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Characters / Universal Wrestling Federation RINGS United States Of America

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Miletich Fighting Systems

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The Elite
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Land Of The Free, Home Of The Brave

LaVerne Clark

"I had a wrestling background and when I would lose I would want to punch the guy. After high school I joined boxing. When I would get hit hard in boxing I would want to slam the guy on his head. So when they told me about MMA it was just right for me. They put me in with the big boys and I won my very first professional MMA fight against Shonie Carter."

Monte Cox

"We did that show, which drew eight thousand people, and made $150,000, and I decided I ain’t much a newspaper guy anymore. I did a boxing show, I made $80,000. So I made a quarter-of-a-million dollars in two shows, a month apart. At that point, when at the newspaper they said 'good morning,' I said, 'what the fuck did you say? I’ll quit!'"
— Monte Cox on his first MMA event, Quad City Ultimate.

"I’ve been shut down, picketed, treated like a carny. It was not easy. People these days bitch about it being ‘so hard.’ Try pedaling the thing when people think it’s human cockfighting and people are dying and there are no refs, and you keep saying no, this is actually a sport. Nobody wanted to listen. You couldn’t get sponsors."
— Monte Cox about the early days of MMA.

  • The Apprentice: To his boxing manager Fred Berns.
  • Arch-Enemy: Dana White. It all stems from a contract dispute Cox had with White over Jens Pulver.
  • The Chessmaster: Was president of M-1 Global in 2007.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Robbie Lawyer.
  • I Know Boxing: Was a former boxer and at one point was scheduled to meet George Foreman in the ring and even one of the Klitschko brothers, though those fights never happened for some reason.
  • Jerkass: Plead guilty to a federal tax charge and spent 3 months in prison.
  • Non-Action Guy: Was a boxing and MMA manager and promoter.
  • Special Guest: From Miletich Fighting Systems.
  • Start My Own: Founded Ultimate Productions Inc, Extreme Challenge, Cage Combat, Gladiators, Xtreme Fighting Organization, International Combat Elite, and Adrenaline MMA.

Matt Frost

Bart Guyer

Bobby Hoffman

Gabriel Lemley

Pat Miletich

"Pat hated the world. He was such a mean bastard. He was so determined, and I’d never met a more confident person going into a fight. His attitude was, 'I’m going to fuck him up'. Normally he did. It was amazing."
— Monte Cox

  • Authority Equals Asskicking: Founder and owner of Miletich Fighting Systems and a good fighter himself.
  • Badass Teacher: Has trained fighters like Matt and Mark Hughes, Jeremy Horn, Tim Sylvia, Jens Pulver, Robbie Lawler, Andre and Tyrone Roberts, Sam Hoger, Barb Honchak, Bart Palaszewski, Ben Rothwell, Brad Imes, Corey Hill, Drew McFedries, Giovanni LaCognata, Ian "The Machine" Freeman, Jason Black, Jesse Lennox, Joe Pearson, Josh Neer, Justin Eilers, LC Davis, LaVerne Clark, Mike Ciesnolevicz, Mike Whitehead, Rory Markham, Sherman Pendergarst, Spencer Fisher, Tony Fryklund, Zach Micklewright, Jason Reinhardt, etc. He also co-founded Fire Horse combatives which trains LEO and military personnel.
  • Bouncer: A former one.
  • Combat Commentator: Was one for Strikeforce under it went under and now does color commentary for AXS TV Fights (formerly HDNet Fights) and ESPN's MMA Live.
  • Combat Referee: He acts as one on occasion.
  • Guest Fighter: From Miletich Fighting Systems.
  • I Know Karate: A Shuri-Ryu black belt. He is also a 3rd degree BJJ black belt, trained in boxing and he is mostly well known for his amateur wrestling training where he was roommates at Bettendorf High School with future MMA champion Mark Kerr.
  • Red Baron: "The Croatian Sensation".

Tyrone Roberts

Nate Schroeder

Joe Slick

Others

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Rising Stars, Future Champions

Jermaine Andre

"My whole life story has been about standing up for something and then getting punished for it. But I believe as a warrior you have to be brave."

Rocky Batastini

Curtis Brigham

Aaron Brink

"I am a slugger grappler extraordinaire. I train at the House of Pain Temecula CA."

