Mark Weir

Mark 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.

Background 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. 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

Mixed martial arts career

Early career 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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.

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

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC Encyclopedia Awards Knockout of the Night (One time)

World Extreme Cagefighting WEC North American Middleweight Championship (One time) Cage Rage Cage Rage British Middleweight British Championship (One time) First Ultimate Challenge MMA Ultimate Challenge MMA Middleweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record Win

Mickey Burns Submission (rear-naked choke) Supremacy Fight Challenge 9

Gateshead, England Loss

Denniston Sutherland KO (punches) Ultimate Challenge MMA 21

London, England Lost the UCMMA Middleweight Championship Win

Jack Mason KO (knee and punches) Ultimate Challenge MMA 11

London, England Won the UCMMA Middleweight Championship Loss

Tor Troéng Submission (triangle choke) Superior Challenge 4

Stockholm, Sweden Draw

Jean-François Lénogue Draw Furious FC 2

Casablanca, Morocco Loss

Mohamed Khacha TKO (punches) Ultimate Challenge MMA 2

London, England Win

Marius Buzinskas Submission (arm-triangle choke) Cage FC 4

Kent, England Loss

Drew Fickett Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Rage 24

London, England Loss

Paul Daley TKO (punches) Cage Rage 23

London, England For the vacant Cage Rage Welterweight Championship. Loss

Nick Thompson TKO (punches) BodogFight: Vancouver

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Win

Daijiro Matsui Decision (unanimous) Cage Rage 21

London, England Loss

Zelg Galešic KO (punches) Cage Rage 19

London, England Loss

Murilo Rua Submission (arm-triangle choke) Cage Rage 18

London, England Loss

Denis Kang TKO (submission to knees) PRIDE Bushido 10

Tokyo, Japan Win

Akira Shoji KO (head kick) Cage Rage 14

London, England Win

Kyosuke Sasaki KO (punches) Cage Rage 13

London, England Win

Sol Gilbert TKO (corner stoppage) Cage Rage 12

London, England Loss

Curtis Stout TKO (punches) Cage Rage 11

London, England Loss

Alex Serdyukov Submission (arm-triangle choke) WEC 14

Lemoore, California, United States Loss

Gabriel Santos Decision (unanimous) Cage Rage 10

London, England Loss

Matt Lindland TKO (doctor stoppage) Cage Rage 9

London, England Win

Will Bradford Submission (fist choke) WEC 12

Lemoore, California, United States Win

Johil de Oliveira Submission (arm-triangle choke) Cage Rage 8

London, England Loss

Jorge Rivera TKO (doctor stoppage) Cage Rage 7

London, England Win

Gen Isono TKO (corner stoppage) Pain and Glory 2004

Birmingham, England Win

Alex Reid TKO (doctor stoppage) Extreme Brawl 6

Bracknell, England Loss

Gregory Bouchelaghem Submission (rear-naked choke) Xtreme FC 2

Cornwall, England Win

Jean-François Lénogue Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Rage 4

London, England Loss

David Loiseau KO (punches) UFC 42

Miami, Florida, United States Loss

Phillip Miller Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 40

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Eugene Jackson KO (punch) UFC 38

London, England Win

Ben Earwood TKO (submission to punches) Millennium Brawl 5

High Wycombe, England Win

Shannon Ritch Submission (choke) Millennium Brawl 3

High Wycombe, England Win

Paul Jenkins KO Grapple & Strike 3

Worcester, England Win

CJ Fernandes TKO Millennium Brawl 2

High Wycombe, England Win

Sean Cocharin TKO Ultimate Fight Night 1

High Wycombe, England Win

Frank Ledroumaguet Submission (armbar) Pancrase: Pancrase UK

London, England Win

John Andrews Submission (choke) Grapple & Strike 2

Worcester, England Win

Dale Houghton Submission (forearm choke) Ring of Truth 3

London, England Loss

Trevor Cunningham KO Grapple & Strike 1

Worcester, England