Mark Anthony Weir (19 September 1967) is an English retired mixed martial artist usually fighting in the middleweight division at 185 lbs. He has fought in the UFC, the WEC, PRIDE, Cage Rage, UCMMA, Pancrase, and BodogFIGHT. He is the former Cage Rage British Middleweight Champion.

Mark Weir
Born (1967-09-19) 19 September 1967 (age 57)
Gloucester, England
Other namesThe Wizard
NationalityEnglish
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
DivisionMiddleweight
Fighting out ofGloucester, England
TeamRange Fighting, Icon BJJ
Rank  1st Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo[1]
Years active2000-present
Mixed martial arts record
Total40
Wins21
By knockout11
By submission9
By decision1
Losses18
By knockout11
By submission6
By decision1
Draws1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

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Weir began his martial arts training with Judo and Boxing, but later switched to Tae Kwon Do because his mother did not want him to box full-time[1]. He gained his black belt in 1988 from Hee Il Cho, then 3 months later went on to win two World Titles and, at the age of 20, became the youngest fighter to ever win a World Championship. Proving his consistency Weir went on to win another two world titles in 1991. Weir not only went undefeated in Tae Kwon Do competitions, but also held an undefeated record in Kickboxing. After which he began training in Jiu-Jitsu. And started competing in MMA[2]

Mixed martial arts career

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Early career

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Weir made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 1996, however he continued to practice both the traditional art and MMA. This was until 2000 when Weir made the decision to solely concentrate on his MMA fighting career.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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Weir made his UFC debut at UFC 38 on 13 July 2002 against Eugene Jackson. This was the UFC's inaugural appearance in the United Kingdom, and Weir won via knockout due to a punch only 10 seconds into the fight.[3]

Weir made his next appearance for the promotion at UFC 40, in 'the fight of the year' against Phillip Miller and was defeated in the second round via rear-naked choke submission. Weir then fought at UFC 42 against David Loiseau and was defeated via knockout in the first round. Loiseau continued on his winning streak to gain a title shot, against Richard Franklin.

Cage Rage and WEC

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Weir then signed with Cage Rage in his home country of England and made his promotional debut at Cage Rage 4 and won via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Weir would go 3-2 in his next five fights before making his debut in the WEC. Weir made his debut at WEC 12 and won in the first round via guillotine choke submission.

Weir returned to Cage Rage with mixed fortune, however it wasn't long until Weir was back on winning form. At Cage Rage 12, Weir defeated Sol Gilbert via TKO at the end of the second round to become the inaugural Cage Rage British Middleweight Champion. Weir went on to defend his title against Akri Shoji, winning by KOREA in 16 secs.

PRIDE

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After the win over Shoji, Weir had to make a huge decision whether to return to UFC or make his name in Japan. Weir decided on Japan and made his PRIDE debut at Pride Bushido 10 on 2 April 2006 against Denis Kang who was on a 16 fight winning streak. Weir lost after he submitted due to knee strikes at the end of the first round.

UCMMA

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On his return to the UK, Weir captured the UCMMA Middleweight Championship at UCMMA 11: Adrenaline Rush on 27 March 2010, defeating Jack Mason at the end of the second round via knockout. Weir then lost his first title defense at UCMMA 21: Stand Your Ground when he was knocked out by Denniston Sutherland. Weir made his most recent appearance at SFC: Supremacy Fight Challenge 9 on 17 February 2013 and won via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. This was to be Weir's final appearance in MMA before he announced his retirement in 2014.

Kickboxing career

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In 2010, Weir won the vacant UCMMA Kickboxing Championship by defeating Mark Epstein. Weir also won the Middleweight Championship by defeating Jack Mason via knockout. Weir then successfully defended his title at Unbelievable 16 on 23 October 2010 against Luke Sines.

Weir then lost his Middleweight Championship, being defeated via knockout by Louis King.[4]

Personal life

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Weir lives in Hempsted, England, with his wife and four children.

Championships and accomplishments

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Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
40 matches 21 wins 18 losses
By knockout 11 11
By submission 9 6
By decision 1 1
Draws 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 21–18–1 Mickey Burns Submission (rear-naked choke) SFC: Supremacy Fight Challenge 9 17 February 2013 1 1:04 Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England
Loss 20–18–1 Denniston Sutherland KO (punches) UCMMA 21: Stand Your Ground 25 June 2011 1 3:20 London, England Lost UCMMA Middleweight Championship
Win 20–17–1 Jack Mason KO (knee and punches) UCMMA 11: Adrenaline Rush 27 March 2010 2 4:57 London, England Won UCMMA Middleweight Championship
Loss 19–17–1 Tor Troéng Submission (triangle choke) Superior Challenge 4 31 October 2009 3 2:05 Stockholm, Sweden
Draw 19–16–1 Jean-François Lénogue Draw Furious Fighting Championship 2 21 February 2009 3 5:00 Casablanca, Morocco
Loss 19–16 Mohamed Khacha TKO (punches) UCMMA 2: Unbreakable 7 February 2009 1 4:26 London, England
Win 19–15 Marius Buzinskas Submission (arm-triangle choke) CFC 4: No Way Out 25 October 2008 2 2:04 England
Loss 18–15 Drew Fickett Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Rage 24 1 December 2007 1 3:55 London, England
Loss 18–14 Paul Daley TKO (punches) Cage Rage 23 22 September 2007 2 2:14 London, England For Cage Rage World Welterweight Championship and Cage Rage British Middleweight Championship.
Loss 18–13 Nick Thompson TKO BodogFIGHT: Vancouver 24 August 2007 1 4:01 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Win 18–12 Daijiro Matsui Decision (unanimous) Cage Rage 21 21 April 2007 3 5:00 London, England
Loss 17–12 Zelg Galešic TKO (punches) Cage Rage 19 9 December 2006 1 0:50 London, England
Loss 17–11 Murilo Rua Submission (arm triangle choke) Cage Rage 18 30 September 2006 2 1:15 London, England
Loss 17–10 Denis Kang Submission (knees) PRIDE Bushido 10 2 April 2006 1 4:55 Tokyo, Japan
Win 17–9 Akira Shoji KO (head kick) Cage Rage 14 3 December 2005 1 0:17 London, England
Win 16–9 Kyosuke Sasaki KO (punches) Cage Rage 13 10 September 2005 1 1:52 London, England
Win 15–9 Sol Gilbert TKO (corner stoppage) Cage Rage 12 2 July 2005 2 5:00 London, England Won Cage Rage British Middleweight Championship.
Loss 14–9 Curtis Stout TKO (punches) Cage Rage 11 30 April 2005 1 1:45 London, England
Loss 14–8 Alex Serdyukov Submission (arm triangle choke) WEC 14: Vengeance 17 March 2005 2 2:56 Lemoore, California, United States Lost WEC North American Middleweight Championship[5]
Loss 14–7 Gabriel Santos Decision (unanimous) Cage Rage 10 26 February 2005 3 5:00 London, England
Loss 14–6 Matt Lindland TKO (doctor stoppage) Cage Rage 9 27 November 2004 1 5:00 London, England
Win 14–5 Will Bradford Submission (fist choke) WEC 12 21 October 2004 1 2:11 Lemoore, California, United States Won vacant WEC North American Middleweight Championship[6]
Win 13–5 Johil de Oliveira Submission (arm-triangle choke) Cage Rage 8 11 September 2004 1 1:35 London, England
Loss 12–5 Jorge Rivera TKO (doctor stoppage) Cage Rage 7 10 July 2004 1 5:00 London, England
Win 12–4 Gen Isono TKO (corner stoppage) Pain and Glory 24 April 2004 England
Win 11–4 Alex Reid TKO (cut) Extreme Brawl 6 21 March 2004 2 Bracknell, England
Loss 10–4 Gregory Bouchelaghem Submission (rear-naked choke) XFC 2: The Perfect Storm 9 November 2003 1 Cornwall, England
Win 10–3 Jean-François Lénogue Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Rage 4 12 October 2003 1 4:13 London, England
Loss 9–3 David Loiseau KO (punches) UFC 42 25 April 2003 1 3:55 Miami, Florida, United States
Loss 9–2 Phillip Miller Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 40 22 November 2002 2 4:50 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 9–1 Eugene Jackson KO (punch) UFC 38 13 July 2002 1 0:10 London, England
Win 8–1 Ben Earwood TKO (submission to punches) MB 5: Unfinished Business 16 December 2001 2 High Wycombe, England
Win 7–1 Shannon Ritch Submission (choke) MB 3: Independence Day 1 July 2001 1 High Wycombe, England
Win 6–1 Paul Jenkins KO Grapple & Strike 3 19 May 2001 1 0:18 Worcester, England
Win 5–1 CJ Fernandes TKO MB 2: Capital Punishment 11 March 2001 High Wycombe, England
Win 4–1 Sean Cocharin TKO Ultimate Fight Night 9 December 2000 1 High Wycombe, England
Win 3–1 Frank Ledroumaguet Submission (armbar) Pancrase: Pancrase UK 25 November 2000 London, England
Win 2–1 John Andrews Submission (choke) Grapple & Strike 2 12 November 2000 1 Worcester, England
Win 1–1 Dale Houghton Submission (forearm choke) Ring of Truth 3 17 October 2000 1 1:16 England
Loss 0–1 Trevor Cunningham KO Grapple & Strike 1 29 May 2000 2 4:17 Worcester, England

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Black History Month: Mark Weir on putting MMA on the map in Britain and his legacy in the sport". Sky Sports.
  2. ^ "Team – Mark "The Wizard" Weir | Oxford Shootfighters". Archived from the original on 9 June 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  3. ^ "– CAGE RAGE PROFILE: MARK WEIR | MMAWeekly.com". 30 November 2005.
  4. ^ ""Cage Rage UK: The Beat Down" Results And Photos". mmaspot.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Ufc 54: Boiling Pointofficial Weigh-in Results".
  6. ^ "Brazilian Challenger 2 Quick Results".

1.^ ‘A Day in the Life Of…’, Helen Blow, ‘’The Citizen’’, 4 February 1999

2.^ ‘Scott hopes for a box office hit’, Annelisa Macaulay-Lowe, ‘’The Citizen’’, 19 August 1999

3.^ ‘Scott’s a dead ringer for a film mogul’, ‘’The Citizen’’, 3 September 2001

4.^ ‘Horton is choked at loss’, ‘’The Citizen’’, 27 October 2000

5.^ XFUK Profile

6.^ ‘Horton is choked at loss’, ‘’The Citizen’’, 27 October 2000

7.^ UCMMA Events

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