Eric John Schafer (born September 20, 1977) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 from 1997 until 2016, he competed for 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 ...

Background

Schafer attended the

University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UW Osh) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to nearly 14,000 students ea ...

. Schafer is a black belt 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 ...

under Pedro Sauer.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Schafer compiled an amateur record of 2-1 before making his professional MMA debut in 1998. He then amassed a record of 6-1-2 before being signed by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship

He made his UFC debut 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 ...

'', defeating

Rob MacDonald Robert Lawrence MacDonald (born September 5, 1978) is a Canadian mixed martial artist. From 2002 until 2009, he competed in various high-profile promotions including the UFC, Maximum Fighting Championship, and was a competitor on '' The Ultimat ...

by arm-triangle choke, rendering him unconscious at the 2:26 mark of round one. Schafer then lost his next 2 bouts consecutively via TKO to

Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...

at ''

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 ...

'' and

Stephan Bonnar Stephan Patrick Bonnar (April 4, 1977 – December 22, 2022) was an American mixed martial artist. Bonnar competed as a Light Heavyweight in the UFC for most of his career. Bonnar was the runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter 1, his TUF Ultimate Fi ...

at ''

UFC 77 ''UFC 77: Hostile Territory'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The event took place on Saturday, October 20, 2007, at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. Background The main event featured Ande ...

''. Schafer next defeated

Houston Alexander Houston Alexander (born March 22, 1972) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in 2017. A professional competitor since 2001, he has fought for the UFC, Bellator, Shark Fights, the RFA, and KSW. He currently compet ...

by arm-triangle choke in the first round on September 17, 2008 at UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs Neer. Schafer won via TKO over Antonio Mendes at

UFC 93 ''UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 17, 2009 at The O2, Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. Background The main event featured a Light Heavyweight bout between fo ...

on January 7, 2009. He lost to

Ryan Bader Arizona State Sun Devils Ryan DuWayne Bader (born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA where he is the current Bellator Heavyweight Champion, the former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, a ...

by unanimous decision (30–27, 29–26, and 30–27) on October 24, 2009 on the undercard of

UFC 104 ''UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on October 24, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Background As with UFC 103, the UFC announced a portion of the preliminary card would ...

. Schafer was defeated by

Jason Brilz Jason Brilz (born July 7, 1975) is a retired American mixed martial artist who most recently fought in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2000, he has competed for the UFC, Titan FC, and King of the Cage. Wrestling career ...

via unanimous decision on March 21, 2010, at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones. After this bout he was released from the promotion.

Post UFC

In his first fight since being released from the

and his first fight at

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 ...

Schafer defeated Chris Albandia via submission (triangle choke) in the first round at XFO 41 - Outdoor War 7 on September 3, 2011.

Return to the UFC

Schafer returned to the UFC in a Middleweight bout against Aaron Simpson at

UFC 136 ''UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 8, 2011, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo held at the George R. Brown C ...

on October 8, 2011, and lost a unanimous decision. Schafer next faced Jorge Rivera on January 20, 2012 at

UFC on FX 1 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. He was released from the promotion for the third time following this loss.

Independent promotions

After being released from the UFC, Schafer faced John Poppie at Madtown Throwdown 29: Unstoppable on January 5, 2013. He won via second round TKO. He then fought Eric Hammerich for Chosen Few FC 6, in Madison Wisconsin on 09/19/15. He would win by choke in 2:38 of the first round. His next fight would be his retirement fight against James Austen Heidlage for Choose Few FC 8, in Madison Wisconsin on 04/16/16. Eric would lose by referee stoppage at 3:01 of the second round.

Championships and accomplishments

*Gladiators Fighting Series **GFS Light Heavyweight Championship (One time) *Xtreme Fighting Organization **XFO Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Jason Guida Jason Guida (born August 4, 1977) is a former American professional mixed martial artist who last competed for Bellator. A professional competitor from 2003 until 2014, he also fought for EliteXC, the WEC, KSW, Adrenaline MMA and World Extrem ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer, Eric American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people Sportspeople from Milwaukee 1977 births Mixed martial artists from Wisconsin Sportspeople from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu