Vernon White

Vernon Verdell White (born December 3, 1970) is an American retired professional mixed martial arts fighter who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Pride Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, King of the Cage, Pancrase, the World Fighting Alliance, and the Nevada Lions of the IFL. He is the former King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Championship, and King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Superfight Championship.

MMA career Coming from a Taekwondo background. White debuted at 22 years of age in the Pancrase organization in Japan after being recruited by Ken Shamrock. Thrown right into the fire from the beginning, a very inexperienced White would go 8-17-1 in Pancrase to start his career.

However, White would turn his career around in a big way towards the latter part of the decade. He turned in an impressive showing against MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba at PRIDE 2, landing a hard punch in the opening seconds to stagger Sakuraba and fighting very competitively, showcasing excellent submission defense and escapes throughout the fight until he was finally caught in an armbar late in round 3.

From 1998 to 2002, White found success in mixed martial arts competition, compiling a record of 9-1 and winning the King of the Cage Middleweight Championship. White defended the title four times before losing a decision to MMA pioneer Jeremy Horn. This was impressive because at the time, King of the Cage was an upper echelon MMA promotion. He evolved into one of the more talented and well known mixed martial arts fighters in the world and developed striking to go along with a submission wrestling base.

White also had impressive showings in the UFC, fighting to a draw with Ian Freeman in a fight that he took on short notice, and also turning in a competitive, hard fought loss to former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 49 in 2004.

Professional wrestling career White appeared on the April 7, 1997 airing of the World Wrestling Federation program Raw Is War, losing a worked 'shoot fight' to his Lion’s Den mentor Ken Shamrock.

Personal life Vernon and his wife Melissa Kline were married on April 30, 2007. The couple had their first child, a son, on May 31, 2008.

Kickboxing record

Championships and accomplishments Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC Encyclopedia Awards Fight of the Night (One time)

King of the Cage King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Championship (One time) Four successful title defenses King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Superfight Championship (One time, first, only) One successful title defense World Vale Tudo Championship WVC 2 Tournament Runner Up

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Jason MacDonald Submission (triangle choke) W1 Bad Blood

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Loss

Lew Polley Decision (unanimous) WarGods 5

Alpine, California, United States Win

Jeremiah Constant DQ XCC 6: Western Threat

Reno, Nevada, United States Loss

Marcelo Tigre TKO (hand injury) X-1: Grand Prix 2007

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Loss

Mike Whitehead TKO (punches) IFL: Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Sam Hoger Submission (rear naked choke) IFL: Moline

Moline, Illinois, United States Loss

Bobby Southworth Decision (unanimous) Strikeforce: Triple Threat

San Jose, California, United States Loss

Victor Valimaki Decision (unanimous) EF 2: The Ultimate Decision

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Loss

Lyoto Machida Decision (unanimous) WFA: King of the Streets

Los Angeles, California, United States Win

Jason Guida TKO (doctor stoppage) WEC 18

Lemoore, California, United States Win

Alex Stiebling KO (punch) WEC 17

Lemoore, California, United States Loss

Matt Horwich Submission (rear-naked choke) SF 12: Breakout

Portland, Oregon, United States Win

Justin Burgin Decision (unanimous) Valor Fighting: Medford Mayhem

Medford, Oregon, United States Win

Chris Peak TKO Valor Fighting: Home of the Brave

Susanville, California, United States Loss

Chuck Liddell KO (punch) UFC 49

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Marvin Eastman Decision (unanimous) KOTC 32: Bringing Heat

Miami, Florida, United States Draw

Ian Freeman Draw (split) UFC 43

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Jeremy Horn Decision (unanimous) KOTC 23: Sin City

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Mike Rogers Decision (split) KOTC 16: Double Cross

San Jacinto, California, United States Win

James Lee Submission (heel hook) KOTC 11: Domination

San Jacinto, California, United States Win

Joe Priole TKO (punches) WMMAA 1: MegaFights

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Marvin Eastman Decision (split) KOTC 8: Bombs Away

Williams, California, United States Win

David Dodd KO (flying knee) KOTC 6: Road Warriors

Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, United States Win

Marcos da Silva Submission IFC: Battleground 2

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Loss

Allan Goes Decision (unanimous) PRIDE 9

Nagoya, Japan Win

Todd Medina KO (punch) KOTC 3: Knockout Nightmare

San Jacinto, California, United States Win

Vladimir Matyushenko Decision (split) IFC: Montreal Cage Combat

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Win

David Terrell Decision (unanimous) IFC WC 4: Warriors Challenge 4

Jackson, California, United States Loss

Kazushi Sakuraba Submission (armbar) PRIDE 2

Yokohama, Japan Win

Brian Gassaway Submission (ankle lock) WPC: World Pankration Championships 1

Texas, United States Loss

Vladimir Matyushenko Submission (neck crank) IFC 5: Battle in the Bayou

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States Loss

Mario Sperry Decision (unanimous) Caged Combat 1: Australian Ultimate Fighting

Sydney, Australia Loss

Pedro Rizzo KO (kick) WVC 2: World Vale Tudo Championship 2

Brazil Win

Iouri Oulianitski KO (kick) WVC 2: World Vale Tudo Championship 2

Brazil Win

Cees Bezems Submission (heel hook) WVC 2: World Vale Tudo Championship 2

Brazil Loss

Osami Shibuya Decision (lost points) Pancrase: Truth 7

Nagoya, Japan Win

Kazuo Takahashi KO (head kick) Pancrase: 1996 Anniversary Show

Urayasu, Japan Win

Minoru Suzuki Decision (majority) Pancrase: 1996 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 2

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Masakatsu Funaki Submission (ankle lock) Pancrase: Truth 6

Fukuoka, Japan Draw

Takaku Fuke Draw (unanimous) Pancrase: Truth 5

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Ryushi Yanagisawa Submission (ankle lock) Pancrase: Truth 3

Tokyo, Japan Win

Kazuo Takahashi Decision (lost points) Pancrase: Truth 3

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Frank Shamrock Submission (achilles lock) Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 7

Hokkaido, Japan Loss

Katsuomi Inagaki Decision (majority) Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 6

Yokohama, Japan Loss

Gregory Smit Decision (1–0) Pancrase: 1995 Neo-Blood Tournament Opening Round

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Manabu Yamada Submission (kneebar) Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 5

Sapporo, Japan Win

Larry Papadopoulos Submission (heel hook) Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 3

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Takafumi Ito Submission (armbar) Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 2

Yokohama, Japan Loss

Masakatsu Funaki Submission (straight armbar) King of Pancrase tournament opening round

Tokyo, Japan Win

Leon van Dijk Submission (heel hook) King of Pancrase tournament opening round

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Todd Bjornethun Decision (lost points) Pancrase: Road To The Championship 5

Tokyo, Japan Win

Richard Saar KO (palm strikes) Pancrase: Road To The Championship 4

Osaka, Japan Win

Katsuomi Inagaki Submission (inverted heel hook) Pancrase: Road To The Championship 3

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Remco Pardoel Technical Decision (lost points) Pancrase: Road To The Championship 2

Amagasaki, Japan Loss

Bas Rutten Submission (guillotine choke) Pancrase: Pancrash! 3

Osaka, Japan Loss

Masakatsu Funaki KO (knee to the body) Pancrase: Pancrash! 2

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Andre Van Den Oetelaar Submission (forearm choke) Pancrase: Pancrash! 1

Yokohama, Japan Loss

Ryushi Yanagisawa Technical Decision (lost points) Pancrase: Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 4

Hakata, Japan Win

Katsuomi Inagaki TKO (doctor stoppage) Pancrase: Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 3

Kobe, Japan Loss

Minoru Suzuki Submission (leg scissor choke) Pancrase: Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 2

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Takaku Fuke Submission (armbar) Pancrase: Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 1

Urayasu, Japan Notes and references