David Michael Terrell (born January 9, 1978) is a retired 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 ...

who competed in the

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 ...

and

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

Background

Terrell is from

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

and was introduced to

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppo ...

through

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 ...

, and was an accomplished wrestler in high school. He officially began training in

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 ...

when he was 19 years old, being interested in the

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

after watching several UFC fights on television.

Mixed martial arts career

UFC career

In his

debut, he scored a stunning

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

victory over top Middleweight

Matt Lindland Matthew James Lindland (born May 17, 1970), also known as The Law, is an American retired mixed martial artist, Olympic wrestler, speaker, actor, coach, entrepreneur and politician. He won the Oregon Republican Party's nomination for t ...

. The victory instantly thrust Terrell into title contention, as his next fight was against

Evan Tanner Evan Lloyd Tanner (February 11, 1971 – September 5, 2008) was an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a former UFC Middleweight Championship, UFC Middleweight Champion and was the first American to win the Pancrase N ...

for the vacant UFC Middleweight Championship title in February 2005. Despite locking Tanner in a tight

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compare to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

, Terrell lost the hold and eventually lost the match by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in the first round. Plagued by recurring injuries, Terrell's next fight did not come until

UFC 59 ''UFC 59: Reality Check'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 15, 2006 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, and broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada. This was th ...

in April 2006, where Terrell submitted his opponent, Scott Smith, with a

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

in the first round. Controversy surrounds the victory as the referee told the fighters to break before Terrell took Smith down. Smith was appealing to the referee when Terrell was able to get Smith's back and apply a rear naked choke. Questionable officiating by referee Marco Lopez led Smith to file a complaint to the

California State Athletic Commission The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) regulates amateur and professional boxing, amateur and professional kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts (MMA) throughout the State by licensing all participants and supervising the events. ...

. At

UFC 62 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 ...

he was supposed to fight

Yushin Okami is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Okami has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, M-1 Global, World Series of Fighting, DEEP, Professional Fighters League, and ONE Championship. Mixed martial arts caree ...

but withdrew the bout due to a

sinus infection Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis, is inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinuses resulting in symptoms that may include thick nasal mucus, a plugged nose, and facial pain. Other signs and symptoms may include fever, headac ...

. The fight with Okami was then rescheduled to

UFC 66 ''UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background ''UFC 66s main event was a championshi ...

, but Terrell again pulled out of the fight citing an elbow injury suffered during training

Despite an early report which claimed that Terrell was planning to move to Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight, Terrell was scheduled to fight

Ed Herman Edward Benson Herman (born October 2, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Herman was a finalis ...

in a Middleweight contest at

UFC 78 ''UFC 78: Validation'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), that took place on November 17, 2007, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. ''Validation'' was the first UFC event held in New Jers ...

in November 2007. However, he withdrew from the bout due to injury and was replaced by

Joe Doerksen Joseph Daniel Doerksen (born October 9, 1977) is a Canadian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1999 until 2014, he fought in the UFC, WEC, IFL, King of the Cage, Aggression Fighting Championship, World Victory Road, RINGS, SuperBra ...

. On February 21, 2008 Terrell was released by the UFC.

Post-UFC

In early 2010 Terrell expressed his desire to continue fighting.

Mixed martial arts record

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Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

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, TKO (punches) ,

UFC 51 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor (company), End ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 ,

, KO (punches) ,

UFC 49 ''UFC 49: Unfinished Business'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 21, 2004, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and lat ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Osami Shibuya , Submission (choke) , Pancrase: Brave 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:04 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Yuki Sasaki , KO (punch) , Pancrase: Hybrid 11 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:15 ,

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Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

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Joey Villaseñor Joey Simon Villaseñor (born October 17, 1975) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1999 until 2012, Villasenor competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Strikeforce (mixed martial arts), St ...

, Submission (armbar) , IFC WC 9: Warriors Challenge 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:24 ,

Friant, California Friant (formerly, Converse Ferry, Jones Ferry, Hamptonville, and Pollasky) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 549 at the 2010 census, down from 778 at the 2000 census. Friant is locat ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Vernon White , Decision (unanimous) , IFC WC 4: Warriors Challenge 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Jackson, California Jackson (formerly, Botilleas, Botilleas Spring, Bottileas, Bottle Spring, and Botellas) is a city in and the county seat of Amador County, California. Its population was 4,651 at the 2010 census, up from 3,989 at the 2000 census. The city is acc ...

, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Terrell, David 1978 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Sacramento, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers