Richard Allan Crunkilton Jr (born November 25, 1979) 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, incorp ...

. Crunkilton is perhaps best known for his 8–2 stint with the

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

promotion. He currently competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

division.

Early career

Crunkilton made his professional MMA debut in October 1999, defeating Ray Totorico via TKO. Following this, Crunkilton would compile a record of 8-0 before signing with the

promotion in 2002.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Crunkilton made his debut on June 7, 2002, at

WEC 3 The year 2002 is the 2nd year in the history of World Extreme Cagefighting, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2002 WEC held 3 events beginning with, ''WEC 3: All or Nothing''. Events list WEC 3: All or Nothing ...

, defeating Cruz Gomez via first-round TKO. He then made a quick turnaround and faced Luciano Oliveira at

WEC 4 ''WEC 4: Rumble Under The Sun'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 31, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA. The main event was a fight between Aaron Brink and Jeremy Horn. Results See also * Wor ...

on August 31, 2002. He won the fight via armbar submission. Crunkilton then defeated Victor Estrada at WEC 5: Halloween Havoc on October 18, 2002, due to an ankle injury.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

With an impressive undefeated record of 11–0, Crunkilton signed with the UFC and faced

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 mar ...

UFC 42 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 MM ...

on April 25, 2003. Though Crunkilton was the moderate favorite coming into the fight, he would lose the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released shortly after.

Return to WEC

Following a short stint in 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 ...

, Crunkilton returned at

WEC 15 WEC 15: Judgment Day was a mixed martial arts event promoted by World Extreme Cagefighting on May 19th 2005 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. The card featured the likes of Joe Riggs, Chris Lytle and James Irvin (fighter) ...

on May 19, 2005, defeating Paul Jenkins via KO. He faced Nick Ertl at WEC 18: Unfinished Business on January 13, 2006. He won the fight via TKO, advancing his WEC to 5–0. He then faced Adam Lynn at

WEC 21 ''WEC 21: Tapout'' was a mixed martial arts event held on June 15, 2006. ''WEC 21s main event was a fight between Rob McCullough and Ryan Healy. Results See also * World Extreme Cagefighting * List of World Extreme Cagefighting champ ...

on June 15, 2006. He won the fight via rear-naked choke. Crunkilton won his next fight against Mike Joy at

WEC 25 ''WEC 25: McCullough vs. Cope'' was the first mixed martial arts event held by the World Extreme Cagefighting under Zuffa management. The event was held on January 20, 2007. ''WEC 25s main event was a championship fight for the vacant WEC Lightwei ...

on January 20, 2007, via D'arce choke. Crunkilton lost his first fight in the WEC on September 5, 2007, when he lost to

Rob McCullough Robert Alexander McCullough IV (born May 26, 1977) is an American former Muay Thai kickboxer and professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2001-2011 in MMA, McCullough has formerly competed for the WEC, Bellator, DREAM, the Wor ...

via TKO for the

WEC Lightweight 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 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an Amer ...

WEC 30 ''WEC 30: McCullough vs. Crunkilton'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). The event took place on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and aired live on th ...

. He defeated Sergio Gomez on March 26, 2008, at

WEC 33 ''WEC 33: Marshall vs. Stann'' was a mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by World Extreme Cagefighting, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) that took place on Wednesday, March 26, 2008. Background A rematch for the WEC Middlweig ...

. He was scheduled to face

Donald Cerrone Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ultimat ...

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 ...

, but was forced off the card with an injury. Crunkilton was forced to withdraw from his bout with Bart Palaszewski at WEC 39 because of a knee injury. He was again scheduled to fight Donald Cerrone on June 7, 2009, at

WEC 41 ''WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on June 7, 2009 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. It was the most successful show in the WEC's history. Background Featherweight champion ...

, but dropped out due to another undisclosed injury. Crunkilton made his return from injury at

WEC 43 ''WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on October 10, 2009 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event was scheduled to take place on September 2, 2009 at the Covel ...

where he lost by decision to WEC newcomer

Dave Jansen David Hendrik Jansen (born August 21, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Jansen has also formerly competed for the WEC and M-1 Global. Backg ...

. Shortly after his defeat at

, Crunkilton was released from the promotion.

Post-WEC

In his first fight since leaving the WEC, Crunkilton faced UFC veteran

Carlo Prater Carlo Ricardo Prater (born June 25, 1981) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2002, Prater has also formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, Strikeforc ...

at the Shine: Lightweight Grand Prix on September 10, 2010. He won the fight via split decision. After a three-year hiatus, Crunkilton returned to MMA and faced Akhmet Aliev at Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 14 on December 7, 2013. Crunkilton lost the fight via KO.

Mixed martial arts record

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, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 ,

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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 ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 , Nick Ertl , TKO (punches) , WEC 18: Unfinished Business , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:55 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 , James Martinez , TKO (punches) , Freedom Fight - Canada vs USA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:31 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Víctor Estrada , Submission (ankle injury) , WEC 5: Halloween Havoc , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:13 ,

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Bao Quach Bao Quach (born September 4, 1979) is an American featherweight professional mixed martial artist who has fought for Bellator, Affliction, M-1 Global, EliteXC, Strikeforce, World Extreme Cagefighting, King of the Cage, and Shooto promotions ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Leonard Speights , KO (punches) , WEF - World Extreme Fighting: Rumble at the Rodeo 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Scott Johnson , Submission (kneebar) , WVF - Battlejax , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:19 ,

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References

External links

*
Official UFC Profile for Richard Crunkilton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crunkilton, Richard 1979 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Florida Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male judoka Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters