Sean Salmon

Sean Salmon (born September 11, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial artist and a former columnist for MMA news site MMAjunkie.com. Salmon has competed for the UFC, Strikeforce and King of the Cage.

Background Salmon was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He began his high school wrestling career for Birmingham Groves High School in Birmingham, Michigan. As a freshman, he competed at the varsity level and held a record of 20–20 in the 160 lb. weight class. In his sophomore season, he held a record 38–9 in the same weight class, and qualified for the state meet before moving to Ohio to finish high school. Salmon continued competing for Worthington Kilbourne High School, where he won a state championship in his senior season and amassed a 44–1 record.

Salmon then went on to compete for Ohio State University and was ranked as high as #10 in the nation for the 167 lb. weight class as a freshman. Competing in the 184 lb. weight class for OSU, he was the Michigan State Open Champion and holds a notable win over WWE and Bellator MMA star Bobby Lashley. However, the weight-cutting was too harsh for Salmon, and he left after his sophomore year but would return as a volunteer assistant coach to continue training. Salmon continued his career in amateur wrestling and also qualified for the Olympic trials while competing at the Ohio International Wrestling Club in the freestyle wrestling circuit.

Post UFC On June 9, 2007, Salmon submitted Jason Freeman at a North American Allied Fight Series event in Cleveland, Ohio called Fite Nite at the Flats III, winning via Americana keylock. On August 11, 2007, he defeated Will Hill via unanimous decision at the Xtreme Fighting Organization's "XFO 19" show. On September 1, 2007, he was defeated via guillotine choke by fellow UFC veteran Travis Wiuff in an International Fight Organization title fight.

On November 16, 2007, Salmon lost to Jorge Santiago via knockout due to a flying knee in a Strikeforce tournament which Santiago eventually won. According to Sherdog.com, and California State Athletic Commission Executive Officer Armando Garcia, Salmon suffered a seizure in the ring after he was knocked out by Santiago. Garcia also stated Salmon's career was in jeopardy.

2008 saw Salmon's return to the cage, with a TKO victory over Mitch Whitesel in an NAAFS event on September 19. Barely three weeks later, however, on October 11, Salmon's fortunes reversed, as The Ultimate Fighter 3 alumni and 3x time UFC veteran Josh Haynes forced him to tap to an ankle lock.

Salmon had been hired as a guest wrestling coach for the famed Wolfslair MMA Academy in England. He briefly left the camp to participate in one of his own bouts, to which the camp responded by telling him to come back healthy and able to train the fighters or don't return at all. On June 6, 2009, after he was unable to finish his opponent in the first round, Salmon intentionally left his arm out to be submitted. After losing by the armbar, he admitted to quitting the fight in order to be able to come back to Wolfslair healthy. He has since received criticism from the mixed martial arts community and was punished by the Ohio State Athletic Commission.

Personal life Sean and his ex-wife Missy have a son, Marcus, and a daughter, Hayden. Salmon's ex-father-in-law, Rick Pyles, is the owner of the Ohio-based Ultimate Victory Challenge promotion.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Todd Brown TKO (submission to punches) MFL 29

South Bend, Indiana, United States Loss

Teddy Holder TKO (punches) UCC: Undisputed Combat Challenge 6

Nashville, Tennessee, United States Loss

Aaron Mays TKO (punches) Coalition of Combat: Clash of the Titans

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Loss

João Zeferino Submission (heel hook) NAFC: Unleashed

Milwaukee, United States Catchweight (195 lbs) bout. Loss

Antony Rea TKO (punches) Desert Force: Elimination Series: Knockout Round

Amman, Jordan Loss

Laverne Clark KO (punches) Fight Tour

Rockford, Illinois, United States Loss

Joe Cason TKO (punches) NAFC: Mayhem

Wisconsin, United States Loss

Tom DeBlass Submission (achilles lock) Ring of Combat 35

New Jersey, United States Return to Light Heavyweight. Loss

Assan Njie TKO (punches) Superior Challenge 6

Stockholm, Sweden Loss

Toni Valtonen TKO (punches) Fight Festival 28

Helsinki, Finland Loss

Jeremy Horn Submission (rear-naked choke) IFC: Extreme Challenge

Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, United States Loss

Eric Cebarac Submission (guillotine choke) WAFC: Mayor's Cup 2010

Khabarovsk Krai, Russia Lost the WAFC Middleweight Championship. Win

Nikita Khazov Decision (unanimous) WAFC: Mayor's Cup 2010

Khabarovsk Krai, Russia Won the WAFC Middleweight Championship. Loss

Alexander Shlemenko TKO (knee to the body) Fight Festival 27

Helsinki, Finland Win

Yuki Sasaki Decision (unanimous) Fight Festival 26

Helsinki, Finland Loss

Allan Weickert Submission (armbar) NAAFS: Fight Nite in the Flats 5

Cleveland, Ohio, United States Win

John Doyle Decision (unanimous) Ring of Combat 24

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Loss

Lucio Linhares Submission (rear-naked choke) Fight Festival 25

Helsinki, Finland Loss

Josh Haynes Submission (achilles lock) SuperFights MMA: Night of Combat 2

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Mitch Whitesel TKO (punches) NAAFS: Night of Pain 4

Columbus, Ohio, United States Loss

Jorge Santiago KO (flying knee) Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives

San Jose, California, United States Middleweight debut. Win

Marcus Vinicios TKO (injury) HCF: Title Wave

Calgary, Alberta, Canada Win

Mikko Rupponen TKO (doctor stoppage) Fight Festival 22

Helsinki, Finland Win

Jason Jones TKO (submission to punches) NAAFS: Rock n Rumble

Cleveland, Ohio, United States Loss

Travis Wiuff Submission (guillotine choke) IFO: Wiuff vs. Salmon

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

William Hill Decision XFO 19

Island Lake, Illinois, United States Win

Jason Freeman Submission (americana) NAAFS: Fight Night in the Flats III

Cleveland, Ohio, United States Loss

Alan Belcher Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 71

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Rashad Evans KO (head kick) UFC Fight Night 8

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Matt Hershberger TKO (submission to punches) Fightfest 8

Cleveland, Ohio, United States Win

Bobby Martinez Submission (americana) Legends of Fighting 9

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Win

Lucas Lopes Submission (elbows) Fightfest 6

Corpus Christi, Texas, United States Loss

David Heath Submission (armbar) FF 5: Korea vs USA

McAllen, Texas, United States Win

Hans Marrero Submission (americana) Diesel Fighting Championships 1

Dallas, Texas, United States Win

Danny Sheehan TKO (punches) FFP: Untamed 5

Mansfield, Ohio, United States Win

Jim Bundy Submission (armbar) Fightfest 3

Youngstown, Ohio, United States Win

Bryan Zanders TKO (injury) KOTC: Redemption on the River

Moline, Illinois, United States Win

Jerry Spiegel Decision KOTC 64: Raging Bull

Cleveland, Ohio, United States Win

Rob Wince Submission (americana) HHCF 24: Thanksgiving Throwdown 2

Columbus, Ohio, United States