  • The Apprentice: To John Lober and Greg Dixon.
  • Drugs Are Bad: He appeared in a notorious episode of himself during a methamphetamine addiction filmed for the television series Intervention in 2006.
  • I Know Boxing: And Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling before he trained in MMA.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Briefly had a career acting in hardcore pornographic films under the name "Dick Delaware", beginning sometime in 2000 and ending in June 2005.

Victor Burtsev

Wesley Correira

"This man is not human!"
— Mike Goldberg, UFC Commentator on the heavy beating Wesley took from Tim Sylvia without getting knocked down.

John Dixson

""Big" John Dixson, the oft-misspelled, oft-forgotten, never-unshirted pioneer of early mixed martial arts. There are a lot of cases of old-school fighters having early success and failing to adapt to changing times; Dixson's the rare case of a fighter who never really had success in the first place, but kept nobly trucking anyway. Over a career that lasted 10 years and 37 fights, Dixson made it to 15-22 while never having a winning streak longer than -2-. That is some incredible tenacity. Also, whatever his record, the dude came a hair's breadth from knocking out Igor Vovchanchyn once and that's pretty great. His gift to MMA history is being part of the first-ever bout on the first-ever Pride, and we thank him for it."
— A profile of Dixson from a Fire Pro Wrestling user CarlCX from https://steamcommunity.com

Joe Doerksen

Mike Dretsch

Tim Fickes

Lonnie Foster

Rich Franklin

  • Always Someone Better: Got beaten by Anderson Silva twice.
  • The Apprentice: To Kerry Schall, Jorge Gurgel, Joel Jamieson, John Cross, Neal Rowe, Rob Radford, and Matt Hume.
  • Authority Equals Ass Kicking: In April 2014, he became Vice President of the ONE Championship organization.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: His recipe for success was simply a sensible strength and conditioning training regimen that was actually geared towards improving his physical performance.
  • Cool Teacher: Taught mathematics at the Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
  • Genius Bruiser: He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and later earned a master's degree in education at the University of Cincinnati,
  • Guest Fighter: From Meat Truck Inc during his time in RINGS.
  • Hero Killer: Was the first man to knock out Ken Shamrock.
  • Hidden Depths: In 2002, Franklin and his business partner Jeff Adler created American Fighter athletic clothing brand. Initially the brand featured T-shirts, but quickly grew into an athletic apparel brand featuring a full line of athletic training clothing, casual wear and training gear for martial arts. In 2012 Affliction Clothing expressed interest in the name and its widespread appeal. They acquired the majority of the company from Franklin and his business partner bringing the brand to mainstream retailers where it continues to grow.
    • In October 2013, Franklin and friend and business partner Billy Zebe launched Ze/Lin Organic Juice & Fusion Café. Located in Beverly Hills, California. The storefront was closed 9 months later and the company focused on wholesaling and distribution for the bottled juices.
  • Identical Stranger: His nickname "Ace" comes from his resemblance to the actor Jim Carrey, who played the character Ace Ventura. Joe Rogan once called him "Angry Jim Carrey".
  • I Know Karate: Trained at the Harrison Okinawan Karate Dojo in the early 1990s, under Bill George and Steve Rafferty. He is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has also trained in Muay Thai and boxing.
  • Master of None: In an era where almost all MMA fighters transferred into the sport with a solid foundation in another fighting sport, Rich Franklin managed to become the UFC Middleweight Champion despite lacking a pedigree in any other sport. Throughout his career, his game was very well-rounded, but without exceptional skill in any area.
  • Red Baron: "Ace".
  • Real Men Love Jesus: Is a born-again Christian and quotes Psalm 144:1 on his webpage and fighter gear.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Wore pink on his attire to honor the Cincinnati Bengals.

Bob Gilstrap

Josh Hall

Dan Henderson

"I'm big on the inside, which makes up for a lot."

  • The Ace: Dan owns more major tournament titles than any other athlete in MMA history, winning four different international events in three weight divisions—heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight. In 1997, he won the Brazil Open; in 1998, he won the UFC Middleweight tournament; in 2000 he won the RINGS King of Kings heavyweight tournament; and in 2005, he won the Pride Welterweight Grand Prix. Seriously, see below for some of the people he has beaten.
  • The Apprentice: To Rico Chiapparelli, Bob Anderson, Sam Gollmyer, Bill Henderson, and Joe Barrios.
  • Badass Teacher: Was the coach of Team US in Season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter. He also owns a Team Quest gym in Temecula, California. He was also assistant wrestling coach at Cerritos College during the 90's.
  • Cool Old Guy: Over 40 nowadays and still competing.
  • Determinator / Made of Iron: His chin is generally regarded as one of the best in MMA history. A notable example is his fight with Carlos Newton where a punch from Newton broke Henderson's jaw, but he continued fighting through it and won the fight.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: Like most of his RAW and Team Quest teammates, he specialised in clinch-fighting using dirty boxing and his wrestling base to grind his opponents down. He also has a mean right hook punch that has been nicknamed the "H Bomb" and even broke Akihiro Gono's jaw with one. He also the first person to knock out a member of the Gracie family in the form of Renzo with punches.
  • Guest Fighter: From Team Quest.
  • Hero Killer: This guy was a killer of Hero Killers, he beat Bakouri Gogitidze, Hiromitsu Kanehara, Gilbert Yvel, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Renato Sobral to win the RINGS 1999 King of Kings Tournament, has victories over Allan Goes, Carlos Newton, Renzo Gracie, Akira Shoji, Shungo Oyama, Murilo Bustamante, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Yuki Kondo, Ryo Chonan, Akihiro Gono, Kazuo Misaki, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Rousimar Palhares, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, Rafael Cavalcante, Murilo and Maurício Rua, Tim Boetsch, Héctor Lombard, and Fedor Emelianenko.
  • I Know Amateur Wrestling: Both freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling, with more achievements in the latter. He trained for MMA with the Real American Wrestling team.
  • Last of His Kind: He was the Last Pride Middleweight Champion, the First, Last and Only Pride Welterweight Champion, and the Last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.
  • Manly Men Can Hunt: As a hobby. Ryo Chonan describes him as "a genuine hunter".
  • Odd Friendship: With Ryo Chonan. They are apparently hunting buddies.
  • Power Trio: Founded Team Quest with Randy Couture and Matt Lindland.
  • Red Baron: "Hendo", "Hollywood", "Dangerous", "The American Athlete".
  • Ur-Example: He was the only mixed martial artist to concurrently hold two titles in two different weight classes in a major MMA promotion.
  • The Worf Effect: Got beaten by Frank Shamrock in grappling match in under a minute.
  • Wrestling Family: His father Bill and his brother Tom are also amateur wrestlers.

Trent Jenkins

Bill Kazmaier

Brad Kohler

Tali Kulia'apai

Tim Lajcik

"Yoga in the morning followed by weight training. I go to work, then run in the hills during lunch. After work I wrestle with members of the Dave Schultz wrestling club or spar at the Gladiators Training Academy."

Sione Latu

Chatt Lavender

Sean McCully

Keith Mielke

Craig Montgomery

Harry Moskowitz

Chris Munsen

Roger Neff

Robbie Newman

Jack Nilson

David Pahalui

  • The Apprentice: To Bob Ostovich and David Padilla.
  • Defeating the Undefeatable: Has only one loss in MMA against Travis Fulton.
  • Guest Fighter: From Jesus Is Lord. Yes that was the name of the gym and team.
  • I Know Amateur Wrestling: And Kickboxing.
  • Non-Action Guy: Was supposed to be in the first round of the RINGS USA Rising Stars 200ibs and under Tournament against Josh Hall but was unable to compete due to injuries suffered before the event.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: Trained at Jesus is Lord which is a MMA gym that mixes Christian fellowship together with MMA training.
  • Red Baron: "Kawika" which is more famous than his first name, "Hawaiian Assassin".

Eric Pele

"Eric is a 350-pound Samoan guy who's ground skills are really good. His submission skills and his positioning are really really good, from the top and from his back. His hands are really improving. He trains with Skipper Kelp in his boxing, and that's coming up too. So, he's going to be hard to stop for anybody. He can wrestle, he can grapple, he can punch, he has an amazing heart, and he's 350 pounds. He's going to be a tough one to deal with."
— John Lewis

