Mark Robinson (born 18 March 1963) is a South African

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

and

powerlifter Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

. He is considered to be one of South Africa's most accomplished athletes due to his accomplishments in several

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 ...

styles ( freestyle,

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

) and

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

Background

Robinson was born to a family of martial artists. His father, Norman Robinson, was one of the first practitioners of

Shotokan Karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throug ...

in South Africa and helped instigate the establishment of the South African branch of the

Japan Karate Association Japan Karate Association (日本空手協会; ''Nihon Karate Kyokai''; JKA; sometimes referred to simply as ''Kyokai'' 協会 in Japan) is one of the oldest global Shotokan karate organization in the world. Origins Gichin Funakoshi played a ma ...

. His grandfather, Jack Robinson, was a pioneer of

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 ...

in South Africa and set up an establishment that would later become Judo South Africa.

Grappling career

Robinson's earliest sporting achievement was in 1982, when he became the South African judo champion in the heavyweight division. Robinson later started pursuing various forms of

amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

including both

and freestyle. From 1994 to 1996, he won multiple medals in wrestling at the African Wrestling Championship and

African Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

. His strong performance at the 1996 Acropolis Wrestling Grand Prix qualified him for a spot at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Greco-Roman wrestling. However, he was unable to compete due to budget restrictions. Robinson competed in the 1996 Sumo World Championship with only a few months of training. In the finals, he defeated

Emmanuel Yarbrough Emmanuel Yarbrough (September 5, 1964 – December 21, 2015) was an American martial artist, professional wrestler, football player and actor. He was particularly known for his career in amateur sumo, and held the Guinness World Record for the ...

to become champion of the openweight class. Robinson competed at the 2001

ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, is an international submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). The inaugural tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 1998. It has been held every two years ...

in the +99 kg category against several strong candidates. He defeated Valeriy Yureskul,

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions. Belfort previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavywe ...

and

Ricco Rodriguez Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American semi-retired mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, EliteXC, I ...

to reach the final, where he defeated

Jeff Monson Oregon State Beavers Jeffrey William Monson (born January 18, 1971) is an American-Russian mixed martial artist, boxer, and submission grappler who competes primarily in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor ...

to become champion.

Powerlifting career

Around the same time he started his grappling career, Robinson also participated in powerlifting. He is a multiple time medalist at WPC World Championships including winner of the 1990 World Championship at the +140 kg category.

Personal Bests

* Squat – 496/936.9 lb (Raw/Single) *

Bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

– 297.6/595.2 lb (Raw/Single) *

Deadlift The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises, ...

– 545.6/821.2 lb (Raw/Single * Total – 1289.7/2353.4 lb (Raw/Single)

Mixed martial arts career

Robinson had a brief career 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 26 August 2000, he fought for the promotion, World Extreme Fighting at the event WEF – New Blood Conflict. He faced Joe Leyva and won by submission in less than 30 seconds. On 23 February 2001, he fought for the promotion,

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 ...

at the event

UFC 30 ''UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 23, 2001. UFC 30 was the first UFC event under th ...

. He faced

Bobby Hoffman Bobby "The Truth" Hoffman (born October 28, 1966) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the heavyweight division. He is the former King of the Cage super heavyweight champion as well as the former King of the Cage heavywei ...

and was knocked out in the first round by a standing elbow strike. However Hoffman failed a drug test afterwards and the decision was changed to a no-contest.

Personal life

Robinson lives in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

with his wife Deirdre and daughter. Robinson set up a martial arts academy in 2001 in South Africa.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , NC , align=center, 1–0 (1) ,

, NC (overturned) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:27 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Joe Leyva , Submission (neck crank) , WEF: New Blood Conflict , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:22 , N/A ,

Submission wrestling record

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Mark Living people 1963 births ADCC Submission Fighting World Champions (men) Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Sumo Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling South African male mixed martial artists South African male sport wrestlers South African powerlifters South African submission wrestlers South African strength athletes Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters