Richard P. "Rick" Cheek (born October 4, 1977) is an American kickboxer 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, incorpo ...

who competes in the heavyweight division. A North American Muay Thai champion as an amateur, Cheek turned professional in 2005 and debuted in K-1 the same year. He holds notable wins over WSOF standout Dave Huckaba in

MMA 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 strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

, 2001 K-1 Japan Grand Prix Champion

Nicholas Pettas Nicholas Pettas (born January 23, 1973, in Mykonos) is a Greek- Danish karateka, former heavyweight kickboxer and actor, who fought out of Team Spirit AE in Tokyo, Japan. Pettas mainly competed in the promotion K-1 between 1998 and 2007, and wa ...

and multiple time world kickboxing champion Mike Sheppard

Career

Cheek was the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

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 predetermine ...

champion and started training in kickboxing and Muay Thai in 2000 at the age of twenty-three. In August 2004, he competed in a four-man tournament held over two days in Orlando, Florida to determine the IKF Amateur North American Super Heavyweight (+106.8 kg/235 lb) Muay Thai Champion. After defeating Bernard Settle, Jr. by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...

in round two of their semi-final bout, he outpointed Brian Wells to a

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

in the final to take the crown. He followed this up with the IKF's Amateur California Muay Thai title when he stopped Ben Davis with

low kick A low kick (also known as a leg kick) is a kick in which the attacker uses their leg to strike the opponent's lower body (thigh or calf) with the shinbone or foot. This type of kick, under different names, is utilized in numerous full-contact ma ...

s in round one in

Fairfield, California Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco ...

on March 26, 2005. After turning professional, Cheek made his K-1 debut on August 13, 2005, in a tournament reserve bout at the '' K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas II'' against Mike Sheppard, knocking him out in the second round. He was absent from both K-1 Las Vegas events in 2006 due to a torn ACL and

MCL The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3) ...

he sustained in February 2006. After a year out of the ring, Cheek returned on August 11, 2007, for the '' K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Las Vegas'' tournament. He stopped Imani Lee with a barrage of unanswered punches in round three in the quarter-finals but was unable to continue in the tournament due to a leg injury and was replaced by

Doug Viney Douglas Ma'afu Hawke, better known as Doug "Vicious" Viney (born 20 November 1976) is a Tongan-New Zealander heavyweight boxer and kickboxer. He is the K-1 World GP 2007 in Las Vegas champion, who also represented Tonga as a super heavywei ...

, who eventually went on to win the title. In early 2008, Cheek fought for the Miami Force in the

World Combat League The World Combat League (WCL) was a full contact, team-based kickboxing promotion. It was founded by movie star and martial artist Chuck Norris. Rules The rules are typical of other full contact striking competitions, with some minor variati ...

and, on June 20, 2008, faced

Patrice Quarteron Patrice "The Dark Ronin" Quarteron (; born in Sevran on 20 March 1979) is a French heavyweight kickboxer, fighting out of Évry, Essonne. He is two time French and European Muay Thai champion and current IKF Muay Thai Super Heavyweight World cham ...

for the vacant IKF World Super Heavyweight (+106.8 kg/235 lb) Muay Thai title in

Montego Bay, Jamaica Montego Bay is the capital of the parish of St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore, all of which form the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, ...

. He was sent to the canvas early with a flurry of punches and

elbows The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

. After beating the count, he was dropped with a low kick, which also caused Quarteron to fall over. As both fighters fell to the canvas, Quarteron's knee landed on Cheek's head, seemingly knocking him unconscious. He soon made his way back to K-1 to fight in the '' K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii'' in

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 ...

on August 9, 2008. He won by TKO against

Kyokushin karate is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 by Korean-Jap ...

stylist

in the quarter-finals when Pettas aggravated a groin injury sustained in training early in the fight. He was then eliminated by the eventual tournament winner

Gökhan Saki Gökhan Saki (born 18 October 1983liver punch A liver shot or liver punch is a punch, kick, or knee strike to the right side of the ribcage that damages the liver. Blunt force to the liver can be excruciatingly painful, and an especially effective shot will incapacitate a person instantly. Thu ...

towards the end of round one. In his second attempt at a

world title A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, he challenged Ben Edwards for the vacant

ISKA The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the United ...

World Super Heavyweight (+96.4 kg/212 lb) Oriental rules belt in Canberra, Australia on April 4, 2009, but was KO'd inside the first minute of the opening frame. On August 28, 2010, Cheek lost to Steven Banks via second-round KO in a fight for the WBC Muaythai United States Super Heavyweight (+104.5 kg/230 lb) title. He struggled with the

knees In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

of Banks, being floored by them on four occasions throughout the match. Cheek suffered a one-sided beating at the hands of Cătălin Moroşanu, after re-tearing his

in the first round in their ''SuperKombat World Grand Prix 7'' in

Varna, Bulgaria Varna ( bg, Варна, ) is the third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, the city has been a m ...

bout on July 7, 2012. He was dropped five times, forcing referee Cezar Gheorghe to call a halt to the bout in the second round.

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

* K-1 **'' K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii'' 3rd Place **Holds a record of 3-1 (3 KO's) in the K-1 circuit *

International Kickboxing Federation The International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) is a sanctioning body for kickboxing and Muay Thai based in the United States. The IKF sanctions and regulates all aspects of these sports from Semi Contact IKF Point Kickboxing (IKF/PKB)) to Full Co ...

**IKF Amateur California Super Heavyweight (+106.8 kg/235 lbs) Muay Thai Championship **IKF Amateur North American Super Heavyweight (+106.8 kg/235 lbs) International Rules Championship *World Combat Sports Challenge **WCSC World Super Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship *

World Kickboxing Association The World Kickboxing Association (WKA) also known as World Kickboxing and Karate Association, is one of the oldest and the largest amateur and professional sanctioning body for kickboxing and Karate. History In 1976, the WKA was founded by Ho ...

**WKA United States Super Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lbs) Muay Thai Championship **WKA U.S. Amateur (+91 kg) Muay Thai ChampionshipWka Usa
**WKA U.S. Amateur (+91 kg) Kickboxing Championship

Mixed martial arts

*Cage Combat Fighting Championships **CCFC Heavyweight Championship

Boxing

*United States Air Force Athletics **United States Air Force and Armed Services heavyweight boxing champion *

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

**2001 San Antonio Golden Gloves Runner Up (+201 lbs)

Kickboxing record

''Legend'':

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 4-4 , Mike Hayes , TKO (submission to punches) , PFC: Best of Both Worlds , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:01 , Lemoore, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4-3 , Dave Huckaba , Submission (armbar) , Gladiator Challenge 87: Collision Course , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 ,

Roseville, California Roseville is the most populous city in Placer County, California, located within the Sacramento metropolitan area. As of 2019, the US Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 141,500. Interstate 80 runs through Roseville and State Rout ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4-2 , Buddy Roberts , Submission (rear naked choke) , Cage Combat Fighting Championships: Mayhem , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:52 ,

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4-1 , Richard Blake , KO (punches) , Cage Combat Fighting Championships: Annihilation , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:05 ,

, United States , Wins the Cage Combat Fighting Championships Heavyweight Championship. , - , Loss , align=center, 3-1 ,

Chase Gormley Chase Gormley (born August 11, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, the MFC, the RFA, King of the Cage, the XFC, Absolute Champions ...

, Submission (keylock) , Gladiator Challenge 73: High Noon , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:20 ,

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

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3-0 , Thomas Rosser , TKO (punches) , Gladiator Challenge 63: Crackdown , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 , South Lake Tahoe, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2-0 , Joe Abouata , KO (punch) , Gladiator Challenge 62: Sprawl or Brawl , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:31 ,

Lakeport, California Lakeport is an incorporated city and the county seat of Lake County, California. This city is northwest of Sacramento. Lakeport is on the western shore of the county namesake, Clear Lake, at an elevation of . The population was 5,026 at the 202 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Dave Huckaba , TKO (punches) , Gladiator Challenge 57: Holiday Beatings , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:35 ,

, United States ,

External links

Official K-1 profile

K-1Sport profile
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheek, Rick 1977 births Living people American male kickboxers Kickboxers from California Heavyweight kickboxers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing American Muay Thai practitioners Sportspeople from San Francisco People from Rohnert Park, California United States Air Force airmen American male boxers Boxers from California SUPERKOMBAT kickboxers American military sports players