Dave Menne

David Jeremy Menne (born July 29, 1974) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He was the first ever UFC Middleweight Champion and has also competed for Cage Rage, Bellator, Shooto, ADCC and RINGS.

Background Menne was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and grew up in Forest Lake, Minnesota, attending Forest Lake Area High School where he excelled in wrestling. Menne continued wrestling at the collegiate level at the University of Iowa while studying philosophy. He found Muay Thai while in Santa Fe, New Mexico before returning to Minnesota to train at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Shooto.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Menne made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 1997 and compiled a record of 23-5-1 with notable wins over Dennis Hallman, Jutaro Nakao, Chris Lytle, and also fought to a draw against Shonie Carter. After Menne lost to Kiyoshi Tamura at the 1999 Rings: King of Kings tournament, he signed with the UFC.

UFC Menne made his UFC debut at UFC 24 against Fabiano Iha on March 10, 2000 and won via decision. In his next fight, outside of the UFC, he defeated Jose Landi-Jons via majority decision to become the World Extreme Fighting Cruiserweight Superfight Champion. Menne then re-signed with the RINGS organization in Japan.

RINGS Menne made his RINGS debut against Ryuki Ueyama and fought to a draw. He fought again at an event in Hawaii, a decision loss, before winning his next two fights for the organization against Wataru Sakata and Roberto Traven, respectively. On February 8, 2001 Menne competed in the Shidokan Jitsu - Warriors 1 Tournament and defeated future UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Newton in the opening round, before later going on to win the tournament. In his last appearance for RINGS, Menne was defeated by Hiromitsu Kanehara via TKO.

Return to UFC Menne returned to the UFC at UFC 33 to face Gil Castillo for the first UFC Middleweight Championship and won via unanimous decision. In his first title defense at UFC 35, Menne was defeated by Murilo Bustamante via TKO. In his next fight for the UFC, Menne faced Phil Baroni at UFC 39 and was knocked out in only 18 seconds.

After UFC 39, Menne went 9-4 in his next 13 fights before returning to the UFC at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5 on June 28, 2006 against Josh Koscheck and lost via unanimous decision. Menne then fought at UFC Fight Night 7 on December 13, 2006 against Luigi Fioravanti and lost via TKO.

Bellator Two years after his last UFC appearance, Menne picked up a win before being signed by Bellator Fighting Championships. He made his debut for the organization at Bellator IV against Norman Paraisy in the quarterfinals of the Bellator Season One Welterweight Tournament on April 17, 2009. Though the underdog coming into the fight, Menne won via third round rear naked choke submission. Less than a month later, Menne faced Omar de la Cruz at Bellator 7 on May 15, 2009. Menne lost via TKO. He left the organization in late 2009.

Post-Bellator In his first fight since being released from Bellator, Menne fought and defeated Adrian Miles at XKL Evolution 2 on April 24, 2010. He then defeated Eric Davila via guillotine choke at UWF 1 on November 26, 2011. Menne's most recent fight is a rematch with mixed martial arts legend Murilo Bustamante, the man he lost his UFC Championship to. He lost by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC Middleweight Championship (One time; first) HOOKnSHOOT HOOKnSHOOT Lightweight Tournament Champion HOOKnSHOOT Lightweight Championship (One time; first) World Extreme Fighting WEF Cruiserweight Superfight Championship Shidokan Jitsu Warriors War 1 Tournament Winner

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Murilo Bustamante Decision (unanimous) Amazon Forest Combat 2

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil Win

Eric Davila Submission (guillotine choke) UWF 1: Huerta vs. War Machine

Pharr, Texas, United States Win

Adrian Miles Decision (unanimous) XKL Evolution 2

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Loss

Omar de la Cruz TKO (punches) Bellator 7

Chicago, Illinois, United States Win

Norman Paraisy Submission (rear-naked choke) Bellator IV

Norman, Oklahoma, United States Win

Travis McCollough TKO (punches) Brutaal: Fight Club

Maplewood, Minnesota, United States Loss

Luigi Fioravanti TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Sanchez vs. Riggs

San Diego, California, United States Loss

Josh Koscheck Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night 5

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Alex Reid Decision (unanimous) Cage Rage 16

London, England Loss

Jake Shields Decision (unanimous) Rumble on the Rock 8

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Loss

Ed Herman TKO (corner stoppage) EC 63: Extreme Challenge 63

Hayward, Wisconsin, United States Win

Jerry Spiegel Submission (guillotine choke) EC 62: Extreme Challenge 62

Medina, Minnesota, United States Win

Trevor Garrett Decision (split) EC 60: Extreme Challenge 60

Medina, Minnesota, United States Win

Eddie Sanchez Submission (rear naked choke) EC 59: Extreme Challenge 59

Medina, Minnesota, United States Win

Todd Carney Decision (unanimous) EC 58: Extreme Challenge 58

Medina, Minnesota, United States Win

Leo Sylvest Submission (toe hold) EC 56: Extreme Challenge 56

Medina, Minnesota, United States Loss

Falaniko Vitale Decision (unanimous) SB 33: SuperBrawl 33

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Sam Cleveland TKO (punches) EC: Best of the Best 2: Day Event

