Nick Ring (born February 10, 1979) is a

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

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 is best known for competing in the

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 ...

division of the

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 ...

. A professional MMA competitor since 2002, Ring fought in various promotions. Ring was a competitor on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

's ''

The Ultimate Fighter 11 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Franklin'' for the final episode of the season) is the eleventh installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced rea ...

''.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ring's early background in fighting was as a kickboxer, where he compiled around 30 fights. His transition to MMA was quoted as being because "eventually what I liked about MMA versus kickboxing – and I love kickboxing – was just the whole ground aspect. I like the purity of an MMA fight." Ring was also a professional boxer (during his hiatus from MMA through injury) with a record of 4–1, with 2 victories coming by knockout. Ring started his MMA career in 2002 in local promotions in his home region of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada against Bill Mahood. Ring was able to win via verbal submission just 22 seconds into the first round. A year later, Ring made his second professional MMA appearance against Wyatt Lewis. Ring was again victorious, this time via decision after 2 rounds. Just two weeks later, Ring fought again. Against Alex Gasson, Ring won another decision and followed this up with a submission (strikes) victory over Kevin Dolan. Two years later, Ring made his return to mixed martial arts against Kimo Woelfel, winning via first round rear naked choke. Ring next fought Mike Malone and won via first round TKO; his first TKO of his career. Ring later won a unanimous decision over

Ryuichi Murata is a Japanese judoka and mixed martial artist. He was a world-class judo competitor with 5 top-3 Judo World Cup tournament finishes and has won multiple silver and bronze medals at world and national judo competitions. Most recently, he's compet ...

Injury and return at Bellator

Ring suffered a knee injury which forced him out of competition for over three years. During this time, Ring took up a professional boxing career, compiling a record of 4–1, with three knockouts. He eventually made his return to MMA when he signed with

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

. At

Bellator 9 2009 in Bellator MMA was the first installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started broadcasting April 3, 2009, through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes. The episodes had a one-day ...

, Ring fought Isidro Gonzalez and was able to submit him in 39 seconds with a guillotine choke. Ring then won his next two fights against Chester Post and Yannick Galipeau, both in the first round. It was rumored that Ring was offered a place in Bellator at the same time as ''The Ultimate Fighter''.

The Ultimate Fighter

In March 2010, Ring was announced as part of the eleventh season of ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

''. In a dominant first performance, to gain entry into the TUF house, Ring defeated Woody Wetherby via TKO due to punches in round 1. Ring earned praise from

Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...

, who expressed his interest in selecting Ring as the first member of Team Punishment. This was indeed to be the case as Ortiz selected him as his number one pick, making Ring the first overall pick of the competition. For his second bout, Ring fought

Court McGee Courtney Scott "Court" McGee (born December 12, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, McGee mostly fought in local prom ...

, winning via majority decision (20–18, 19–19, 20–18). Later on in the competition, McGee was reinstated and the two were set to have a rematch in the quarter-finals. However, after visiting the doctor, Ring discovered that he faced a third ACL reconstruction surgery and faced a choice; fight on injured and risk tearing his meniscus, or withdraw from competition and have surgery immediately. James Hammortree was named as Ring's replacement. Due to his knee injury and surgery, Ring was not able to compete at the

TUF 11 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Franklin'' for the final episode of the season) is the eleventh installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced rea ...

. Ring's surgery took place on April 8, 2010 and afterwards, Ring faced a long period of recovery time, getting cleared to train in September. After his recovery, Ring trained for his debut at UFC 127 at his home club, BDB Martial Arts in Calgary AB, and at Tristar Gym in Montreal QC, with the likes of

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor and former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the Ult ...

and Rory MacDonald.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ring beat promotional newcomer and DEEP middleweight champion,

Riki Fukuda , is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, he has formerly competed for the UFC, EliteXC, DEEP, DREAM, K-1 (MMA), Shooto, and Pancrase. Mixed martial arts career ...

on February 27, 2011 at

UFC 127 ''UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Sunday, 27 February 2011 at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. Due to the time zone difference it aired live on Saturday, 26 February in Nort ...

via controversial unanimous decision. All three judges gave Ring the first two rounds despite Fukuda controlling all three rounds with takedowns. Literally all major MMA media news organizations scored the fight as a decision win for Fukuda. Regardless of Ring's win on the scorecards, UFC president

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, as well as many spectators, felt Fukuda won the bout. Dana stated on his Twitter account that Fukuda would be paid his win bonus. For his sophomore UFC bout, Ring faced promotional newcomer James Head on June 11, 2011 at

UFC 131 ''UFC 131: dos Santos vs. Carwin'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on 11 June 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Background Brock Lesnar was originally scheduled to face Ju ...

. He won the fight via submission in the third round. In his third UFC fight, Ring faced Tim Boetsch on September 24, 2011 at

UFC 135 ''UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 24, 2011 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Background The Ultimate Fighting Championship had its first ever event in Den ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, the first loss of his professional MMA career. Ring then fought

in a rematch from their time on

on July 21, 2012 at

UFC 149 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 ...

. Ring won via unanimous decision. For the second time in a bout against McGee, the win was regarded as controversial by many media sources. Stats after the fight showed that McGee outstruck Ring 32–25 in the second round and 53–16 in the final round. After the fight, McGee said "I felt like I had cage control, was more aggressive, out-struck him and attempted a submission in the third round. I should not have left it in the hands of the judges and finished the fight." Ring was expected to face

Costas Philippou Constantinos Philippou ( gr, Κωνσταντίνος Φιλίππου, born November 29, 1979) is a retired Greek-Cypriot mixed martial artist. He formerly fought for the UFC's Middleweight division. Early life Philippou was born in Limassol o ...

on November 17, 2012 at

UFC 154 ''UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 17, 2012, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background Parent company Zuffa, LLC produced a UFC Pri ...

but the fight was cancelled due to Ring's illness on the day of the weigh ins. Ring faced

Chris Camozzi Christopher Allen Camozzi (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional Glory kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Camozzi has formerly competed in th ...

on March 16, 2013 at

UFC 158 ''UFC 158: St-Pierre vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 16, 2013, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background The main event was the culmination of the rivalry between Geor ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Ring was expected to meet Uriah Hall at

UFC Fight Night 26 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 26'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 17, 2013, at the TD Garden in Boston. Background The event was the first UFC event broadcast on Fox Sports 1. The main ev ...

. However, Ring was pulled from the bout and initially replaced by

Josh Samman Joshua Kaleb Samman (March 14, 1988 – October 5, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist who, at the time of his death, competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and also competed for Be ...

, who was ultimately pulled and replaced by UFC returnee

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

. Ring faced

Caio Magalhães Caio Magalhães (born December 14, 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also competed for ...

on December 7, 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 33 ''UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 33'') was a mixed martial arts event held on 6 December 2013, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The event was broadcast live on Fox Spo ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Post UFC career

Nick was released from the UFC. In his first post-UFC bout, he defeated Jason Zentgraf via unanimous decision at Hard Knocks Fighting Championship 43 on May 22, 2015, in Calgary, Alberta.

Personal life

On June 6, 2012, Ring was leaving a Starbucks at Macleod Trail and 94th Avenue in Calgary when he saw a group of about 6–10 people across the street beating up a couple to steal a young woman's backpack. One girl had another girl by her hair and was kneeing her in the face while her boyfriend was trying to protect her but was being held down. Ring got out of his car, checked on the victims, and along with another bystander who saw the fight in progress started to chase what he called the "wannabe gangsters" who ran when they saw them. As he chased the suspects, who appeared to be about 17 or 18 years old, Ring called police on his cellphone and the pair were able to catch one suspect. Ring says police caught another five or six suspects.

Professional boxing record

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Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–4 ,

Cory Devela Cory Devela (born August 5, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in 2016. Background Devela began wrestling in elementary school and continued through middle and high school. After graduating, Devela attended Yakima Vall ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Hard Knocks 44 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Jason Zentgraf , Decision (unanimous) , Hard Knocks 43 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Queensland, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 ,

, Decision (split) ,

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

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

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

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–1 , Tim Boetsch , Decision (unanimous) ,

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

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Colorado, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 , James Head , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:33 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Yannick Galipeau , Submission (armbar) , AMMA 1: First Blood , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Chester Post , TKO (punches) , Rumble in the Cage 36 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:24 ,

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Isidro Gonzalez , Submission (guillotine choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:39 ,

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe (historically french: Poste-du-Ouachita) is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and parish seat of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropolita ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Deep: 23 Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Mike Malone , TKO (punches) , Icon Sport – Opposites Attract , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:04 , Hawaii, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Kimo Woelfel , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Superbrawl – Icon , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ,

Honolulu 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 ...

, Hawaii, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Kevin Dolan , Submission (punches) , WFF 4 – Civil War , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:20 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Alex Gasson , Decision (unanimous) , Calgary Max , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Wyatt Lewis , Decision (unanimous) , Roadhouse Rumble 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Bill Mahood , Submission (verbal) , Roadhouse Rumble 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:22 ,

, Canada ,

References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, Nick Living people 1979 births Cruiserweight boxers Canadian male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Canadian male kickboxers Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Canadian Muay Thai practitioners Canadian male boxers Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Injury and return at Bellator

The Ultimate Fighter

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Post UFC career

Personal life

Professional boxing record

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links