Michael Thomas Brown (born September 8, 1975) is an American

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 ...

trainer and former fighter who is the head MMA coach for

American Top Team American Top Team (ATT) is one of the primary teams in mixed martial arts. The gym was founded by Dan Lambert, who brought in former members of Brazilian Top Team Marcus "Conan" Silveira, Marcelo Silveira and Ricardo Liborio, but there is no for ...

. As a mixed martial arts fighter, Brown was a former WEC Featherweight Champion and also competed in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of 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 ...

before retiring in 2014 to become a full-time MMA coach. He is the head coach of Dustin Poirier.

Background

Brown wrestled at

Bonny Eagle High School Bonny Eagle High School is a education in the United States, public high school located in Standish, Maine, United States. The school is a part of Maine School Administrative District 6, which serves the towns of Buxton, Maine, Buxton (including B ...

Standish, Maine Standish is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 10,244 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Standish Corner, Sebago Lake Village and Steep Falls, and the localities known as Richville, Elmwood, Stand ...

, where he won a state championship in 1992, his junior year. He went on to wrestle at

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

, where he was known for his ability to focus. Although he was an average student in high school, he was able to apply his focus to academics and excelled as a scholar-athlete in college. According to Norwich wrestling coach Rich Hasenfus, Brown was one of the smartest athletes and strongest wrestlers at Norwich.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Brown had fought in several MMA events including most recently WEC, where he was the

Featherweight Champion Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

. In 2005, Brown suffered a near career-ending loss at DEEP 22 in Japan. Brown's opponent, noted leg-lock expert

Masakazu Imanari is a Japanese former professional wrestler and current mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional competitor since 2000, he is a veteran of ONE Championship, DEEP, ZST, Panc ...

, dislocated Brown's leg to the point that his leg was pulled out and to the side of his knee joint. His only other Pre- WEC losses were to world-class fighters; besides Imanari, only Joe Lauzon, Genki Sudo, and Hermes Franca (all

veterans) had defeated Brown en route to Brown's 18–4 record.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Riding a six-fight win streak, Mike Brown signed with the WEC's

division. His debut in the WEC was against

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 ...

expert

Jeff Curran Jeffrey Michael Curran (born September 2, 1977) is an American retired professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1998, Curran has fought at a number of different weight classes for a large number of ...

WEC 34 ''WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 1, 2008, at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. The main event, announced on WEC 33, was a bout between Jens Pulver and ...

. In each round, Brown matched Curran's stand-up and then took him down and scored from the top with elbows and punches. Brown won all three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory. Brown was then offered a shot at the

WEC Featherweight Championship This is a list of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champions at each weight class. In December 2006 World Extreme Cagefighting was bought by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the UFC, to concentrate on the four smaller weight classes under the ...

with a fight against

Urijah Faber Urijah Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male, ...

at WEC 36. The fight was originally set to take place in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, Florida on September 10, 2008, but it was postponed to November 5, 2008, due to

Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...

. At the time, Faber had held the title for over two and a half years and was widely considered to be the best fighter at 145 pounds in the world. Brown welcomed the opportunity to fight the best in the world and felt that his training with American Top Team had prepared him well. When the heavily-favored Faber attempted a risky elbow strike, Brown countered with a right hook to the jaw, knocking down the champion. Brown then followed with a flurry of unanswered punches and the fight was called off at 2:23 of the first round. Brown won by technical knockout and was declared the new WEC featherweight champion. Brown's first title defense came against Texas-native

Leonard Garcia Leonard Garcia (born July 14, 1979, in Plainview, Texas) is an American former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Featherweight division of the Legacy Fighting Championship, and is the former Legacy FC Featherweight Champion. ...

in Corpus Christi, Texas as the main event of WEC 39. Garcia came out very aggressively, but he made a mistake and circled in the wrong direction. Brown capitalized on the mistake, knocking Garcia down with a big right hand. He followed with a barrage of punches and elbows, one of which opened up a cut on Garcia's forehead. Brown took Garcia's back and worked unsuccessfully for a

rear-naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

. Garcia got Brown back in his guard, but Brown passed into a full mount and secured an

arm-triangle choke Arm triangle choke, side choke, or head and arm choke are generic terms describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between their own shoulder and the practitioner's arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, whic ...

. Garcia tapped out at 1:57 of the first round. Brown said that he did not really feel like the champion after the Faber fight, but he was happy he established himself as the champion with his victory over Garcia. Brown's second defense came in a rematch against former champ

as the

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

of '' WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2''. The bout took place at ARCO Arena on June 7, 2009, in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Mike Brown - UFC 100 Fan Expo - Mandalay Bay Casino, Las Vegas

Urijah Faber was defeated a second time by Brown via unanimous decision in front of his hometown crowd in Sacramento. The score cards read 49–46, 48–47 and 49–46, all in favor of Brown, solidifying him as the best Featherweight in the world. MMA websites Sherdog.com and ESPN.com both stated that "Faber's right hand was no match for the top of Mike Brown's head". Following his unanimous Dec win over Faber (for the second time), Brown lost his

against

José Aldo José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júniorhttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/CI3oOc0VAAAr_iv.jpg (, born 9 September 1986), commonly anglicized as Jose Aldo, is a retired Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He last competed in the Ultimate Fight ...

on November 18, 2009, at WEC 44. Brown lost by knockout in the second round. Brown defeated WEC newcomer

Anthony Morrison Anthony Morrison (born March 29, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. A professional since 2004, he has competed for Bellator and the WEC. Background Originally from North PhiladelphiaAnthony Morrisonbegan boxing at the age ...

on January 10, 2010, at WEC 46 via first round submission. Brown took on Manvel Gamburyan on April 24, 2010, at WEC 48. Gamburyan defeated Brown via KO in the first round. Mike Brown's next fight was against Cole Province at

WEC 51 ''WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on September 30, 2010 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. This was the only event that the WEC hosted in Colorado. Backgr ...

. He won the fight via TKO (punches) in the first round.

Return to Ultimate Fighting Championship

On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Brown first faced Diego Nunes on January 1, 2011, at

UFC 125 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 ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Brown jumped right back into action to face Rani Yahya on January 22, 2011, at UFC Fight Night 23, replacing an injured

Chan Sung Jung Jung Chan-sung ( ko, 정찬성; born March 17, 1987), anglicized as Chan Sung Jung and better known by his ring name The Korean Zombie, is a South Korean professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He currently competes in the Featherweig ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Brown was out until mid-2011 recovering from surgery on his hand that was injured during the Yahya bout. On August 6, 2011, Brown faced Nam Phan at

UFC 133 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 ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision, earning him his first UFC victory. Brown was expected to face Vagner Rocha 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 ...

. However, Brown was forced out of the bout with a knee injury. Brown faced Daniel Pineda on May 26, 2012, at UFC 146. He defeated Pineda by unanimous decision. In an interview with Ariel Helwani following the fight, Brown stated that he would give himself two weeks to consider retiring based on how his body felt after recovering. On July 4, 2012, Brown signed a 5-fight deal with the UFC. Brown was expected to face

Akira Corassani Akira may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Akira'' (franchise), a Japanese cyberpunk franchise ** ''Akira'' (manga), a 1980s cyberpunk manga by Katsuhiro Otomo ** ''Akira'' (1988 film), an anime film adaptation of the manga ** ''Akira'' (vide ...

on August 17, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 26. However, Corassani pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Steven Siler. Brown lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Brown was expected to face Estevan Payan on April 19, 2014, at

UFC on Fox 11 ''UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 11'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 19, 2014, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Background The event was headlined by a he ...

. However, Brown was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Alex White. After pulling out of the fight against Payan, Brown said he would likely not fight again, though he did not say he was retiring.

Championships and accomplishments

* World Extreme Cagefighting **

(One time) **Two successful title defenses ** Fight of the night (One time) ** Knockout of the Night (One time) ** Submission of the Night (One time) *Absolute Fighting Championships **AFC Featherweight Championship (One time) *CombatPress.com **2016 Coach of the Year **2017 Coach of the Year **2018 Coach of the Year **2019 Coach of the Year. *

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

**2018 The Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 26–9 , Steven Siler , KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 , Boston, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 26–8 , Daniel Pineda , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 146 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 25–8 , Nam Phan , Decision (unanimous) ,

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

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 24–8 , Rani Yahya , Decision (unanimous) , UFC: Fight for the Troops 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Fort Hood, Texas Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 24–7 , Diego Nunes , Decision (split) ,

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

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 24–6 , Cole Province , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:18 , Broomfield, Colorado, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 23–6 , Manvel Gamburyan , KO (punches) , WEC 48 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:22 ,

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 23–5 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , WEC 46 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:54 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–5 ,

, TKO (punches) , WEC 44 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:20 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 22–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , WEC 41 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–4 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , WEC 39 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:23 ,

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

: Faber vs. Pulver , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–4 , Manny Reyes Jr. , Submission (rear-naked choke) , PXF: Premier X-treme Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:46 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4 , Eben Oroz , TKO (punches) , HOOKnSHOOT: BodogFIGHT , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:15 ,

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4 , Yves Edwards , Decision (unanimous) , BodogFIGHT: Clash of the Nations , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Jason Bryant , TKO (punches) , AFC 19: Absolute Fighting Championships 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 ,

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Rocky Long , Submission (rear-naked choke) , KE: Kick Enterprises , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:32 ,

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 ,

Dustin Neace Dustin Neace (born September 12, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who fought in Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce and was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. Neace formerly fought in the fe ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , AFC 18: Absolute Fighting Championships 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,

, Technical Submission (rolling kneelock) , DEEP: 22 Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:38 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Takeshi Yamazaki , Decision (unanimous) , DEEP: 21st Impact , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Taiyo Nakahara , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , GCM: D.O.G. 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Renato Tavares , Decision (unanimous) , AFC 10: Absolute Fighting Championships 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , Joe Lauzon , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CZ 8: Street Justice , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:14 , Revere, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 , Genki Sudo , Submission (triangle armbar) ,

UFC 47 ''UFC 47: It’s On'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 2, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view, and later released on DVD. Hi ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:31 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Leigh Remedios , Decision (unanimous) , AFC 6: Absolute Fighting Championships 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Renat Mirzabekov , Submission (heel hook) , HFC 2: Hardcore Fighting Championships 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:38 , Revere, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 ,

Mark Hominick Mark Jeffrey Hominick (born July 22, 1982) is a Canadian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he was the inaugural Featherweight title challenger, the WEC, and Affli ...

, Submission (heel hook) , TFC 8: Hell Raiser , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Shawn Graham , TKO (punches) , HFC 1: Hardcore Fighting Championships 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:05 , Revere, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Mike Large , Submission (rear-naked choke) , TFC 7: Fightzone 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Bill Mahoney , Submission (rear-naked choke) , MD 10: Mass Destruction 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

Swansea, Massachusetts Swansea is a town in Bristol County in southeastern Massachusetts. It is located at the mouth of the Taunton River, just west of Fall River, south of Boston, and southeast of Providence, Rhode Island. The population was 17,144 at the 2020 cens ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Edward Odquina , Submission (rear-naked choke) , USMMA 1: Ring of Fury , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

Hermes França Hermes França Barros (; born August 26, 1974) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He has competed for the UFC, WEC, MFC, and Israel FC. He is a former WEC Lightweight Champion, and former UFC Lightweight Championship contender. Mixed mart ...

, Submission (triangle choke) , HOOKnSHOOT: Kings 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:21 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Vinny Brightman , Submission (rear-naked choke) , MD3: Mass Destruction 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:30 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jeff Darienzo , Submission (americana) , MD1: Mass Destruction 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 ,

, United States , , -

References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* *
Official Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Mike American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Maine Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Extreme Cagefighting champions 1975 births Living people American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Portland, Maine People from Standish, Maine Norwich University alumni People from Coconut Creek, Florida Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers