Savant Young (born June 19, 1976) is an American retired

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 ...

. A professional competitor from 1998 until 2013, he competed for the WEC, Bellator,

Shooto Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...

Affliction Affliction or Afflicted may refer to: Books * ''Affliction'' (novel), a 2013 Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel by Laurell K. Hamilton * ''Affliction'', a novel by Russell Banks, basis of the 1998 film Film and TV * ''Affliction'' (1997 film), ...

, the Tokyo Sabres of the

IFL IFL may refer to: ;American football *Intense Football League, (2004–2008) in the United States, merged into the Indoor Football League *Indoor Football League, (2008–present) in the United States *Intercontinental Football League, a European l ...

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

, and

Tachi Palace Fights Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which hosted events at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Matchmaker for TPF was former fighter Richard Goodman. Regarded as a regional promotion, ...

Mixed martial arts career

Although his first professional bout was in 1998, in June 2006 Young decided he wanted to begin training mixed martial arts full-time. In February 2007 Young won his first fight in the

International Fight League The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

by defeating Ed West with a unanimous decision. Young compiled a 2-2 record with the IFL, and that gave him an opportunity to fight Takeshi Inoue at Shooto. Despite Inoue being heavily favored, Young pulled off the upset and beat him by unanimous decision. Young has stated that this win is the reason he was offered a fight contract with the new

Affliction Clothing Affliction Clothing is an American clothing manufacturer and retailer based in Seal Beach, California. It was launched in 2005 by Courtney Dubar and partners, and is now owned by Affliction Holdings LLC. The company offers a wide range of produ ...

Promotion. Young fought at their first event, Affliction: Banned, losing by second-round armbar against

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 ...

veteran

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 Affl ...

Outside MMA

While training part-time, Young worked in post-production at a video editing company, making the feats of others come alive on the screen. An avid video game player, Young has also had a lifelong fascination with cars, building and competing with them in street races while in high school.

Personal life

Savant and his wife Rahima have two children, a girl and a boy. His mother's name is Debra Baldwin.

Mixed martial arts record

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Mike Guymon Michael Kevin Guymon (born September 17, 1974) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who formerly competed in Bellator's Lightweight division. He has also competed for the UFC, as an alternate for the Tucson Scorpions in the IF ...

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Bellator 85 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five Mixed martial arts weight classes, weight classes and all of the ch ...

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Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

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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 ...

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Rob Emerson Robert Michael Emerson (born July 30, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Emerson is also a veteran of Bellator MMA, the UFC, Pancrase, and was a cast member of ''The Ultimate Fighter 5' ...

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Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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Deividas Taurosevicius Deividas is a Lithuanian language, Lithuanian masculine given name. Individuals with the name Deividas include: *Deividas Česnauskis (born 1981), Lithuanian footballer *Deividas Dulkys (born 1988), Lithuanian basketball player *Deividas Gailius ( ...

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East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

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Ryan Schultz Ryan James Schultz (born July 4, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in 2013. A professional since 2003, he has competed in the WEC, IFL, and Japan's World Victory Road. He was the last International Fight League Lightwe ...

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Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

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Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

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Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

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Gabe Ruediger Gabriel G. "Gabe" Ruediger (born August 29, 1977) is a former American mixed martial artist, who competed in the Lightweight division for the UFC, WEC and Tachi Palace Fights. He is a former WEC Lightweight Champion, and former TPF Lightweigh ...

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Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

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Chris Lytle Chris Scott Lytle (born August 18, 1974) is a retired American mixed martial artist and boxer. An MMA professional from 1999 until 2011 and 20-fight veteran of the UFC, Lytle also fought in Pancrase, Cage Rage, and the WEC. He held the inaug ...

, Submission (strikes) , WEC 18: Unfinished Business , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:50 , Lemoore, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–3 ,

John Alessio John Paul Alessio (born July 5, 1979) is a Canadian retired professional mixed martial artist. A former competitor in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 1998, Alessio has also formerly competed for the UFC where he ...

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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 ,

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

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Kendall Grove Kendall Grove (born November 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also competed for the Bellator MMA, UFC, KSW, ProElite, King ...

, Technical Submission (choke) , LIP 1: Lockdown in Paradise 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 , Lahania, Hawaii, United States , Catchweight (192 lbs) bout; Grove missed weight. , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Marcus Vinicios , Decision , XP 2: Xtreme Pankration 2 , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

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Jason Von Flue Jason Lee Von Flue (born August 1, 1975) is a former American mixed martial artist who appeared on the second season of ''The Ultimate Fighter''. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, WEC, Strikeforce and King of the ...

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Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

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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 ...

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Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

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References

External links

*
Savant Young
IFL Page
International Fight League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Savant Living people 1976 births American male mixed martial artists African-American mixed martial artists 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople