Eric Schambari (born April 22, 1978) 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 ...

who competes in the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Schambari has most notably fought in

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 ...

and was a semi-finalist in the Bellator Season Two: Middleweight Tournament, where he was eliminated by Bryan Baker.

Mixed martial arts career

Background

Schambari began his career in 2005 and compiled a record of 5–0 in local promotions before joining the WEC. Schambari trains at Marc Laimon's Cobra Kai gym in

Victorville, California Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810. History In 1858, Aaron G. Lane came to what is now known as Victorville and founded a waystation called "Lane's Cro ...

. Schambari has trained with the likes of

Travis Lutter Travis Lutter (born May 12, 1973) is a retired American mixed martial artist who won ''The Ultimate Fighter 4'' reality show. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Machado. Background Lutter was born and raised in Gann Valley, ...

Joe Stevenson Joseph Christopher Stevenson (born June 15, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist fighting out of Hesperia, California. Coached by (UFC Hall of Famer) Matt Hughes, Stevenson rose to prominence by becoming The Ultimate Fighter 2 Wel ...

and

Guy Mezger Guy Mezger (born January 1, 1968) is an American martial artist, who competed in professional combat sports including Full Contact Karate, Kickboxing, and Boxing, but is most recognized as a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter. Mezger retired fro ...

. On December 20, 2014, Eric received his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from Travis Lutter.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Schambari signed for the WEC and made his debut on the undercard of WEC 27 against Art Santore. In a close fight, Schambari took the unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27 and 29–28), which was suggested to be due to Schambari's superior cardio and slight advantage in damage caused. He then fought

Logan Clark Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gove ...

WEC 29 ''WEC 29: Condit vs. Larson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting. The event took place on Sunday, August 5, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event aired live on the Versus Network. ...

. Schambari once again took the unanimous decision (all three judges scoring the bout 29–28). However, this decision was viewed as slightly controversial considering that Clark was able to do more damage from the bottom with up-kicks, in addition to locking in a gogoplata and an omoplata. Schambari suffered his first career defeat, losing to Bryan Baker via split decision at

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 ...

in December 2007. Soon after, Schambari was injured in training and suffered an allergic reaction to medication that nearly cost him his life and career. Later, he returned to training and competition against the advice of his doctors. This injury, combined with the dissolution of the middleweight division in the WEC, after its purchase by 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 ...

, led to his release. Schambari then fought in smaller promotions, defeating four fighters (three via first round submission and one via majority decision). The latter of these victories saw Schambari headline an event, competing against Will Espich in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

. This fight saw Schambari win via submission (arm-triangle choke).

Bellator Fighting Championship

Schambari then signed for Bellator and entered into their Middleweight tournament. There, he was joined by the only man to have defeated him at this point in his career, Bryan Baker. In the first round of the tournament, Schambari faced ''

The Ultimate Fighter 7 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest'' was the seventh season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter'', and premiered on April 2, 2008 on Spike, after ''UFC Fight Nigh ...

'' competitor

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 ...

. Schambari was far more effective and after 3:34 of the first round, Schambari locked in an arm-triangle choke and forced the tap-out. This advanced Schambari into the semi-finals of the tournament where he would have a rematch with Bryan Baker. This fight took place at

Bellator 20 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 ...

and Baker was again the winner, this time via triangle choke at 2:29 of the first round. Schambari was successful with an early takedown, however, Baker worked well from his back and managed to secure the submission. This eliminated Schambari from the tournament. Returning in Bellator's third season in September 2010 at Bellator 28, Schambari faced the veteran

Matt Horwich Matthew Peter Horwich (born October 2, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Horwich has fought in BAMMA, Strikeforce, Bellator, the UFC, and for t ...

. Schambari won the fight via split decision after utilizing an effective jab-and-run strategy.

Mixed martial arts record

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Bubba McDaniel Robert "Bubba" McDaniel (born May 3, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly fought as a Middleweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he went (1–2). He was a member of FX's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team ...

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Andrew Craig Andrew Brandon Craig (born January 15, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, he has also competed for Bellat ...

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Concho, Oklahoma Concho is an unincorporated community in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. It is north of the Concho Indian Boarding School. The post office opened April 20, 1915. The ZIP code is 73022. The school and post office were named for Indian agen ...

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schambari, Eric 1978 births Living people American male mixed martial artists People from Victorville, California Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu