Gary Goodridge

Gary Goodridge (born January 17, 1966) is a Trinidadian-Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranked contenders in the world of professional arm wrestling. In early 2012, Goodridge was diagnosed with early onset of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Early life Goodridge was born in Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago before moving to Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Prior to his career in combat sports, he worked as a welder at the Honda factory in Alliston, Ontario.

He was a world champion in arm wrestling, and was able to defeat the likes of greats Sharon Remez and John Brzenk in 1991 and again in 1994. Goodridge started competing in amateur boxing after only a few months of training under Norm Bell. He proceeded to win his first seven fights and won the Canadian National Amateur Boxing Championship at super heavyweight with a TKO of Scott McLellan of New Waterford Nova Scotia. Goodridge then lost his first international match against American boxer David Bostice, and decided to change sports rather than proceed with boxing.

Mixed martial arts career Goodridge originally applied for Ultimate Fighting Championship at his friends' suggestion after they watched the fight between Remco Pardoel and Orlando Wiet in UFC 2. He started training in a Kuk Sool Won school, as he wanted some martial arts credentials aside from his boxing championship, only to find out that the school was already training a fighter to compete in UFC. Gary was forced to fight him, and he won in dominant fashion, so he was quickly offered a 4th degree black belt and a free dobok if he represented the school at the event. He ended up going to UFC 8 with less than a month's experience in the art.

Ultimate Fighting Championship In 1996, Goodridge made his debut in UFC in the eight-man tournament at UFC 8: David vs. Goliath in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He first went against amateur wrestler Paul Herrera, whom Goodridge outweighed by 73 lbs. In order to increase Goodridge's will to fight, he had been told by his friends that Herrera and his teammate Tank Abbott were white supremacists. Before his match at the finals against future legend Don Frye, Goodridge considered quitting for an alternate due to exhaustion and lack of preparation, but he accepted the fight in order to collect the bout money. On July 12, 1996, at UFC 10: The Tournament, Goodridge took part in his second UFC tournament. He first fought wrestler John Campetella, knocking him out with left punches from the mount after reversing a takedown, and advanced round against wrestling champion and eventual winner Mark Coleman. Goodridge was taken down repeatedly, struck with elbows and headbutts and finally submitted for giving his back.

His next UFC match came on December 7, 1996, at Ultimate Ultimate 1996, in a rematch against Don Frye. After trading strikes inside the clinch, Goodridge scored a takedown and started punishing Frye with headbutts. However, Frye reached for two armbars attempts and got free, performing his own takedown, and then Goodridge tapped out due to exhaustion just like their first time.

Vale tudo Following his UFC career, Goodridge travelled to Brazil to compete in vale tudo. His first match was against Mario "Sukata" Neto, which ended in 6:02 when Goodridge tapped out again due to exhaustion.

On July 6, 1997, Goodridge participated in the first International Vale Tudo Championship tournament. He submitted Augusto Menezes Santos, improvising a neck crank from a standing double underhook position, and then fellow UFC veteran Cal Worsham, locking a keylock, both in a combined time of 0:75. He then advanced to the finals, where he faced luta livre stylist Pedro Otavio. As the IVC ruleset allowed groin shots, the fight featured multiple low blows intertwined with their grappling exchanges. In a particularly brutal instance, Goodridge capitalized on having Otavio in a butterfly guard to get his feet inside the Brazilian's tights and squeeze his testicles with his toes. Finally, after grabbing again Otavio's testicles from a clinch, Goodridge overpowered him and landed strikes for the KO, winning the tournament.

PRIDE Fighting Championships Earlier events In late 1997, Goodridge was recruited to compete in Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships and made his promotional debut in its very first event PRIDE1 on October 11. Facing Russian grappler and UFC tournament winner Oleg Taktarov, Goodridge showed his superiority by stunning and punishing him with strikes, both standing and on the ground, before scoring a brutal knockout by right hook. Taktarov was rendered unconscious and had to be taken away on a stretcher.

Goodridge returned at PRIDE 2 on March 15, 1998, where he faced UFC 7 tournament winner and Brazilian luta livre fighter Marco Ruas. Goodridge dominated most of the match, cutting Ruas with a punch and landing ground and pound on the mat, but as they were restarted on the feet, a slip allowed Ruas to come back with his own offense. Although Goodridge immediately took Ruas down as well, the Brazilian capitalized on the lapse to catch him in a heel hook for the tap out.

At PRIDE 3, Goodridge faced Bas Rutten trainee Amir Rahnavardi, who looked to exchange strikes before being knocked down with Gary on top. The UFC veteran punished Rahnavardi with punches while the latter attempted leglocks and triangle chokes to no avail; at one point Goodridge theatrically shouted Amir to hit him back. Though Rahnavardi threw some strikes from the bottom, Goodridge landed a barrage of punches and knocked him out.

Goodridge's last consecutive PRIDE appearance was in PRIDE 4, where he fought Ukrainian kickboxer Igor Vovchanchyn in the latter's debut fight. Warned of Igor's reputation as a powerful striker, Goodridge took him down, but a mistake allowed Igor to scramble back to his feet. The UFC fighter pressed on, bloodying Vovchanchyn and taking him down again, only for Igor to break the clinch and land two solid left hooks that knocked Goodridge out on his feet.

Following a brief return to the UFC in 1999, when he quickly submitted Andre Roberts at UFC 19: Ultimate Young Guns, Goodridge met Olympic judoka Naoya Ogawa at Pride 6. He landed blows against the inexperienced Ogawa, but the judoka eventually took him down and started attempting submissions. In the second round, Ogawa swept Goodridge and finally locked an ude-garami, making him tap out.

It was rumored that Goodridge had been paid to throw the fight, but Gary himself said in an interview that, although he was effectively proposed an anonymous money bribe to let Ogawa win, he rejected it and fought for real, thus losing legitimately to Ogawa. He added that PRIDE executive Nobuyuki Sakakibara had promised him "to write his own ticket" if he defeated Ogawa in order to increase his motivation.

PRIDE Grand Prix and gatekeeping On January 20, 2000, Goodridge took part in the sixteen-man, open weight tournament PRIDE Grand Prix 2000. His first opponent was a debutant, former professional wrestler Osamu "Tachihikari" Kawahara, whom Goodridge defeated via choke in under a minute. His quarter-finals adversary would be Igor Vovchanchyn, who knocked out Goodridge for the second time after a battle contested mainly with punches. Goodridge was eliminated from the tournament, but continued to cement his status as PRIDE's gatekeeper, which gave name to his official biography. The second bout was a short affair against RINGS Japan veteran Gilbert Yvel at PRIDE 10. Both men looked to strike, but Yvel moved first and landed a left roundhouse kick to the head, knocking his opponent out.

Goodridge finally bounced back against Yoshiaki Yatsu, another professional wrestling veteran making his debut, at PRIDE 11. Despite Yatsu's Olympic amateur wrestling credentials, Goodridge easily avoided his takedowns, while landing regular leg kicks and one-two combos. The wrestler eventually took Gary down, but the latter escaped from his leglock attempt and caused a momentary pause after landing an illegal knee. After the restart, however, Goodridge swarmed him with uppercuts until the referee called a stop to the bout.

The Trinidadian continued his streak by defeating another RINGS Japan fighter, Bob Schrijber, in an event in Holland, and a third, Valentijn Overeem, in his return to PRIDE. The last was especially notable, as after outstriking Overeem and negating his guard, Goodridge avoided a Kimura lock, thanks in part to his arm wrestling skill. He then landed a heavy knee strike (now legal) and followed with ground and pound until the TKO.

The streak stopped at PRIDE 15, however, against the debutant RINGS King of Kings champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. His debut was going to be against Mark Coleman, but the latter pulled out due to an injury and Goodridge stepped in on short notice. The bout was short, although Goodridge worked to avoid his adversary's Brazilian jiu-jitsu expertise, Nogueira managed to bring him to his guard and lock a triangle choke for the win.

At the end of 2002, Goodridge participated in the K-1 Andy Memorial event, submitting superheavyweight kickboxer Jan Nortje by armbar, and also rematched Yoshiaki Yatsu, beating him with strikes in even less time than the first time. His last fight of the year was a special "K-1 vs. PRIDE" rules bout against vale tudo fighter Ebenezer Fontes Braga in Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye, which ended in a draw.

Last matches Goodridge started 2002 opposite to Achmed Labasanov from Russian Top Team (former RINGS Russia) at PRIDE 21. The Russian opened strong and controlled the Trinidadian on the mat, but Goodridge scrambled, managed to get on top, and scored knees and punches for some minutes. The second round would be slower, as Labasanov took Goodridge down yet performed no attacks, which prompted Goodridge to scream "hit me!" in frustration. At the third, Goodridge took over and scored knees and punches for the unanimous decision. At PRIDE Shockwave 2002, Gary faced Dutch kickboxer Lloyd van Dams, whom he defeated quickly by takedown and ground and pound despite the Dutchman's size advantage.

After a hiatus of a year, Goodridge would fight another Russian Top Team exponent, Fedor Emelianenko, who made short work of him by punches, knees and soccer kicks in 1:09. Goodridge returned to PRIDE after some months, fighting fellow UFC veteran Dan Bobish. The match met a controversial ending, as Goodridge knocked him out with a punching combination while Bobish was trying to signal an eye gouge to the referee.

Goodridge had his official retirement fight at PRIDE Shockwave 2003 after six years of fighting for PRIDE. It would make for a rubber match against his old UFC rival Don Frye, who was similarly past his prime after his own long career. Goodridge would write in his autobiography that he had to receive numbing injections in his lower back only to be able to walk, while Frye himself looked in pain just to get up from his chair. Despite those difficulties, Goodridge dominated the scuffle with strikes and ended up knocking out Frye with a right roundhouse kick to the head. Goodridge, and co-author Mark Dorsey, published in December 2011, Gatekeeper: The Fighting Life of Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge. The book details his experience in UFC, Pride and K1, along with detailed personal information about his life and family. Resulting from his martial arts career, Goodridge has chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Paul Herrera

Professional Armwrestling Most gold medals earned from WAF worlds from any Canadian Armwrestler.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Lyubomir Simeonov TKO (punches) Bulgarian MMA Federation: Warriors 18

Sofia, Bulgaria Loss

Pedro Rizzo TKO (retirement) Washington Combat

Washington, D.C., United States Loss

Gegard Mousasi TKO (punches) Dynamite!! The Power of Courage 2009

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Loss

Alistair Overeem Submission (keylock) United Glory 10

Arnhem, Netherlands Loss

Paul Buentello Decision (unanimous) Affliction : Banned

Anaheim, California, United States Loss

Terroll Dees Decision (unanimous) Iroquois MMA Championships 4

Ontario, Canada Loss

Choi Mu-Bae KO (punch) The Khan 1

Seoul, South Korea Win

Jan Nortje TKO (punches) Hero's 8

Nagoya, Japan Win

Tadas Rimkevicius TKO (punches) Hero's Lithuania 2006

Lithuania Loss

Heath Herring TKO (punches) Hero's 4

Tokyo, Japan Win

Alan Karaev Submission (forearm choke) Hero's 1

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Win

Sylvester Terkay TKO (punches) K-1 MMA ROMANEX

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Win

Don Frye KO (head kick) PRIDE Shockwave 2003

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Win

Dan Bobish TKO (punches) PRIDE Final Conflict 2003

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Fedor Emelianenko TKO (soccer kicks and punches) PRIDE Total Elimination 2003

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Win

Lloyd van Dams TKO (punches) PRIDE Shockwave 2002

Tokyo, Japan Win

Achmed Labasanov Decision (split) PRIDE 21

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Draw

Ebenezer Fontes Braga Draw Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Win

Yoshiaki Yatsu TKO (corner stoppage) PRIDE 16

Osaka, Japan Win

Jan Nortje Submission (armbar) K-1 Andy Memorial 2001 Japan GP Final

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Loss

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Submission (triangle choke) PRIDE 15

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Win

Valentijn Overeem TKO (submission to knee) PRIDE 14

Yokohama, Japan Win

Bob Schrijber Submission (kneebar) 2 Hot 2 Handle 2

Rotterdam, the Netherlands Win

Yoshiaki Yatsu TKO (punches) PRIDE 11

Osaka, Japan Loss

Gilbert Yvel KO (head kick) PRIDE 10

Saitama, Saitama, Japan Loss

Ricco Rodriguez Decision (unanimous) PRIDE 9

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Igor Vovchanchyn TKO (punches) PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals

Tokyo, Japan Win

Osamu Kawahara Submission (forearm choke) PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Tom Erikson Decision (unanimous) PRIDE 8

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Naoya Ogawa Submission (keylock) PRIDE 6

Yokohama, Japan Win

Andre Roberts TKO (submission to punch) UFC 19

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States Loss

Igor Vovchanchyn TKO (punches) PRIDE 4

Tokyo, Japan Win

Amir Rahnavardi KO (punches) PRIDE 3

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Marco Ruas Submission (heel hook) PRIDE 2

Yokohama, Japan Win

Oleg Taktarov KO (punch) PRIDE 1

Tokyo, Japan Win

Pedro Otavio TKO (submission to punches)

Win

Cal Worsham Submission (keylock)

Win

Augusto Menezes Santos Submission (crucifix)

Loss

Mario Neto Submission (no apparent reason) Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 6

Brazil Loss

Don Frye Submission (fatigue) Ultimate Ultimate 1996

Birmingham, Alabama, United States Loss

Mark Coleman Submission (exhaustion)

Win

John Campetella KO (punches)

Loss

Mark Schultz TKO (cut) UFC 9

Detroit, Michigan, United States Loss

Don Frye TKO (submission to punches)

Win

Jerry Bohlander TKO (punches)

Win

Paul Herrera KO (elbows)

Kickboxing record (incomplete) Loss Cătălin Moroşanu K-1 Scandinavia Rumble of the Kings 2010 Stockholm, Sweden TKO (referee stoppage)

12–24–2 Loss Jerry Otto La Onda Fight Night: Blood In Blood Out Magdeburg, Germany Decision (unanimous)

12–23–2 Loss Igor Mihaljevic Noc skorpiona 6 Karlovac, Croatia Decision (unanimous)

12–22–2 Loss Cătălin Moroşanu Local Kombat 32 Ploieşti, Romania TKO (corner stoppage)

12–21–2 For World Kickboxing Network Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. Loss Hiromi Amada DEEP: Gladiators Okayama, Japan Decision (unanimous)

12–20–2 Loss Lubos Suda K-1 Fighting Network Prague 2007 Prague, Czech Republic Decision (unanimous)

12–19–2

Konstantin Gluhov K-1 Fighting Network Latvia 2007 Riga, Latvia Draw

12–18–2 Loss Choi Hong-man K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Hong Kong Hong Kong KO (knee)

12–18–1 Loss Patrick Barry K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii, USA TKO (referee stoppage)

12–17–1 2007 Hawaii Grand Prix quarter-final. Loss Remy Bonjasky K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Osaka opening round Osaka, Japan KO (knee)

12–16–1 2006 K-1 World Grand Prix opening round. Loss Carter Williams K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas II Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Decision (unanimous)

12–15–1 2006 Las Vegas Grand Prix II quarter-final. Loss Peter Aerts K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Sapporo Sapporo, Japan Decision (unanimous)

12–14–1 Loss Chalid Arrab K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA KO (right hook)

12–13–1 2006 Las Vegas Grand Prix final. Win Scott Lighty K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA TKO (referee stoppage)

12–12–1 2006 Las Vegas Grand Prix semi-final. Win Kengo K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA KO (right hook)

11–12–1 2006 Las Vegas Grand Prix quarter-final. Loss Alexey Ignashov K-1 European League 2006 in Budapest Budapest, Hungary Decision

10–12–1 Loss Glaube Feitosa K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Tokyo Final Tokyo, Japan Decision (unanimous)

10–11–1 Loss Jérôme Le Banner K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Osaka – final elimination Osaka, Japan TKO (three knockdowns)

10–10–1 2005 K-1 World Grand Prix opening round. Win Yusuke Fujimoto K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii, USA TKO (corner stoppage)

10–9–1 2005 Hawaii Grand Prix final. Win Carter Williams K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii, USA KO (right hooks)

9–9–1 2005 Hawaii Grand Prix semi-final. Win Wesley Correira K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii, USA TKO (referee stoppage)

8–9–1 2005 Hawaii Grand Prix quarter-final. Loss Glaube Feitosa K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA KO (left high kick)

7–9–1 2005 Las Vegas Grand Prix final. Win Scott Lighty K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA TKO (low kicks)

7–8–1 2005 Las Vegas Grand Prix semi-final. Win Sean O'Haire K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA KO (right uppercut)

6–8–1 2005 Las Vegas Grand Prix quarter-final. Loss Ray Sefo K-1 PREMIUM 2004 Dynamite!! Osaka, Japan KO (right uppercuts)

5–8–1 Win Cyril Abidi K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 Final Tokyo, Japan KO (right hook)

5–7–1 Win Samy Atia Titans 1st Kitakyūshū, Japan KO (punches)

4–7–1 Loss Mighty Mo K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 final elimination Tokyo, Japan TKO (three knockdowns)

3–7–1 2004 K-1 World Grand Prix opening round. Win Dewey Cooper K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Las Vegas II Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Decision (split)

3–6–1 Loss Peter Aerts K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Nagoya Nagoya, Japan TKO (low kicks)

2–6–1 Win Toa K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Las Vegas I Las Vegas, Nevada, USA TKO

2–5–1 Loss Mark Hunt K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Decision (unanimous)

1–5–1

Musashi K-1 Beast 2003 Yamagata, Japan Draw

1–4–1 Loss Mike Bernardo Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 Saitama, Japan KO (right hook)

1–4 Loss Jérôme Le Banner K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 final elimination Saitama, Japan KO (straight right)

1–3 2002 K-1 World Grand Prix opening round. Win Mike Bernardo K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA KO (punches)

1–2 Loss Masaaki Satake K-1 Spirits '99 Tokyo, Japan KO (kick)

0–2 Loss Musashi K-1 Revenge '99 Yokohama, Japan DQ

0–1