Bryan Baker (fighter) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bryan Baker is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

who competes in the middleweight

Middleweight (MMA)

The middleweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Strikeforce's middleweight division, which groups competitors within 171 to 185 lb...

division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Baker fought in various promotions, most notably World Extreme Cagefighting

World Extreme Cagefighting

World Extreme Cagefighting was an American mixed martial arts promotion. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135, 145 and 155 lbs. To accommodate the smaller...

and Bellator Fighting Championships. Baker was also a competitor in the second season of Bellator

Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. "Bellator", which is Latin for "Warrior", is organized into seasons with each event hosting the rounds of championship knockout tournaments for three-five weight divisions.-History:In its first season,...

's middleweight tournament in 2010, reaching the final against Alexander Shlemenko

Alexander Shlemenko

Alexander Pavlovich Shlemenko is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Middleweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships.-Early career:...

Early career

Baker began his professional mixed martial arts career in early 2007 for the Cage of Fire promotion in Mexico. His first fight was against Scott Rose, who Baker finished off quickly, in just over a minute, due to submission (strikes).

In April 2007, Baker faced Jesse Juarez and defeated him via third round submission (rear naked choke). Baker then followed this up with two TKO victories, both in the first round, against Geoff Hawks and Reggie Orr.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Baker then signed for World Extreme Cagefighting

World Extreme Cagefighting

and made his debut at WEC 30

WEC 30

WEC 30: McCullough vs. Crunkilton was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting . The event took place on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and aired live on the Versus Network....

against Jesse Forbes

Jesse Forbes

Jesse Forbes is an American mixed martial artist who was a contestant on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter reality television show, training under Ken Shamrock in the 205 lb weight class.-Career:...

. Baker was dropped early in the first round and was also subject to Forbes' slams. Whilst on the ground, Baker was able to get top position, which prompted Forbes to give his back. Baker continued to strike and the fight was stopped after 4:15 of the first round, due to TKO (punches).

Bryan was next scheduled to fight Nissen Osterneck

Nissen Osterneck

Nissen Osterneck is a Hawaiian mixed martial arts fighter. He currently trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Shane Briggs, at the Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu of Myrtle Beach facility. He holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has also trained with Muay Thai world champion Maurice Travis...

at WEC 31

WEC 31

WEC 31: Faber vs. Curran was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting . The event took place on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and was aired live on the Versus Network....

, but this bout was replaced by a bout with Eric Schambari

Eric Schambari

Eric Schambari is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Schambari has most notably fought in World Extreme Cagefighting and was a semi-finalist in the Bellator Season Two: Middleweight Tournament, where he...

due to an injury to Osterneck. In a three round bout, Bryan won via split decision.

This led to a future bout against Logan Clark

Logan Clark

Logan Thomas Clark is an American mixed martial artist.-Biography:Born in Southeastern Minnesota, Clark was raised on a farm north of Dover, MN. In 1987, at the age of 2, Clark's father died leaving his mother to raise the family. Clark has 3 siblings: Tyrel Clark, Doron Clark, and Amanda Clark...

being scheduled at WEC 33

WEC 33

WEC 33: Marshall vs. Stann was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on Wednesday, March 26, 2008....

. At the same card, Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen

Chael Patrick Sonnen is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon, a two-time University Greco national champion as well as the 85.0 kg silver medalist at...

was scheduled to fight Paulo Filho

Paulo Filho

Paulo Fernando de Souza Leite Filho, better known as simply Paulo Filho , is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist as well as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo practitioner, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...

in a middleweight title rematch. However, this fight was cancelled after Filho had to check himself into a rehabilitation center and Baker was offered to chance to fill in Filho, against Sonnen.

Baker accepted and stepped into the bout with less than two weeks notice and suffered his first ever MMA loss. Sonnen dominated the fight with multiple takedowns and was able to shrug off many submission attempts by Baker. Sonnen pulled off the unanimous decision with scores of 30-26, 30-25 and 30-25.

Post-WEC

Baker's first appearance after WEC, was at a charity event against Gary Padilla. In a strong showing of striking ability, Baker pulled off the unanimous decision victory.

Baker then stepped in at short notice once again, this time, against Spencer Canup for the CFP Middleweight Championship. Baker won via first round TKO (punch).

Baker then signed for Maximum Fighting Championship. In his promotion debut, Baker beat Ultimate Fighter 3

The Ultimate Fighter 3

The Ultimate Fighter 3 was the third season of the mixed martial arts reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. It premiered on April 6, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of Ultimate Fight Night 4. The season featured sixteen fighters with still-feuding former champion Tito Ortiz and...

alumni Rory Singer

Rory Singer

Rory Michael Singer is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a middleweight.Although Rory had begun making a name for himself as a 185 pound prospect; his big break came after meeting the producers of TUF. They were filming Forrest Griffin at The HardCore Gym for his fight...

via first round TKO via punches, just seconds before the end of the first round.

Bellator Fighting Championships

Baker made his Bellator debut against IFL and Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...

alumni Matt Horwich

Matt Horwich

Matthew Peter Horwich is a journeyman American mixed martial artist. Previously fighting for the Portland Wolfpack of the International Fight League where he held the middleweight championship in 2007, BAMMA and in the UFC, he holds notable wins over past and present UFC fighters Jake Rosholt,...

at Bellator 10. Baker was victorious via unanimous decision.

Baker then returned to MFC and was scheduled to fight former UFC Middleweight title contender, Thales Leites

Thales Leites

Thales Leites Lourenço is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He is the current Superior Challenge middleweight champion.-Mixed martial arts:A relative newcomer to the sport, Leites made his mixed martial arts debut at Shooto Brazil in 2003, defeating Felipe Arinelli by arm-triangle choke submission...

. Baker instead faced Art Santore and won via unanimous decision.

Baker then signed with Bellator to take part in their middleweight tournament in the second Bellator season.

In the first round of the tournament, Baker defeated Sean Loeffler

Sean Loeffler

Sean Loeffler is an American mixed martial artist from Hermosa Beach, California.-Mixed martial arts career:Sean Loeffler, a father of 1 Amber is currently signed to Bellator Fighting Championships and specifically their Middleweight Tournament...

via TKO at Bellator 16.

In the semi-final round, Baker faced Eric Schambari

Eric Schambari

for the second time in his career. After 2:29 of the first round, Baker managed to submit his opponent with a triangle choke, which advanced him to the final of the middleweight tournament.

Baker faced Alexander Shlemenko

Alexander Shlemenko

Alexander Pavlovich Shlemenko is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Middleweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships.-Early career:...

in the Bellator Middleweight tournament final on June 24, 2010, at Bellator 23. Coming into the fight, Baker had recorded two opening-round finishes, but on this occasion, he was on the losing side of an opening-round finish, as he suffered a TKO loss after just 2:45. After early exchanges between the two fighters, Shlemenko hit Baker with a strong liver shot, followed by a combination that dropped him. Shlemenko then continued his attack until the referee stopped the fight.

On September 21, 2010, it was revealed that Baker was battling chronic myelogenous leukemia

Chronic myelogenous leukemia

Chronic myelogenous leukemia , also known as chronic granulocytic leukemia , is a cancer of the white blood cells. It is a form of leukemia characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of predominantly myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumulation of these cells in the blood...

and had only gone into remission three weeks prior. Two days later, Baker faced the veteran Jeremy Horn

Jeremy Horn

Jeremy Graham Horn is an American mixed martial artist. He is one of the most experienced fighters in the sport with a professional record of 88–21–5...

at Bellator 30. The fight was "a grinding affair" with Horn attempting takedowns and a guillotine choke. Baker survived and ended the opening round with a few strikes. The next two rounds saw Horn become somewhat lethargic, giving Baker the opportunity to attempt a triangle armbar. After escaping the submission attempt, Horn's response was somewhat tame and at the end of three rounds, Baker was declared the winner via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 29–28).

Baker defeated Joe Riggs

Joe Riggs

Joseph Jonathan Riggs is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He has competed at weights ranging from Heavyweight down to Welterweight. Currently, Riggs fights as a Middleweight.-Background:...

by second round KO at Bellator 43. Post-fight, he proposed to his girlfriend and she said yes. They were married soon after.

Baker entered the Bellator Season Five Middleweight tournament

Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Five

Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Five was the fifth and latest installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, and began on September 10, 2011...

. In the quarter-finals, he faced season 1 middleweight tournament finalist Jared Hess

Jared Hess (fighter)

Jared Hess is an American mixed martial artist. He is most known for his stint fighting for Bellator Fighting Championships in their middleweight division. He was runner up in the middleweight tournament after losing to Hector Lombard.-Biography:Hess grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and attend...

. He won by TKO in the third round after landing vicious ground and pound from the top.

Mixed martial arts record

Vitor Vianna

Vitor Vianna is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in mixed martial arts events in Brazil, Holland, and in the United States. He is the #3 ranked Middleweight prospect in the world. He is also ranked as the #69 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world by FightMatrix.com. This ranking...

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

, United States
|Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Tournament Semifinal
|-
| Win
|align=center| 16-2
| Jared Hess

Jared Hess (fighter)

Hollywood, Florida

-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...

, United States
|Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal
|-
| Win
|align=center| 15–2
| Joe Riggs

Joe Riggs

Joseph Jonathan Riggs is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He has competed at weights ranging from Heavyweight down to Welterweight. Currently, Riggs fights as a Middleweight.-Background:...

Newkirk, Oklahoma

Newkirk is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,243 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kay County.-Geography:...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 14–2
| Jeremy Horn

Jeremy Horn

Jeremy Graham Horn is an American mixed martial artist. He is one of the most experienced fighters in the sport with a professional record of 88–21–5...

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

Alexander Shlemenko

Alexander Pavlovich Shlemenko is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Middleweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships.-Early career:...

Louisville, Kentucky

, United States
| Bellator Season 2 Middleweight Tournament Final
|-
| Win
|align=center| 13–1
| Eric Schambari

Eric Schambari

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

, United States
| Bellator Season 2 Middleweight Tournament Semifinal
|-
| Win
|align=center| 12–1
| Sean Loeffler

Sean Loeffler

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, United States
|Bellator Season 2 Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal
|-
| Win
|align=center| 11–1
| Art Santore
| Decision (unanimous)
| MFC 23

MFC 23

MFC 23: Unstoppable was a mixed martial arts event held by the Maximum Fighting Championship on December 4th, 2009 at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Edmonton, Alberta. The main event featured former UFC contender Thales Leites taking on fellow UFC veteran Dean Lister. The co-main event...

|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 10–1
| Matt Horwich

Matt Horwich

Ontario, California

Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 9–1
| Rory Singer

Rory Singer

| TKO (punches)
| MFC 20

MFC 20

MFC 20: Destined for Greatness was a mixed martial arts event held by the Maximum Fighting Championship on February 20th, 2009 in Enoch, Alberta.-Main card:...

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...

Chael Sonnen

| Decision (unanimous)
| WEC 33

WEC 33

WEC 33: Marshall vs. Stann was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on Wednesday, March 26, 2008....

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–0
| Eric Schambari

Eric Schambari

| Decision (split)
| WEC 31

WEC 31

Las Vegas, Nevada

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–0
| Jesse Forbes

Jesse Forbes

| TKO (punches)
| WEC 30

WEC 30

Las Vegas, Nevada

San Jacinto, California

San Jacinto is a city in Riverside County, California, U.S.A. It was named after Saint Hyacinth and is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south. The mountains associated with the valley are the San Jacinto Mountains. The population was 44,199 at the 2010...

Santa Monica, California

San Bernardino, California

San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...

Tijuana

Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...

, Mexico
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External links

Bellator Profile

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