Anoka, Minnesota, United States Loss

Hayato Sakurai TKO (cut) DEEP: 10th Impact

Tokyo, Japan Win

Dennis Reed TKO EC: Extreme Combat

Ramsey, Minnesota, United States Win

Todd Carney Submission (guillotine choke) ICC 2: Rebellion

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Loss

Phil Baroni KO (strikes) UFC 39

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Robert Ferguson TKO (retirement) UAGF 2: Ultimate Cage Fighting 2

Hollywood, California, United States Loss

Murilo Bustamante TKO (punches) UFC 35

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Gil Castillo Decision (unanimous) UFC 33

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Hiromitsu Kanehara TKO (punches) RINGS: King of Kings 2000 Final

Tokyo, Japan Win

Karimula Barkalaev Decision (unanimous) Shidokan Jitsu: Warriors War 1

Kuwait Win

Shamir Maromegob Decision (unanimous) Shidokan Jitsu: Warriors War 1

Kuwait Win

Carlos Newton Decision (unanimous) Shidokan Jitsu: Warriors War 1

Kuwait Win

Roberto Traven Decision (unanimous) Rings: King of Kings 2000 Block A

Tokyo, Japan Win

Wataru Sakata Decision (unanimous) RINGS: King of Kings 2000 Block A

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Chris Munsen Decision RINGS USA: Rising Stars Block B

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Draw

Ryuki Ueyama Draw RINGS: Millennium Combine 2

Tokyo, Japan Win

Jose Landi-Jons Decision (majority) WEF 9: World Class

Evansville, Indiana, United States Win

Fabiano Iha Decision (unanimous) UFC 24

Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States Loss

Kiyoshi Tamura Decision (unanimous) RINGS: King of Kings 1999 Block B

Osaka, Japan Win

Laverne Clark Submission (guillotine choke) EC 29: Extreme Challenge 29

Hayward, Wisconsin, United States Win

Chris Lytle Decision (unanimous) EC 29: Extreme Challenge 29

Hayward, Wisconsin, United States Win

Jutaro Nakao Decision (unanimous) SB 13: SuperBrawl 13

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Mark Walker Submission (rear naked choke) UW: Ultimate Wrestling

Bloomington, Minnesota, United States Win

Joe Geromiller Submission (kneebar) SFC: Submission Fighting Championships 7

Carbondale, Illinois, United States Win

CJ Fernandes Submission (armbar) Dangerzone: Mahnomen

Mahnomen, Minnesota, United States Win

Jesse Jones Decision (unanimous) EC 25: Extreme Challenge 25

Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States Win

Brent Medley TKO (guillotine choke) EC 25: Extreme Challenge 25

Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States Win

Dennis Hallman Decision (unanimous) Shooto: 10th Anniversary Event

Yokohama, Japan Win

Jim Czajkowski Submission (kneebar) SFC: Submission Fighting Championships 6

O'Fallon, Illinois, United States Win

Mike McClure TKO (submission to punches) EC 23: Extreme Challenge 23

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Win

Ken Parham Decision (unanimous) EC 23: Extreme Challenge 23

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Win

Vernon Yates Submission (rear-naked choke) Gladiators 2: Gladiators 2

Sioux City, Iowa, United States Win

Brett Jones Submission (rear-naked choke) Gladiators 2: Gladiators 2

Sioux City, Iowa, United States Loss

Matt Hughes Decision (unanimous) EC 21: Extreme Challenge 21

Hayward, Wisconsin, United States Win

Adam Johnson TKO (guillotine choke) EC 21: Extreme Challenge 21

Hayward, Wisconsin, United States Draw

Shonie Carter Draw EC 20: Extreme Challenge 20

Davenport, Iowa, United States Win

Phil Johns Decision EC 19: Extreme Challenge 19

Hayward, Wisconsin, United States Win

Andy Sanders Decision EC 19: Extreme Challenge 19

Hayward, Wisconsin, United States Win

Henry Matamoros Decision WVT: Wisconsin Vale Tudo

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Loss

Adrian Serrano Decision (split) WVT: Wisconsin Vale Tudo

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Loss

Jesse Jones Submission (armbar) EC 15: Extreme Challenge 15

Muncie, Indiana, United States Loss

Shonie Carter Decision EC 5: Extreme Challenge 5

Waterloo, Iowa, United States Win

Laverne Clark Submission (triangle choke) EC 5: Extreme Challenge 5

Waterloo, Iowa, United States Win

Tim Wills Submission (bad position) HOOKnSHOOT: Absolute Fighting Championship 1

Evansville, Indiana, United States Win

Sean Coultas TKO (towel thrown from armbar) HOOKnSHOOT: Lightweight Championship

Evansville, Indiana, United States Win

Adam Fisher Submission (rear-naked choke) HOOKnSHOOT: Lightweight Championship

Evansville, Indiana, United States Win

Duane Bressinger Submission (armbar) HOOKnSHOOT: Lightweight Championship

Evansville, Indiana, United States