Daniel John Cramer (born October 31, 1985) is an American retired

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, incorpo ...

. A professional from 2009 until 2014, Cramer made his professional debut with the

Ultimate Fighting Championships 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 ...

(UFC) and was a competitor on

SpikeTV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was or ...

's '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs Team Forrest''. However, Cramer is perhaps best remembered for his 10-fight stint for Bellator. His Twitter name is @dancrameratt.

Biography

Cramer graduated from Bethel High School, in his hometown of

Bethel, Connecticut Bethel () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Its population was 11,988 in 2022 according to World Population Review. The town includes the Bethel Census Designated Place. Interstate 84 passes through Bethel, and it has ...

, in 2003. Cramer then attended the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

, where he earned a

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. While attending college, he played on the

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

team and was captain of the

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

team. After graduating, Cramer was employed as a manager for a local

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...

Mixed martial arts career

Cramer began training

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

at the age of sixteen. He later started his

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

training with the

American Top Team American Top Team (ATT) is one of the primary teams in mixed martial arts. The gym was founded by Dan Lambert, who brought in former members of Brazilian Top Team Marcus "Conan" Silveira, Marcelo Silveira and Ricardo Liborio, but there is no fo ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

and Best Way Brazilian Jiu Jitsu led by Luigi Mondelli, a five time

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

Jiu Jitsu champion. Before being on ''The Ultimate Fighter'', Cramer held a 3-0 amateur record. After the filming of ''The Ultimate Fighter'', Cramer moved to

Coconut Creek, Florida Coconut Creek is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. Situated north of Miami, it had a population of 57,833 in 2020. It is part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city seceded from ...

to train with the main American Top Team academy.

The Ultimate Fighter

Cramer was a contestant on the seventh season of ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

''. In order for the fighters to make it on the show, they had to win an elimination fight. Cramer won his elimination round fight against

Jeremiah Riggs Jeremiah Riggs (born December 12, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Riggs has made a name for himself main ...

via unanimous decision. Cramer was selected to be a part of Team Rampage. Cramer then defeated

Luke Zachrich Luke Zachrich (born December 19, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist and professional boxer who formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship A professional mixed martial arts competitor since ...

by technical knockout in the second round. In the semi-final matchup, Cramer was paired off against Team Forrest's first pick,

Tim Credeur Timothy Wallace Credeur II (born July 9, 1977) is a retired American mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's '' The Ultimate Fighter 7'' and was defeated by fellow cast member Jesse Taylor in the semi-finals. He was then brought ...

. Credeur submitted Cramer with a heel hook to end Cramer's run in the tournament. After the fight, Cramer said he made a rookie mistake and he should have won the fight.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Cramer was set to make his debut at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs Team Forrest Finale against former castmate Cale Yarbrough. Cramer broke his collar bone and was forced to withdraw from the fight. In Cramer's professional

MMA 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 strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

and

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 ...

debut, he defeated

Matt Arroyo Matthew Vincent Arroyo (born September 1, 1982) is a former American professional mixed martial artist. He was featured on the Ultimate Fighting Championship reality television show '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra'', fighting ...

at UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn 2, and won the fight by split decision. The judges scored the fight (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Cramer next fought his former ''Ultimate Fighter'' castmate

Matthew Riddle Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986, in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is currently inactive due ...

UFC 101 ''UFC 101: Declaration'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first UFC event held in Philadelphia. The event featured the second ...

. He lost the bout by unanimous decision. The judges scored the bout 29-27, 30-26 and 30-27. Cramer was cut from the

after his loss to Riddle.

Bellator Fighting Championships

After leaving the UFC, Cramer recorded a pair of wins before he signed to fight Dennis Olson in a middleweight contest that took place at

Bellator 15 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010 and ended June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and m ...

. Cramer dominated the bout, and won via unanimous decision with all three judges giving him a 30-27 win. Cramer fought fellow ''TUF'' alumnus,

Dante Rivera Dante Rivera (born August 12, 1984 in Manhattan, New York) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of SpikeTV's '' The Ultimate Fighter 7'' making it to the quarterfinals where he was defeated by Jesse Taylor. Dante ...

, for a one-off show from Bellator at Great Adventure in New Jersey. After three very close rounds, the fight went to the judges and Rivera was awarded the win via split decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29). Judge Doug Crosby was the only dissenting voice on the cards, scoring the fight 29-28 to Cramer. Many spectators believed Cramer won, even booing the hometown favorite Rivera. He returned to Bellator for its last season three event,

Bellator 34 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010 and ended June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the Featherweight (MMA), featherweight, Lightweigh ...

, against Igor Almeida. Cramer defeated Almeida via TKO (cut) at 2:36 of round one. That was Cramer's first professional win via stoppage. At

Bellator 39 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feathe ...

, Cramer fought Greg Rebello at the Mohegan Sun casino in

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ea ...

. He won via unanimous decision. Cramer made his fourth Bellator appearance at

Bellator 46 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feathe ...

against Josh Samman. Cramer controlled the entirety of the fight, and won the fight via unanimous decision. Cramer brought his undefeated Bellator record to 4-0. Cramer was expected to fight John Clarke on August 20, 2011 in

Bellator 48 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple Mixed martial arts weight classes, weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: We ...

. This was Cramer's fifth Bellator appearance. Clarke, however, withdrew due to an injury and Cramer faced newcomer Jeff "The Wolfman" Nader. Cramer dominated the fight throughout two rounds before losing via TKO in the third round. At

Bellator 63 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

, Cramer rematched Jeff "The Wolfman" Nader on the preliminary portion of the card. The event took place March 30, 2012 in

. He won the fight via split decision. Cramer defeated Joe Lamoureux at

Bellator 81 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

on November 16, 2012 via KO in round one. Bellator MMA announced Cramer as a competitor in the Season Eight Middleweight tournament, at

Bellator 89 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 ...

Cramer defeated Brian Rogers via unanimous decision in the Quarterfinal bout. He faced Brett Cooper in the semifinals on March 7, 2013 at Bellator 92. Despite winning the first two rounds, Cramer lost via TKO in the third round. Cramer was then expected to face

Perry Filkins Perry Filkins (born April 3, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in Bellator's Middleweight division. Background Filkins is originally from Millington, Michigan and came from a dysfunctional home. His father was ...

Bellator 98 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 7, 2013 in the quarterfinals of Bellator's Season Nine Middleweight Tournament. Cramer, however, withdrew from the bout and was replaced with Jeremy Kimball. Cramer was expected to face

Doug Marshall Douglas Garrett Marshall (born February 3, 1977) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2003 until 2014, Marshall has fought in Bellator, Tachi Palace Fights, the Super Fight League, and the Pala ...

at Bellator 115 on April 4, 2014 in Bellator's Season Ten Middleweight Tournament. Marshall pulled out due to a current suspension and was replaced by Jeremy Kimball. However, Kimball missed weight prior to the bout and the fight was cancelled. Cramer faced

Bellator 123 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 Heavyweigh ...

on September 5, 2014. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

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Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and was Municipal corporation, i ...

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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Joe Lamoureux , KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:26 ,

Kingston, Rhode Island Kingston is a village and a census-designated place within the town of South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the main campus of the University of Rhode Island. The population was 6,974 at the 201 ...

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Josh Samman Joshua Kaleb Samman (March 14, 1988 – October 5, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist who, at the time of his death, competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and also competed for Bellator MMA. Mixed m ...

, Decision (unanimous) ,

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Jackson, New Jersey Jackson Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the township population was 58,544. A portion of the township is located within the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Roughly equidistant be ...

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Red Rock, Oklahoma Red Rock ( iow, Chína Ino Šúje pronounced , meaning "Rock Red town") is a town in northern Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 283 at the 2010 census, a decline from 293 at the 2000 census. The headquarters of the Otoe-M ...

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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cramer, Daniel 1985 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Connecticut Welterweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Bethel, Connecticut Bethel High School (Connecticut) alumni University of Connecticut alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Biography

Mixed martial arts career

The Ultimate Fighter

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bellator Fighting Championships

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links