top UK fighters and Wallhead did well to get the win in Tan's home town via a razor thin decision.
Tan had to take time off after the Wallhead fight due to a knee injury and was not able to compete until mid 2007. Tan was drafted in by the UFC to fight Marcus Davis, who came from the Ultimate Fighter series. The two squared off at UFC 72: Victory, Belfast. Tan came out with sharp Muay Thai skills landing leg kicks and high kicks on Davis. However a brief exchange from the pair seen Tan taking a right hook dropping him to the mat where Davis landed further shots before Yves Lavigne stopped the bout at 1:15. Again many people think the fight was stopped too early and this has been a common issue due to the inconsistentcy of stoppages in mixed martial arts.
Tan came back stronger defeating Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Alexandre Izidro. Izidro was a recognised fighter in the UK and the former Cage Warriors Lightweight Champion. Tan dominated the fight completely landing clean blows on Izidro and on the floor, where he had him in an arm bar. Tan took a unanimous decision.
Tan received his brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Chris Brennan in 2006.
Tan's Liverpool MMA Club Next Generation fight club has produced many amateur and professional fighters, most notably Terry Etim who also fights for the UFC.
Mixed martial arts record
| 8 matches | 5 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 2 |
| By submission | 2 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 1 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 5-3 |  Dong Hyun Kim
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TKO (Elbows) | UFC 84 - Ill Will | May 24, 2008 | 3 | 0:25 |  Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
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| Win | 5-2 |  Alexandre Izidro
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Decision (Unanimous) | CG 4 - Cage Gladiators 4 | August 5, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 |  England
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| Loss | 4-2 | Marcus Davis
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TKO (Punch) | UFC 72 - Victory | June 16, 2007 | 1 | 1:15 |  Belfast, Northern Ireland
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| Loss | 4-1 | Jim Wallhead
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Decision (Split) | CG II - The Next Generation | September 3, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | UK
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| Win | 4-0 |  Joey Van Wanrooij
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Submission (Triangle Choke) | CG 1 - Cage Gladiators 1 | May 22, 2006 | 1 | 1:46 | England
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| Win | 3-0 | Alex Reid
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Decision (Split) | WCFC - No Guts No Glory | March 18, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | England
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| Win | 2-0 | Leslee Ojugbana | Submission (Triangle Choke) | CFC 4 - Cage Carnage | July 3, 2005 | 1 | 4:56 | England
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| Win | 1-0 | Brian Moore | TKO | CFC 3 - Cage Carnage | March 6, 2005 | 1 | England
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