Erin Young Toughill (born June 13, 1977) is an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

and former

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 also appeared as a Gladiator on the American Gladiators series. She began kickboxing at the age of 18 and started 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 ...

soon after. Under the watch of her LA Boxing trainer Sean McCully, Toughill debuted in

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 ...

on September 27, 1999 and fought to a draw with Irma Verhoeff at World Vale Tudo Championship 9 in Aruba. Less than a year later, she made her professional

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

debut on July 20, 2000. Along with her

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 ...

career, Toughill holds a professional boxing record of 7 wins, 5 losses, 1 draw and 1 no contest. She counts

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

Super Middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

contender

Librado Andrade Librado Andrade Ornelas (born September 2, 1978) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2013, and challenged three times for a super middleweight world title between 2007 and 2009. His brother Enrique Ornelas is also a p ...

, a long-time sparring partner, among her close friends.

Boxing career

Toughill has only one loss before losing her battle against

Laila Ali Laila Amaria Ali (born December 30, 1977) is an American television personality and retired professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the World Boxing Council, WBC, Women's I ...

. Her final boxing match was against Laura Ramsey, whom she defeated previously. Toughill's father died three days before her rematch to Laura Ramsey. Toughill lost the fight by TKO in the first round and retired soon after with a record of 7-3-1, 1 NC. Toughill returned to boxing on January 27, 2019 against Maricela Cornejo losing a unanimous division. Toughill fought again on May 18, 2019 losing via TKO to Raquel Miller.

Mixed martial arts career

After going 1-1-1 in her first three bouts, Toughill won five straight fights before losing in the finals of the 2004

Smackgirl Smackgirl was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion focused solely on female fighters. The promotion also held grappling and amateur events along with its main line of professional MMA cards. After financial difficulties throughout 2008 the pr ...

World ReMix Tournament to

Megumi Yabushita is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and judoka. She has participated in several Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotions. She is a Japanese national judo champion and a form ...

. She competed once more and scored a TKO victory over Jen Case in 2006. In 2007, Toughill retired from both boxing and MMA. Toughill came out of retirement from MMA and fought

Jan Finney Jan Finney (born April 18, 1980) is an American female mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the 135-pound bantamweight division. Early life Finney played softball at Kenton Ridge High School and Urbana University. Mixed martial arts ...

on November 20, 2008 at Palace Fighting Championships 11. Despite cutting over to make the contracted weight limit, Toughill was victorious and later went on to defeat Karen Williams and Emily Thompson in subsequent events for PFC after a fight with Adrienna Jenkins was cancelled due to injury.

Strikeforce

Toughill was set to make her

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'', ...

debut on November 7, 2009 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers in a rematch with

Marloes Coenen Marloes Coenen (born March 31, 1981) is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist. She competed professionally from 2000 to 2017 and is a former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion. Early life Coenen's brothers and grandfather were both involv ...

, whom Toughill defeated in 2004. However, she later withdrew from the fight due to an undisclosed medical condition. On March 18, 2010, Toughill announced that she was planning to leave

. She had been scheduled to compete on the undercard of Strikeforce: Nashville on April 17. However, in a second posting on April 9, 2010, Toughill attributed the disagreements with Strikeforce to misunderstandings and stated that she would be staying with the promotion. Toughill was scheduled to face Shana Olsen at Strikeforce: Houston on August 21, 2010, but the fight was cancelled due to concerns over Toughill's ability to make weight. According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, Toughill's next fight will not take place in Strikeforce, but she remains a part of the promotion's roster. Toughill was offered to face

Cristiane Santos Cristiane Justino Venâncio (born July 9, 1985), known professionally by her ring name Cris Cyborg (and formerly by her married name Cristiane Santos), is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist who as of January 2021 competes in Bellator MMA, ...

for a bout in 2010, but the fight never came into fruition.

Post Strikeforce

Toughill was scheduled to compete outside of Strikeforce against China's Bao Yu Dan at Martial Combat 9 on September 15, 2010 in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. However, on September 13, Toughill withdrew from the fight after citing a broken

clavicle The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the rig ...

. Toughill returned to active competition after nearly two years at Freestyle Cage Fighting 46 on April 9, 2011. The fight was against Ashley Sanchez at a catchweight (per Toughill's request). Toughill lost the fight via unanimous decision. Toughill agreed to face Anna Barone at BlackEye Promotions 5 on October 1, 2011 in

Fletcher, North Carolina Fletcher is a town in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,187 at the 2010 census, and was estimated to be 8,333 in 2018. Fletcher is adjacent to Asheville Regional Airport, which serves western North Carolina. I ...

, but withdrew from the fight after suffering a rib injury in training.

''American Gladiators''

Toughill became a cast member of NBC's primetime series, '' American Gladiators'', where she became known as Steel. One of the commentators on American Gladiators, Laila Ali, knocked her out.

Bare Knuckle Boxing

Toughill made her bare knuckle boxing debut with BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting Series, losing a 5-round split decision to Jozette Cotton at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood on July 16, 2021. On March 12, 2022, she defeated Sonya Dreiling via unanimous decision improving her bare knuckle record to 1-1.

Personal life

Erin married

Neil Melanson Neil Melanson is an American submission grappling coach. Melanson specializes in catch wrestling, while drawing elements from judo, and focuses his coaching specifically on grappling in mixed martial arts. He is especially known for his guard wor ...

, a grappling coach and lead Jiu-Jitsu instructor at

Xtreme Couture Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts is an American mixed martial arts training organization headed by former UFC Champion and former co-founder of Team Quest, Randy Couture. Xtreme Couture was founded with the flagship gym in Las Vegas. Since the ...

, in a private ceremony on November 20, 2009. Melanson also serves as the primary grappling coach for

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 ...

Hall of Famer

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former United States Army, U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman ...

, and has cornered Couture during several recent MMA fights. The couple is currently going through a divorce. Toughill's younger sister, Megan, was killed in a car accident on September 19, 2004, which was about three weeks before her title fight with Yvonne Reis.

Media

Toughill was featured on MSNBC's Warrior Nation as she prepared for a fight. In 2022, Toughill launched Talk Tough with Erin Toughill, an interview-style podcast focused on bare knuckle boxing.

Mixed martial arts record

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Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma Cit ...

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Brooks, California Brooks is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Yolo County, California, located in the Capay Valley in the northwest of the county. Brooks' ZIP Code is 95606 and its area code 530. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is headq ...

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Kaoru Ito is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and JWP Joshi Puroresu. Professional wrestling c ...

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Irina Rodina Irina Rodina ( Russian: Ири́на Ви́кторовна Родина) (born July 23, 1973) is a Russian judoka and Sambist. She is 11-time world champion of Sambo making her the most titled female practitioner in Sambo. She competed in Jud ...

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Professional boxing record

Bare knuckle boxing record

Accomplishments

* Brown Belt in

under James Boran * 2001 ReMix Golden Gate Japan Champion * W-Fusion 2001 Japan Champion

References

External links

* *
Fightergirls.com profile

Official American Gladiators Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toughill, Erin 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Chicago American women boxers Boxers from Chicago American female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners 21st-century American women