Edward Norris Ratcliff (born March 5, 1983) 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 ...

. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2010, he fought in the WEC.

Background

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Ratcliff is African-American but is also of Iroquois Native American descent. Ratcliff was raised alongside his sister by his single mother, Laceine. It was Ratfcliff's mother who was his original martial arts instructor. In elementary school, Ratcliff began

Tae Kwon Do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

and would eventually earn black belts in both disciplines. At the age of 17, Ratcliff tried out to be a part of

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

's gym The Lion's Den in 2001 and made the team.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ratcliff made his professional MMA debut in 2005 and compiled an undefeated professional record of 4-0 before being signed by the WEC.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Ratcliff debuted at WEC 27, defeating Johnny Sampaio via TKO (knees) in the second round. Next, he faced Ultimate Fighter alumni

Alex Karalexis Alexander Karalexis (born September 20, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2003 until 2011, Karalexis was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 1, and competed for the UFC and WEC. Background Kar ...

and was again victorious via technical knockout. However, Ratcliff suffered his first WEC and professional loss at

WEC 33 ''WEC 33: Marshall vs. Stann'' was a mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by World Extreme Cagefighting, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) that took place on Wednesday, March 26, 2008. Background A rematch for the WEC Middlweig ...

at the hands of

Marcus Hicks Marcus Dewayne Hicks (born November 25, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in 2014. A professional since 2002, he is perhaps best remembered for his six-fight stint in the WEC, but also competed for Legacy FC. Mixed mar ...

via guillotine choke. Ratcliff then bounced back against

Phil Cardella Phil Ryan Cardella (born July 9, 1976) is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He formerly fought as a lightweight in the World Extreme Cagefighting organization. All but one of Cardella’s triumphs have come by first-round submission. He ...

, winning via unanimous decision. He lost his last fight against

Donald Cerrone Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ultimat ...

via submission at

WEC 45 ''WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on December 19, 2009 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.www.wec.tv/index.cfm It marked the first time the WEC has held back-to ...

on December 19, 2009. Ratcliff was expected to face

Chris Horodecki Christopher Horodecki (born September 24, 1987) is a Polish-Canadian mixed martial artist. He has competed for the WEC, the IFL, Bellator, TKO Major League MMA, and Palace Fighting Championship. Background Horodecki was born in London, Ontario ...

on June 20, 2010 at

WEC 49 ''WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 20, 2010 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background WEC 49 was the only event the organization had held outsi ...

, but just days before the event, Ratcliff pulled out of the event for undisclosed reasons. Horodecki instead faced WEC newcomer

Danny Downes Daniel William Downes (born April 8, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial artist. Even after his retirement, Downes has still continued to stick around the sport of MMA. He became what some call a "fighter turned writer", as he now write ...

. The fight between Horodecki and Ratcliff eventually took place on September 30, 2010 at

WEC 51 ''WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on September 30, 2010 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. This was the only event that the WEC hosted in Colorado. Backg ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Ratcliff was released by UFC/Zuffa in January 2011.

Championships and accomplishments

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs.

Mixed martial arts record

, Loss , align=center, 7–3 ,

, Decision (split) ,

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

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a consolidated city and county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. Broomfield has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The Broomfield populatio ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

, Submission (rear naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:47 ,

Las Vegas 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 ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, United States , Fight of the Night. , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

WEC 42 ''WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on August 9, 2009 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada Background Kenji Osawa was originally scheduled to face Rani Yahya at this ...

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

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , WEC 33: Marshall vs. Stann , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:42 ,

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, 6–0 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

WEC 31 ''WEC 31: Faber vs. Curran'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). The event took place on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and was aired live on the ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:26 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Johnny Sampaio , TKO (knees) , WEC 27 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Chris Reed , TKO (corner stoppage) , TC 18: Nightmare , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jamie Schmidt , TKO (strikes) , TC 14: Throwdown , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:14 ,

Del Mar, California Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the De ...

, United States , Return to

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

. , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Brett Cooper , KO (spinning heel kick) , TC 12: Total Combat 12 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

, Mexico ,

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Josh Olivas , Submission (armbar) , TC 9: Total Combat 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

, Mexico ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratcliff, Ed 1983 births American male mixed martial artists African-American mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Living people American male karateka American male taekwondo practitioners 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people