Wes Sims

Wesley Sims (born 12 October 1979) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2001 until 2016, he competed in the UFC, the WEC, Strikeforce, K-1 and the IFL.

Background Sims was born in Cleveland and raised in Amanda, Ohio. He was a star center on the basketball team at Amanda-Clearcreek High School, and went on to Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati. However, he dropped out after only one semester to pursue a career in professional wrestling, moving back to Columbus to train. He soon met legendary UFC and PRIDE FC fighter Mark Coleman who had a better plan for the young Sims which was to become a mixed martial artist, believing that Sim's huge size advantage would be significant against opponents. Sims helped Coleman prepare for his bout with Ricardo Morais at PRIDE 8, before embarking on his own career in the sport.

Sims has been friends, since before UFC 47, and former training partners with former UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman and the deceased Kevin Randleman; they were all very close and described by MMA Weekly in an interview with Randleman, with Sims present, as the 3 Amigos. When Coleman was suffering from issues related to hip replacement injuries and training fighters on the Ultimate Fighter (he was the wrestling coach on B.J. Penn's team on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn), Sims set up a GoFundMe page for Coleman without his knowledge to help pay him for his medical expenses. Thanks to Sims, donations raised over $51,000, including a $5,000 donation from fellow Pride FC and UFC fighter Mark Hunt, for Coleman's medical expenses, halfway meeting the goal of $100,000.

Mixed martial arts career Frank Mir rivalry In 2003, Sims fought a controversial fight against Frank Mir at UFC 43. At the very beginning of the fight, Mir put out his hand to touch gloves and Sims rushed past Mir's outstretched hand and into a quickly maneuvered takedown by Mir. In the first round, after slamming Mir to prevent an armbar, Sims got up while Mir was on his back against the fence and proceeded to stomp Mir's face several times while holding the fence for extra balance. The fight was stopped and Sims was disqualified.

This started a rivalry between the two and they met again in 2004 at UFC 46. Mir easily took control of the first round with an arm triangle attempt. Near the end of the second round Mir hit Sims with knee strikes to the face and then punches to knock Sims out.

Mike Kyle bite incident Sims fought again in the UFC at the UFC 47 against Mike Kyle. Sims took the fight on less than a weeks notice after Kyle's original opponent got injured. Kyle dominated the entire first round and knocked Sims out at 4:59. Sims protested after the fight that Kyle had bitten him on the chest. During the post fight interview, a bite mark could clearly be seen on Sims' left pectoral muscle. This marked the first time a bite had happened in a UFC fight since UFC 1 in 1993, when Gerard Gordeau bit Royce Gracie in the championship match. When asked in the cage after the fight to explain the bite, Kyle told commentator Joe Rogan "he's a dirty bastard anyways, look at all the stuff he's done..." Kyle denied any wrongdoing.

After losing to Kyle he was released by the UFC.

Tim Sylvia rivalry Wes Sims faced former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia at SuperBrawl 38. Sylvia was coming off a title loss against Frank Mir, a fight in which he broke his right arm and needed a titanium plate inserted. The two did not touch gloves and Wes began the fight by sprinting towards Sylvia and then backing away. Sylvia got a takedown early and passed through to mount almost right away, but accidentally mounted his knee on top of Sims' shoulder, seriously injuring it. Wes was unable to defend himself with the injury and Sylvia won by strikes in the first round. Tim and Wes had a heated exchange after the fight when Sylvia called Sims out and said he did not deserve to stand in front of him. Wes ran up to Sylvia and trainers had to separate the two. Wes and Tim were supposed to have their rematch for the International Fighting Championships (IFC) Heavyweight title June 6 but Sylvia was injured and the fight was cancelled.

The Ultimate Fighter Sims returned to the UFC as a cast member on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, which began filming in June 2009. Sims was defeated by castmate Justin Wren via arm triangle in the first round of Sims' first fight in the house. Despite his early exit from the competition, Sims was seen regularly on the show and may have earned a reputation for being one of the bullies of the household due to his constant childlike taunting of Matt Mitrione and Zak Jensen.

Strikeforce Sims made his Strikeforce debut against Bobby Lashley on January 30, 2010, at Strikeforce: Miami. Sims came up short and was defeated by Bobby Lashley by TKO. Sims was taken down at the beginning of the first round by the decorated wrestler, who then used the ground and pound technique on the 6'8 UFC veteran. The referee stopped to the fight much to the dismay of Sims, who believed that the stoppage was premature. Sims was expected to fight former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia in Ohio outside of Strikeforce but the Ohio State Athletic Commission did not sanction the bout, citing that the fight was "non-competitive".

Mixed martial arts record Loss

George Oiler Submission (armbar) Dugout Summer Throwdown

Parkersburg, West Virginia, United States Win

Ruben Villareal Submission (guillotine choke) Gladiator Challenge: Hammer Time

Lincoln, California, United States Loss

Lyubomir Simeonov Submission (heel hook) Maxfight 27

Sofia, Bulgaria Loss

Bobby Lashley TKO (punches) Strikeforce: Miami

Sunrise, Florida, United States Win

Jason DeAngelo KO (punches) FCFS 29: Battlefield 2

Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States Win

Clifford Coon Submission (kneebar) FCFS 26: Beach-N-Brawl

Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States Win

William Clifford Submission (guillotine choke) FCFS 26: Beach-N-Brawl

Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States Loss

Steve Bossé Submission (toe hold) TKO 34: Sims VS Bosse

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Loss

Travis Fulton Decision (unanimous) FF: Capitol Punishment

Columbus, Ohio, United States Loss

Chris Guillen TKO (corner stoppage) IFO: Fireworks in the Cage

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Daniel Long TKO (punches) FCFS 12: Bloodsport

Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States Loss

Chris Guillen Decision (unanimous) UAFC: Art of War 2

Dallas, Texas, United States NC

Van Palacio NC PFC 2: Fast and Furious

Lemoore, California, United States Win

William Jaggers TKO (submission to punches) FCFS 7: Fight Club

Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States Win

Albert Palmer TKO (submission to punches) FOG: Fists of Furry

Richmond, Indiana, United States Win

Anton Cano DQ (groin kick) MMA: Mexico

Monterrey, Mexico Win

Kimo Leopoldo TKO (referee stoppage) Extreme Wars 5: Battlegrounds

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Robert Hogan KO (punches) FCFS 3: Full Contact Fight Series

Auburn, Indiana, United States Win

Jabari Hawthorne KO (knees) HHCF 27: Rumble at the Rodeo 2

Chillicothe, Ohio, United States Win

Joel Surprenant Submission (triangle choke) WEC 22: The Hitmen

Lemoore, California, United States Win

Paul Bowers Submission UFS 2: Ultimate Fight Series 2

Auburn, Indiana, United States Loss

Daniel Gracie Technical Submission (standing rear-naked choke) IFL: Championship 2006

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Buddy Butler TKO (submission to punches) UFS: Ultimate Fight Series

Auburn, Indiana, United States Draw

Daniel Gracie Technical Draw GFC: Team Gracie vs Team Hammer House

Columbus, Ohio, United States Win

Jyunpei Hamada Submission (triangle choke) RFN 2: Ryukyu Fight Night 2

Okinawa, Japan Win

Dustin Sutton TKO (punches) HHCF 22: Rumble at the Rodeo

Chillicothe, Ohio, United States Win

Shane Lightle KO (punch) HHCF 21: Redemption

Columbus, Ohio, United States Loss

Tim Sylvia TKO (punches) SB 38: SuperBrawl 38

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Loss

Antoni Hardonk Submission (americana) K-1 Fighting Network Rumble on the Rock 2004

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Joe Mellotte TKO (submission to punches) EFC 9: Extreme Fighting Challenge 9

Cleveland, Ohio, United States Loss

Ricardeau Francois TKO (punches) APEX: Genesis

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Loss

Mike Kyle KO (punch) UFC 47

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Frank Mir KO (knee and punches) UFC 46

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Frank Mir DQ (kicking a downed opponent) UFC 43

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Conan Silveira TKO (punches) HOOKnSHOOT: Absolute Fighting Championships 1

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States NC

Edwin Allseitz NC HHCF 3: Unfinished Fury

Lancaster, Ohio, United States Win

Mike Shepard Submission (guillotine choke) WEF 12: World Extreme Fighting 12

Steubenville, Ohio, United States Win

John Harmon Submission (triangle choke) HHCF 1: Backyard Brawl

Lancaster, Ohio, United States Win

Joe Mellotte Submission (triangle choke) OCF: Ohio Cage Fights

Delaware, Ohio, United States Win

Josh Mueller N/A UW: St. Cloud 1

St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States Win

Mike Paduano TKO (forfeit) RSF 7: Animal Instinct

Lakeland, Florida, United States Loss

Dan Severn Decision RSF 2: Attack at the Track

Chester, West Virginia, United States Mixed martial arts exhibition record Lose

Justin Wren Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights N/A

Las Vegas, Nevada