Dan Charles (born September 24, 1985) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

competing in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has competed for

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

and

Absolute Championship Berkut Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), formerly known as Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), is a Russian mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization and one of the leading promotions in Europe. To date, most events have been ...

Background

Born and raised in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, Charles was a three-sport athlete in high school with

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, excelling at all three. Charles briefly continued his football career in college at

Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale Community College is a public community college in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is on the eastern boundary of the city on 160 acres (650,000 m2) of land belonging to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The lease was taken out i ...

, before being introduced to MMA by his brother.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Charles had just one amateur bout; a 15 second knockout loss, but elected to make his professional MMA debut later two months later in July 2011. Charles began his professional career 7-0 before being signed by Bellator.

Bellator MMA

Charles made his promotional debut against Samoan

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

legend Mighty Mo at

Bellator 100 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

on September 20, 2013. Charles was handed his first professional defeat via third-round TKO. After his loss to Mighty Mo, Charles fought Dale Sopi on November 23, 2013 in a local Rage in the Cage event in Charles' home state of Arizona. Charles was defeated again via TKO, this time with a head kick and follow-up punches in just 12 seconds. After the two consecutive losses, Charles faced

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

fighter Stuart Austin at

Bellator 126 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight, ...

on September 26, 2014. Charles won via third-round knockout. He then defeated professional boxer James Wilson a month later at the Bellator MMA 2014 Monster Energy Cup via unanimous decision. Charles faced

Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...

Bellator 138 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

on June 19, 2015, replacing an injured James Thompson on short notice. He was defeated via second-round TKO. Charles fought once more in the Bellator cage in 2015, defeating

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

veteran

Chase Gormley Chase Gormley (born August 11, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, the MFC, the RFA, King of the Cage, the XFC, Absolute Champions ...

via second-round KO. On May 20, 2016 Charles faced Brazilian

Augusto Sakai Augusto Sakai (born May 19, 1991) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator MMA and is now competing in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Early career Sakai made his professional MMA d ...

Bellator 155 2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016. Background 2016 is notable for the launch of sibling promotion Bellator Kickboxi ...

. The bout ended in a draw. Charles fought again on October 21, 2016 against former

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

competitor

Virgil Zwicker Virgil Zwicker, (born June 26, 1982), is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Zwicker has formerly competed for Bellator MMA, Strikeforce and KSW. B ...

at Bellator 162. Charles, who came into the fight at his heaviest weight under the Bellator banner, was defeated via second-round TKO.

Independent promotions

Charles returned to competition on January 13, 2017 to face

Mike Kyle Michael Andrew Kyle (born March 31, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist and boxer currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, Kyle has competed for the UFC, the WEC, Strikeforce, the ...

for the ACB promotion. He was defeated via first-round TKO. After a rematch with Dale Sopi fell through, Charles faced longtime veteran Tony Lopez for the RUF MMA Heavyweight Championship. Charles lost via first-round TKO. In a rematch again for the title two months later, Charles was able to defeat Lopez via knockout in the first round. The two would meet for a third consecutive trilogy bout in 2018, with Lopez winning via a second-round submission to punches.

Personal life

Charles runs a sales company and has a daughter.

Mixed martial arts record

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Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

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Maricopa, Arizona Maricopa is a city in the Gila River Valley in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. With 62,720 residents as of 2021, Maricopa is the largest incorporated municipality in Pinal County History Maricopa has had three locations over the years: ...

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St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Dan Living people 1985 births American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling