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Sean Salmon

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Sean Salmon
Born (1977-09-11) September 11, 1977 (age 47)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
ResidenceColumbus, Ohio, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
DivisionLight Heavyweight
Middleweight
StanceSouthpaw
Fighting out ofColumbus, Ohio, U.S.
TeamThe JG MMA And Fitness (2005–2009, 2011–2014)
Wolfslair MMA Academy (2009–2011)
TrainerJorge Gurgel
Mario Neto (2009–2011)
Years active2005–2013
Mixed martial arts record
Total39
Wins18
By knockout5
By submission8
By decision5
Losses21
By knockout10
By submission11
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Sean Michael Salmon (born September 11, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial artist and a former columnist for MMA news site MMAjunkie.com. Salmon has competed for the UFC, Strikeforce and King of the Cage.[1]

Background

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Salmon was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He began his high school wrestling career for Birmingham Groves High School in Birmingham, Michigan. As a freshman, he competed at the varsity level and held a record of 20–20 in the 160 lb. weight class. In his sophomore season, he held a record 38–9 in the same weight class, and qualified for the state meet before moving to Ohio to finish high school. Salmon continued competing for Worthington Kilbourne High School, where he won a state championship in his senior season and amassed a 44–1 record.

Salmon then went on to compete for Ohio State University and was ranked as high as #10 in the nation for the 167 lb. weight class as a freshman. Competing in the 184 lb. weight class for OSU, he was the Michigan State Open Champion and holds a notable win over WWE and Bellator MMA star Bobby Lashley. However, the weight-cutting was too harsh for Salmon, and he left after his sophomore year but would return as a volunteer assistant coach to continue training. Salmon continued his career in amateur wrestling and also qualified for the Olympic trials while competing at the Ohio International Wrestling Club in the freestyle wrestling circuit.[1]

Mixed martial arts career

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Early career

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Salmon made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2005 in Columbus, Ohio and won via keylock submission in the first round. He would go on to reach an undefeated record of 6–0, competing in smaller American promotions such as King of the Cage, before being handed his first professional loss by future UFC veteran David Heath. He compiled a record of 9–1 with only one win by way of decision before being invited to compete in the UFC.[1]

UFC career

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Salmon made his UFC debut in the main event of UFC Fight Night 8 on January 25, 2007. In a nationally televised fight against Rashad Evans, the Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2, Salmon lost due to knockout from a head kick at 1:06 in the second round. The knockout was so brutal that he was carried out of the octagon on a stretcher.

Salmon was then scheduled to fight Eric Schafer at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007, but he instead faced Alan Belcher after Schafer broke a rib during training. In the preliminary fight, Salmon lost due to guillotine choke submission in the first round.

After the consecutive losses, Salmon announced in a June 5, 2007, MMAjunkie.com column that he was taking a temporary leave from the UFC to fight in smaller organizations.[2]

Post UFC

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On June 9, 2007, Salmon submitted Jason Freeman at a North American Allied Fight Series event in Cleveland, Ohio called Fite Nite at the Flats III, winning via Americana keylock. On August 11, 2007, he defeated Will Hill via unanimous decision at the Xtreme Fighting Organization's "XFO 19" show. On September 1, 2007, he was defeated via guillotine choke by fellow UFC veteran Travis Wiuff in an International Fight Organization title fight.

On November 16, 2007, Salmon lost to Jorge Santiago via knockout due to a flying knee in a Strikeforce tournament which Santiago eventually won. According to Sherdog.com, and California State Athletic Commission Executive Officer Armando Garcia, Salmon suffered a seizure in the ring after he was knocked out by Santiago. Garcia also stated Salmon's career was in jeopardy.[3]

2008 saw Salmon's return to the cage, with a TKO victory over Mitch Whitesel in an NAAFS event on September 19. Barely three weeks later, however, on October 11, Salmon's fortunes reversed, as The Ultimate Fighter 3 alumni and 3x time UFC veteran Josh Haynes forced him to tap to an ankle lock.

Salmon had been hired as a guest wrestling coach for the famed Wolfslair MMA Academy in England. He briefly left the camp to participate in one of his own bouts, to which the camp responded by telling him to come back healthy and able to train the fighters or don't return at all. On June 6, 2009, after he was unable to finish his opponent in the first round, Salmon intentionally left his arm out to be submitted. After losing by the armbar, he admitted to quitting the fight in order to be able to come back to Wolfslair healthy. He has since received criticism from the mixed martial arts community and was punished by the Ohio State Athletic Commission.[4][1]

Salmon fought early UFC veteran Laverne Clark on August 20, 2011. After a slow-paced fight Clark caught Salmon with a vicious combination that knocked Salmon out, bringing his record to 17 losses (11 consecutive) and 3 wins since November 2007.

Salmon, in an interview on the podcast MMA Hour, stated that if he lost his next fight in 2014 he would formally retire from contact sports, Sean had taken the rest of 2013 after his loss to Todd Brown and a back surgery in mid-2013 to prepare for the fight in 2014, it had been rumored that he would fight veteran Jason Guida on the undercard of a Bellator event. Salmon later pulled out of the bout, set to be on the undercard of Bellator 112 on March 14, 2014, for undisclosed reasons. Salmon later officially retired from mixed martial arts competition, citing injuries and needing more time to spend with his family.[5]

Personal life

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Sean and his ex-wife Missy have a son, Marcus, and a daughter, Hayden. Salmon's ex-father-in-law, Rick Pyles, is the owner of the Ohio-based Ultimate Victory Challenge promotion.[6]

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
39 matches 18 wins 21 losses
By knockout 7 11
By submission 6 10
By decision 5 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 18–21 Todd Brown TKO (submission to punches) MFL 29 April 13, 2013 1 2:02 South Bend, Indiana, United States
Loss 18–20 Teddy Holder TKO (punches) UCC: Undisputed Combat Challenge 6 November 17, 2012 1 1:46 Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Loss 18–19 Aaron Mays TKO (punches) Coalition of Combat: Clash of the Titans June 2, 2012 1 0:35 Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Loss 18–18 João Zeferino Submission (heel hook) NAFC: Unleashed November 18, 2011 1 0:25 Milwaukee, United States Catchweight (195 lbs) bout.
Loss 18–17 Antony Rea TKO (punches) Desert Force: Elimination Series: Knockout Round September 30, 2011 1 1:00 Amman, Jordan
Loss 18–16 Laverne Clark KO (punches) Fight Tour August 20, 2011 1 3:22 Rockford, Illinois, United States
Loss 18–15 Joe Cason TKO (punches) NAFC: Mayhem May 6, 2011 1 1:14 Wisconsin, United States
Loss 18–14 Tom DeBlass Submission (achilles lock) Ring of Combat 35 April 8, 2011 1 0:57 New Jersey, United States Return to Light Heavyweight.
Loss 18–13 Assan Njie TKO (punches) Superior Challenge 6 October 29, 2010 1 0:41 Stockholm, Sweden
Loss 18–12 Toni Valtonen TKO (punches) Fight Festival 28 October 16, 2010 1 3:18 Helsinki, Finland
Loss 18–11 Jeremy Horn Submission (rear-naked choke) IFC: Extreme Challenge July 10, 2010 1 1:57 Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, United States
Loss 18–10 Eric Cebarac Submission (guillotine choke) WAFC: Mayor's Cup 2010 May 29, 2010 1 0:25 Khabarovsk Krai, Russia Lost the WAFC Middleweight Championship.
Win 18–9 Nikita Khazov Decision (unanimous) WAFC: Mayor's Cup 2010 May 29, 2010 2 5:00 Khabarovsk Krai, Russia Won the WAFC Middleweight Championship.
Loss 17–9 Alexander Shlemenko TKO (knee to the body) Fight Festival 27 March 13, 2010 1 0:40 Helsinki, Finland
Win 17–8 Yuki Sasaki Decision (unanimous) Fight Festival 26 October 17, 2009 3 5:00 Helsinki, Finland
Loss 16–8 Allan Weickert Submission (armbar) NAAFS: Fight Nite in the Flats 5 June 6, 2009 2 2:05 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win 16–7 John Doyle Decision (unanimous) Ring of Combat 24 April 17, 2009 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 15–7 Lucio Linhares Submission (rear-naked choke) Fight Festival 25 March 14, 2009 1 2:07 Helsinki, Finland
Loss 15–6 Josh Haynes Submission (achilles lock) SuperFights MMA: Night of Combat 2 October 11, 2008 2 2:49 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 15–5 Mitch Whitesel TKO (punches) NAAFS: Night of Pain 4 September 19, 2008 2 2:08 Columbus, Ohio, United States
Loss 14–5 Jorge Santiago KO (flying knee) Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives November 16, 2007 1 0:24 San Jose, California, United States Middleweight debut.
Win 14–4 Marcus Vinicios TKO (injury) HCF: Title Wave October 19, 2007 2 4:22 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Win 13–4 Mikko Rupponen TKO (doctor stoppage) Fight Festival 22 September 22, 2007 1 3:32 Helsinki, Finland
Win 12–4 Jason Jones TKO (submission to punches) NAAFS: Rock n Rumble September 8, 2007 1 1:30 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Loss 11–4 Travis Wiuff Submission (guillotine choke) IFO: Wiuff vs. Salmon September 1, 2007 1 2:37 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 11–3 William Hill Decision XFO 19 August 11, 2007 3 5:00 Island Lake, Illinois, United States
Win 10–3 Jason Freeman Submission (americana) NAAFS: Fight Night in the Flats III June 9, 2007 1 1:19 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Loss 9–3 Alan Belcher Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 71 May 26, 2007 1 0:51 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 9–2 Rashad Evans KO (head kick) UFC Fight Night 8 January 25, 2007 2 1:06 Hollywood, Florida, United States
Win 9–1 Matt Hershberger TKO (submission to punches) Fightfest 8 October 20, 2006 1 0:51 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win 8–1 Bobby Martinez Submission (americana) Legends of Fighting 9 September 29, 2006 1 1:19 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Win 7–1 Lucas Lopes Submission (elbows) Fightfest 6 September 23, 2006 2 2:44 Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Loss 6–1 David Heath Submission (armbar) FF 5: Korea vs USA July 15, 2006 1 0:50 McAllen, Texas, United States
Win 6–0 Hans Marrero Submission (americana) Diesel Fighting Championships 1 June 30, 2006 1 1:04 Dallas, Texas, United States
Win 5–0 Danny Sheehan TKO (punches) FFP: Untamed 5 June 16, 2006 1 1:42 Mansfield, Ohio, United States
Win 4–0 Jim Bundy Submission (armbar) Fightfest 3 May 6, 2006 1 1:27 Youngstown, Ohio, United States
Win 3–0 Bryan Zanders TKO (injury) KOTC: Redemption on the River February 17, 2006 2 1:46 Moline, Illinois, United States
Win 2–0 Jerry Spiegel Decision KOTC 64: Raging Bull December 16, 2005 3 5:00 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win 1–0 Rob Wince Submission (americana) HHCF 24: Thanksgiving Throwdown 2 November 26, 2005 1 N/A Columbus, Ohio, United States

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "MMAjunkie.com Announces Official UFC 71 Sponsorship of Sean Salmon". MMAjunkie. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  2. ^ "Full-Time Fighter: Sean Salmon Discusses a Departure from the UFC". MMAjunkie. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  3. ^ "Strikeforce: Santiago, Overeem and Le Win". Sherdog. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  4. ^ "Ohio MMA fighter Sean Salmon a target of unfair criticism". Springfieldnewssun.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  5. ^ "Where are they now: Sean Salmon and the losing streak". MMA Fighting. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  6. ^ "Sean Salmon's Blog Catching Up..." Salmon205.blogspot.com. August 20, 2006. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
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