Griffen Reynaud

Tom Sauer

  • The Apprentice: To Dieuseul "Tiger" Berto.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: His fight with Mike Dretsch saw him KO Dretsch in 13 seconds.
  • Game-Breaking Injury: Was in a motorcycle accident on April 24 2010 in Belleview, Fla., that left him with broken bones in both legs, as well as torn ligaments in his pelvis. Subverted, as he won his next 2 fights relatively easy both in the first round, the first one over a year after the accident.
  • Hero Killer: He has a victories over as Enson Inoue, Valentijn Overeem, and Andrei Kopylov.
  • Hidden Depths: Owns Sauer and Sons Construction. He is also a firefighter and paramedic.
  • I Know Karate: A 2nd Dan black belt in Shinote Shotokai karate-jutsu, a cousin to the style Shotokan under Andy Stewart and Charles Gray, the guys who brought it to America, who learned it in Okinawa from Master Kawanabe and Master Egami and also learned Kempo Karate. He also trained in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, amateur wrestling and was a 3 time Florida Firefighter's Olympics Wrestling Champion, and shootfighting at Tiger's World of Martial Arts.
  • Mean Character, Nice Actor: Read this
  • Red Baron: "Tommy Trauma".

Kerry Schall

Mark Schultz

  • Bash Brothers: With his brother Dave.
  • Combat Pragmatist: In his fight with Gary Goodridge, his punches made cuts on Goodridge's face, which Schultz then rubbed in order to deepen them and win by doctor stoppage.
    • In amateur wrestling, he and his brother’s use of the Schultz Headlock (at the time a legal technique) would actually choke out some of their opponents (which should not happen in modern amateur wrestling) making it easier to pin them.
  • Cool Teacher: Is now a wrestling and submission grappling coach.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: His older brother Dave was shot and killed by Team Foxcatcher founder John du Pont.
  • Defeat Means Respect: He grappled and was beaten by Rickson Gracie in two submission grappling match back-to-back, but even with his lack of submission skills at the time he managed to stall Rickson for about 20 minutes in each match with each man respecting each other's skills and was what convinced Mark to learn BJJ under Pedro Sauer and later under Walt Bayless.
  • I Know Amateur Wrestling: An Olympic freestyle gold medalist, world, Pan-American, and World Cup champion. He is also a BJJ black belt under Pedro Sauer.
  • Instant Expert: Downplayed, he only had a few weeks to prepare for his MMA debut at UFC 9 with Gary Goodridge, replacing an injured Dave Beneteau. Come the fight, he basically dominated Goodridge for most of the fight and won via doctor stoppage.
  • Non-Action Guy: Only served as a judge for the RINGS USA Rising Stars Tournament Block A event.
  • Signature Move: The Schultz Headlock.
  • Wrestling Family: His brother Dave was also a Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist and they are the only American brothers to win both World and Olympic Gold; they won more NCAA, U.S. Open, World, and Olympic titles than any American brother combination in history.

Haru Shimanishi

  • Badass Teacher: Founded the American Martial Arts Center (AMC) with Matt Hume and subsequently moved to Oahu, Hawaii and established a new school, Hawaiian Martial Arts Center (HMC) and also teaches at United MMA Hawaii. He has trained people like Maurice Smith, Curtis Schuster, Kim Messer, Josh Barnett, BJ Penn, Sidney Silva, Todd Bjornethen, Dennis Hallman, Renato Verissimo, Satoshi Ishi, Dennis Alexio, Matt Brown, Chris Leaven, Christian Lee, Angela Lee, etc. He also previously coached Abu Dhabi’s Combat Team.
  • Combat Referee: Was a referee for the RINGS USA Rising Stars Tournament Block B event in Hawaii.
  • I Know Karate: As well as Muay Thai, boxing, Nihon Kempo, and submission wrestling.
  • Red Baron: "Trainer of Champions".
  • Start My Own: Co-founded the United Full Contact Federation (UFCF) and currently serves as an advisor.

Michael Stam

T. Jay Thompson

  • The Chessmaster: Was the Head Of Fight Operations for Pro Elite and was an Executive Consultant of Elite XC.
  • Large-Ham Announcer: Was the ring announcer for the RINGS USA Rising Stars Tournament Block A and B events.
  • Non-Action Guy: Was not a fighter.
  • Start My Own: Created SuperBrawl/Icon Sport MMA and the Icon Sport Grappling Association.

Michael Vale

Scott Ventimiglia

Falaniko Vitale

Clint Wiggins

Greg Wikan

Leni Zealand

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