Erik Paulson (born June 28, 1966) is an American

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, incorpo ...

. He is the first American to win the World Light-Heavy Weight

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

Title in Japan.

Biography

Erik started his career in martial arts starting with

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

at age of 8. However, he got disillusioned after failing to use it in self-defense, when a bully blocked his hip throw by pulling his hair and forced Erik to strike him in order to win. Convinced that striking arts were the best to defend himself, he took up

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

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 ...

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

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

Jujutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

. Many years after, he moved to California and became a student under

Dan Inosanto Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

Gene Lebell Ivan “Judo” Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 – August 9, 2022) was an American martial artist, stunt performer, actor, and professional wrestler. Nicknamed "The Godfather of Grappling", he popularized grappling in professional fighting ci ...

, and

Benny Urquidez Benny Urquidez (born June 20, 1952) is an American kickboxer, martial arts choreographer and actor. Nicknamed "The Jet", Urquidez was a non-contact karate competitor who later pioneered full-contact fighting in the United States. He made the tra ...

, learning styles like

Kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

Jeet Kune Do Jeet Kune Do is a primarily wing chun kung fu inspired eclectic martial arts philosophy heavily influenced and adapted by the Taoist personal life philosophy and experiences of martial artist Bruce Lee. Overview and philosophy Jeet Kune Do ...

Savate Savate (), also known as boxe française, savate boxing, French boxing or French footfighting, is a French kickboxing combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques. ...

, Arnis/Kali/Eskrima,

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

Sambo , aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries) , focus = Hybrid , country = Soviet Union , pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev , famous_pract = List of Practitioners , oly ...

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

Chin Na Qinna () is the set of joint lock techniques used in the Chinese martial arts to control or lock an opponent's joints or muscles/tendons so they cannot move, thus neutralizing the opponent's fighting ability. ''Qinna Shu'' ( meaning "technique") ...

Dumog Dumog is the Filipino style of wrestling while standing upright and refers to the grappling aspect of Filipino martial arts. The word ''dumog'' is most commonly used in Mindanao and the Visayas, while the word ''buno'' is used in Luzon, specifical ...

Panantukan Suntukan is the fist-related striking component of Filipino martial arts. In the central Philippine island region of Visayas, it is known as Pangamot or Pakamot and Sumbagay. It is also known as Mano-mano and often referred to in Western mart ...

, and

Silat is the collective term for a class of indigenous martial arts from the Nusantara and surrounding geocultural areas of Southeast Asia. It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Phil ...

. In 1988, however, Paulson returned to explore grappling when he started

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 Rorion, Royce and

Rickson Gracie Rickson Gracie (; born November 21, 1958) is a Brazilian 9th-degree red belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Grac ...

in his garage. Upon returning to Inosanto's academy, he met

Yorinaga Nakamura , also known as Yori Nakamura, is a retired Japanese shoot wrestler and an instructor in shoot wrestling, Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts, Silat, and Muay Thai. Life and career Nakamura had trained in various martial arts, among them kickbo ...

, who taught him Shoot Wrestling. Paulson also trained extensively in

Catch Wrestling Catch wrestling (originally catch-as-catch-can) is a classical hybrid grappling style and combat sport. It was developed by J. G. Chambers in Britain . It was popularised by wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission ...

under

Billy Robinson William Alfred Robinson (18 September 1938 – 3 March 2014) was a British professional wrestler and wrestling instructor. Robinson was one of the few wrestlers who was successful in several continents ( Europe, North America, Asia and Ocean ...

. Paulson got hooked with the style, and through Nakamura he got in touch with Satoru Sayama in order to fight in

. In 1993, Erik had his first fight there, submitting

Kazuhiro Kusayanagi Kazuhiro Kusayanagi (born April 4, 1967) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Middleweight and Welterweight divisions. Career After a 6–9–1 career in Shooto and Lumax Cup, Kusayanagi volunteered for representing his pro ...

. He also asked to compete in

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 ...

, but the Gracies refused as Royce was already going to compete there, so Paulson ended up cornering him instead. Later, in 1995, Paulson took part in an MMA tournament similar to UFC, World Combat Championships, which divided its participants in "strikers" and "grapplers" in order to pit them against each other in the finals. Again, a Gracie participated in the event, Renzo, but this time Paulson got the green light to take part in the tournament. Unfortunately, Paulson was put into the striker block, in which rules prohibited submission finishes, and it took away Erik's best field. Moreover, his long hair played against him, as he couldn't cut it due to his role as a film stuntman. His first match, against

exponent Sean McCully, evidenced both disadvantages, with Paulson having to endure hair pulling and a significant punishment in order to finish him by

ground and pound 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 ...

. At the second round, he faced Kickboxing champion James Warring, heavier and better rested, and this time Paulson's hair weakness took dramatic proportions; Warring grabbed the cage in order to avoid being taken down and literally dragged Paulson around the cage by the hair, making his corner throw the towel. After returning to the Gracie academy, Rickson expelled him without explanation and forbade him to train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu again, but Paulson simply moved to train it with the Machado brothers. Paulson still competed in Shooto, being sent as a representative to the

Vale Tudo Japan is an annual mixed martial arts competition held in Japan. Originally arranged by promoter and former professional wrestler Satoru Sayama, he had previously created a hybrid martial art organization named Shooto in 1985. He arranged VTJ in 1994 w ...

event, where he was submitted in 0:41 by Canadian grappler

Carlos Newton Carlos Newton (born August 17, 1976) is an Anguillian-born Canadian retired mixed martial artist. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and Pride FC Japan MMA Legend. Known as "The Ronin", he competed worldwide in the biggest MMA organizatio ...

. He retired shortly after, focusing in teaching as opposed to fighting, though he came out of retirement in October 2007 to headline the first HDNET MMA fight card. Paulson took on Jeff Ford in the main event of the night. Paulson made quick work of Ford, winning by spinning armbar in the opening minutes of the first round. Erik is the founder of ''Combat Submission Wrestling'', and ''STX Kickboxing''. He runs the CSW Training Center in Fullerton, California, where he trains MMA fighters such as

Josh Barnett Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, submission grappler, professional wrestler and color commentator currently signed to Bellator MMA, where he competes in their Heavyweight division. Barnett p ...

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 Cha ...

Renato Sobral Renato da Cunha Sobral (; born 7 September 1975), also known as "Babalu", is a retired Brazilian Luta Livre submission grappler, mixed martial artist, and was the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Sobral previously fought in the Ult ...

Cub Swanson Kevin Luke "Cub" Swanson (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2004, Swanson holds the most ...

, and

James Wilks James Brett Wilks (born 5 April 1978) is an English film producer, vegan activist, a combatives expert and instructor, and former professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2003 until 2012, he competed for the UFC, King of the Ca ...

. He is closely affiliated with

Sean Sherk Sean Keith Sherk (born August 5, 1973) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former UFC Lightweight Champion. Sherk competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was one of the first combatants to have been a championship competito ...

and Brock Lesnar of the

Minnesota Martial Arts Academy The Minnesota Martial Arts Academy is a martial arts training center in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. It was founded in 1992 by Greg Nelson, a former NCAA Division 1 wrestler at the University of Minnesota. History The Academy provides training in ...

. As well, Paulson was the striking coach for Team Lesnar on The Ultimate Fighter: Season 13, and he is the coauthor of a book along with American Combat Association president Matthew Granahan and JD Dwyer on the History of American Submission Wrestling. He also has a younger brother, Leif Paulson, who is an up-and-coming grappler in his own right. He wrestled for Inoki Genome Federation in 2008. Erik played Kumite fighter Stellio in

Bloodsport III ''Bloodsport III'' is a 1997 action film produced and directed by Alan Mehrez. It is the third film in the ''Bloodsport'' franchise. It was released direct-to-video in 1997 and starred Daniel Bernhardt for the second time as Alex Cardo. Plot ''B ...

, where he faced

Daniel Bernhardt Daniel Bernhardt (born 31 August 1965) is a Swiss actor, model, and martial artist. Career Bernhardt made his acting debut in the leading role in '' Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite'' (1996). He also appeared in two of its sequels and starred in ...

and had trained

Djimon Hounsou Djimon Gaston Hounsou (; ; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. He began his career appearing in music videos. He made his film debut in '' Without You I'm Nothing'' (1990) and earned widespread recognition for his role as ...

in Shoot Wrestling for his role of Mixed Martial Arts instructor Jean Roqua in the 2008 action drama

Never Back Down ''Never Back Down'' is a 2008 American martial arts film directed by Jeff Wadlow and starring Sean Faris, Cam Gigandet, Amber Heard and Djimon Hounsou. It tells the story of a frustrated and conflicted teenager who arrives at a new high school ...

Championships and accomplishments

**World Light-Heavy Weight

Championship

Mixed martial arts record

, Win , align=center, 11–4–2 , Jeff Ford , Submission (armbar) , HDNF 1: HD Net Fights , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:44 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4–2 ,

Ronald Jhun Ronald Andrew Jhun Jr. (born September 21, 1970) is an American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 1998, Jhun has formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, ...

, Decision , SB 17: SuperBrawl 17 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4–2 ,

Masanori Suda Masanori Suda (born July 7, 1973) is a Japanese people, Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight, Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight and Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight divisions. Suda is ...

, TKO (punches) , Shooto: Las Grandes Viajes 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:48 ,

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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–4–2 ,

, Submission (armbar) , VTJ 1997: Vale Tudo Japan 1997 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:41 ,

Urayasu 260px, old Urayasu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 170,533 in 81,136 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Urayasu is best known as the home of the Tokyo ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3–3 , Paul Jones , Decision (majority) , Shooto: Reconquista 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 8–2–2 , Paul Jones , Draw , EF 4: Extreme Fighting 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2–1 , Stuart Harrison , Submission (armbar) , Shooto: Reconquista 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:28 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2–1 ,

Matt Hume Matt Hume (born July 14, 1966) is an American mixed martial arts trainer and businessman. He is the founder and head trainer at AMC Pankration in Kirkland, WA, home to former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and ONE bantamweight champi ...

, TKO (cut) , EF 3: Extreme Fighting 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:44 ,

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1–1 ,

Kenji Kawaguchi Kenji Kawaguchi () is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Welterweight division. Career Vale Tudo Japan After a 10–0–4 career in Shooto, Kawaguchi represented the promotion in the event Vale Tudo Japan in July 1994, where he ...

, Submission (toe hold) , Shooto: Vale Tudo Junction 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:23 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1–1 , Todd Bjornethun , Submission (guillotine choke) , Shooto: Vale Tudo Junction 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:26 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1–1 ,

James Warring James Warring (born November 26, 1958) is an American boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. In professional boxing, he held the IBF world cruiserweight title from 1991 until 1992. In kickboxing, Warring is a four-time world champion, whic ...

, TKO (corner stoppage) , WCC 1: First Strike , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 16:08 ,

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0–1 , Sean McCully , TKO (submission to punches) , WCC 1: First Strike , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:17 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0–1 ,

Yasunori Okuda Yasunori Okuda (born August 8, 1972) is a Japanese people, Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 2-6 , Jutaro ...

, Submission (americana) , Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0–1 ,

Ben Spijkers Bernhard ("Ben") Hendrikus Martinus Spijkers (born 10 March 1961 in Nijmegen, Gelderland) is a retired judoka from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics (1984, 1988 and 1992). He won the bronz ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , Shooto: Complete Vale Tudo Access , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 0:38 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0–1 ,

, Submission (armbar) , Shooto: Vale Tudo Access 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:03 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 1–0–1 ,

Naoki Sakurada Naoki Sakurada (born May 12, 1968) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. He competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. He is a former Shooto Middleweight Champion. Mixed martial arts career Sakurada started as a student of combat ...

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

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 ,

, Submission (triangle choke) , Shooto: Shooto , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:46 ,

, Japan ,

Submission grappling record

, - style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Method , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Event , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - , Loss, ,

Xande Ribeiro Alexandre Ribeiro (born January 20, 1981) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, mixed martial artist and submission wrestler. He is a two-time World Black Belt Absolute (open weight) World ...

, , Points , , ADCC 2003 –99 kg, , 2003, , , , , , , -

References

External links

Biography

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Submission grappling record

See also

References

External links