Trevor Prangley

Trevor Prangley (born 24 August 1972) is a South African mixed martial artist. He has fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Dream, King of the Cage, MFC, the SFL, Shark Fights, and Bodog Fight. He competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight divisions. He was the former King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Champion, the former Shark Fights Light Heavyweight Champion, and the former MFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Mixed martial arts career

Early life Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1972, Prangley grew up on a small farm tending horses, sheep, and chickens with his mother, father, brother, and sister. When Trevor was only 4 years old, his father asked him if he wanted to sign-up for wrestling classes at a local club.

Trevor wrestled throughout his youth in South Africa. He won numerous regional and provincial titles and at age 23 captured the national title. This brought him close to his goal of making the South African Olympic team, but he lost the qualifying match in overtime and had to settle for alternate status.

He left his family behind and headed to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. His hope was to make the lineup and secure a scholarship at North Idaho College (NIC), a local community college. This gamble paid off. Trevor received All-American status both years at NIC. Unfortunately, during the final match of his second year while ahead on points, Trevor tore his ACL and placed runner up. Frustrated that his eligibility was gone and he had not reached his goal of becoming a national champion, Trevor considered returning home to South Africa. Those thoughts soon disappeared as he began to receive numerous scholarship offers to continue wrestling at four-year schools. He was now motivated to begin aggressive rehab.

Despite doctor's predictions that it would be nine months before being able to wrestle again, Trevor found a local Jiu-Jitsu school and began to train. Jiu-Jitsu enabled him to stay in shape and still have something to compete in while recovering. Just six months later, in 1998, he had his first amateur mixed martial arts fight. Even though he lost this fight to decision, he realized that mixed martial arts was the sport for him. He canceled his plans to resume college wrestling and went on a 19 fight winning streak before turning pro in 2001.

Early career His pro-career started as a Light Heavyweight at 205 pounds. He achieved six straight wins before fighting Renato Sobral, his toughest fight to date. It was losing this fight that made Trevor decided to move to middleweight 185 lbs. He decided to drop to a middleweight where he could feel more comfortable and strong. This proved to be a good decision. Trevor won his first fight at 185 pounds over Andrei Semenov of Russia and secured a fight in the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship He made his debut in the UFC at UFC 48, defeating Curtis Stout by submission. He is currently 2–2 in the organization, including a close decision loss to Jeremy Horn at UFC 56. Prangley then went on to lose to Chael Sonnen at Ultimate Fight Night 4.

Post-UFC Leaving the UFC, Prangley then fought for several organizations, including Bodog Fight, where he qualified for the USA vs. Russia card on the reality show, and defeated Andrei Seminov for a second time at the event.

Prangley defeated Yuki Kondo at BodogFIGHT: Alvarez vs. Lee via TKO (doctor stoppage) following the conclusion of the second round to win the Bodog Fight Middleweight Title.

Strikeforce He has fought several times for Strikeforce, which included competing in the Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives middleweight tournament. He won a decision victory over Falaniko Vitale in the first round of the tournament, but lost to Jorge Santiago in the finals.

Prangley fought Tim Kennedy on 16 June 2010 at Strikeforce: Los Angeles. and lost by submission (rear naked choke).

After this, he faced Keith Jardine in a non-title bout at Shark Fights 13: Jardine vs. Prangley. He won via split decision.

On 29 January he fought in Strikeforce again and lost by a rear naked choke from Roger Gracie in the first round.

Shark fights In between his time with Strikeforce Prangley competed for the Shark Fights organization and won the Light Heavyweight Championship by defeating Marcus Sursa on 28 November 2009 at Shark Fights 7.

He later fought in the main event of the Shark Fights 13 card by defeating Keith Jardine in a non-title fight on 11 September 2010.

Bellator Prangley made his Bellator debut at Bellator 58, against Hector Lombard at the catch weight of 195. In this non-title affair, Prangley lost to Lombard via TKO in the second round.

Super Fight League He next compete at India's Super Fight League's third event, SFL 3, against Baga Agaev. He won via third round KO. He was expected to face Sokoudjou at SFL 5 in the main event.

King of the Cage Prangley fought Tony Lopez for the vacant KOTC Light Heavyweight Championship at KOTC: Vigilante. The fight was stopped in the fourth round after Lopez landed an illegal knee to Prangley's head and Prangley could not continue even after the 5 minutes allowed to recover. The bout then went to a technical decision where the judges scored a Majority Decision victory for Prangley.

Prangley made his fourth title defense when he faced Jared Torgeson at KOTC: Double Impact on 4 October 2013. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

In his fifth title defense, Prangley faced Jared Torgeson in a rematch at KOTC: Steadfast on 14 August 2014. Prangley won via KO in the first round.

In his sixth title defense, Prangley faced Richard Blake at KOTC: Tactical Strike on 13 November 2014. He successfully defended his title, winning by submission early in the first round.

Other promotions Filling in for an injured Mike Kyle, Prangley faced Maxim Grishin at Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 17 on 30 September 2014. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

Personal life Trevor and his wife have a son. He owns a gym in Hayden, Idaho.

Achievements and titles

Wrestling NJCAA Division 1 Wrestler 2x All-American NJCAA National Runner-Up South African National Champion

Mixed martial arts BodogFight BodogFight Middleweight Championship (One time) Maximum Fighting Championship MFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time) Shark Fights Shark Fights Light Heavyweight Championship (One time) Super Fight League Fight of the Night (One time) King of the Cage KOTC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time) Strikeforce Strikeforce Middleweight Tournament Runner-Up

Mixed martial arts record Draw

Mike Hayes Draw (split) King of the Cage: Awakening

Worley, Idaho, United States Win

Richard Blake Submission (arm-triangle choke) KOTC: Tactical Strike

Worley, Idaho, United States Loss

Maxim Grishin TKO (punches) Fight Nights Global: Battle of Moscow 17

Moscow, Russia Win

Jared Torgeson KO (punches) KOTC: Steadfast

Worley, Idaho, United States Win

Jared Torgeson Decision (unanimous) KOTC: Double Impact

Worley, Idaho, United States Loss

Vyacheslav Vasilevsky TKO (punches) League s-70: Plotforma S -70

Sochi, Russia Win

Tony Lopez Submission (armbar) KOTC: It's Personal

Worley, Idaho, United States Win

Dan Molina Submission (kimura) KOTC: Fighting Legends

Oroville, California, United States Win

Brandon Anderson Submission (kimura) KOTC: Free Fall 2

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States Win

Tony Lopez Technical Decision (majority) KOTC: Vigilante

Highland, California, United States Win

Mike Cook TKO (doctor stoppage) KOTC: Breaking Point

Worley, Idaho, United States Win

George Stork Submission (rear-naked choke) KOTC: Wild Card

Worley, Idaho, United States Win

Baga Agaev KO (punches) Super Fight League 3

New Delhi, Delhi, India Loss

Hector Lombard TKO (punches) Bellator 58

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Tony King KO (punch) North Idaho Fight Night

Idaho, United States Loss

Tatsuya Mizuno KO (knee to the body) Dream: Japan GP Final

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Roger Gracie Submission (rear-naked choke) Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg

San Jose, California, United States Win

Keith Jardine Decision (split) Shark Fights 13: Jardine vs Prangley

Amarillo, Texas, United States Loss

Tim Kennedy Submission (rear-naked choke) Strikeforce: Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, United States Draw

Karl Amoussou Technical Draw Strikeforce Challengers: Kaufman vs. Hashi

San Jose, California, United States Win

Marcus Sursa Submission (rear-naked choke) Shark Fights 7: Sursa vs Prangley

Amarillo, Texas, United States Win

Dennis Reed KO (punch) Arena Rumble: Horn vs. Guida

Spokane, Washington, United States Win

Emanuel Newton Decision (unanimous) MFC 21

Enoch, Alberta, Canada Win

Isidro Gonzalez Submission (rear-naked choke) Professional Fighting Association: Champion vs. Champion

Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, United States Win

Anthony Ruiz Decision (unanimous) Strikeforce: At The Mansion II

Los Angeles, California, United States Loss

Jorge Santiago KO (knee to the body) Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives

San Jose, California, United States Win

Falaniko Vitale Decision (referee decision) Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives

San Jose, California, United States Win

Yuki Kondo TKO (doctor stoppage) BodogFight: Alvarez vs Lee

Trenton, New Jersey, United States Win

Pierre Guillet Submission (rear-naked choke) BodogFight: Costa Rica

Costa Rica Win

Andrei Semenov Decision (unanimous) BodogFight: USA vs Russia

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Win

Anthony Ruiz Submission (armbar) Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello

Fresno, California, United States Win

Kyacey Uscola Submission (arm-triangle) BodogFight: Costa Rica

Costa Rica Loss

Chael Sonnen Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night 4

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Jeremy Horn Decision (unanimous) UFC 56

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Travis Lutter Decision (unanimous) UFC 54

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Matt Horwich Decision (unanimous) SportFight 9: Respect

Gresham, Oregon, United States Loss

Rico Hattingh Submission (triangle choke) African FC: All or Nothing

Cape Town, South Africa Win

Curtis Stout Submission (cobra choke) UFC 48

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Andrei Semenov Decision (unanimous) Euphoria: Russia vs USA

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Shane Schartzer TKO (submission to punches) Kickdown Classic 8

Denver, Colorado, United States Loss

Renato Sobral Decision (unanimous) International FC: Global Domination

Denver, Colorado, United States Win

Chael Sonnen Submission (armbar) Xtreme Fighting Alliance 5: Redemption

West Palm Beach, Florida, United States Win

Manny Valera TKO (punches) Cage Fight Monterrey: Ultimate Fighting

Monterrey, Mexico Win

Brett Shafer Decision (unanimous) Cage Fight Monterrey: Ultimate Fighting

Monterrey, Mexico Win

Kyle Seals Decision (unanimous) Ultimate Athlete 3: Vengeance

Denver, Colorado, United States Win

Darcy Landcaster KO (punches) Gladiators Vale Tudo

Worley, Idaho, United States Win

Joe Garcia Submission (kneebar) Bushido 1

Tempe, Arizona, United States