Sean McCorkle (born July 17, 1976) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the

Super Heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for th ...

division. A professional from 2005 until 2014, he competed for 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 ...

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 ...

, KSW, and

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 ...

Background

McCorkle is from Indianapolis, Indiana. He excelled at basketball, playing in high school and then in

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

. In 2005, McCorkle began training in

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 ...

, and later met local UFC veterans Chris Lytle and

Jake O'Brien Jake O'Brien may refer to: *Jake O'Brien (basketball), American basketball player *Jake O'Brien (fighter), American martial artist *Jake O'Brien (footballer) Jake O'Brien (born 15 May 2001) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a de ...

before transitioning into

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 ...

Mixed martial arts career

McCorkle fought out of C-4 MMA. He fought at

for most of his career, weighing as much as 320 lbs. McCorkle has several nicknames, but "Big Sexy" is his best known moniker. MMA journalist

Ariel Helwani Ariel Helwani (born July 8, 1982) is a Canadian-American sports journalist, known for his coverage of mixed martial arts (MMA). He is best known for his work at ''MMA Fighting'', but has also worked for Fox and ESPN. Helwani is widely considered ...

coined his other main nickname "The Curtain Jerker" during a pre-fight interview. He was also known as "The Hater" early on in his career. After winning his first four fights, McCorkle faced Jeremy Norton on New Year's Eve 2006. During the bout, McCorkle dislocated his shoulder and broke his arm, but was able to continue and took a split decision victory. Due to the injury, he was out of action for fourteen months of physical therapy before he could return to MMA.

Legends of Fighting

McCorkle fought multiple times for an Indianapolis promotion called Legends of Fighting and remained undefeated with them, holding a 9-0 record and the promotion's Super Heavyweight Championship belt.

King of the Cage

On October 7, 2006 McCorkle fought Robert Hogan at King Of The Cage: Meltdown, winning via TKO (punches) in the opening round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

McCorkle signed a contract with the UFC in July 2010. After signing, his debut opponent was announced as the

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

and

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

veteran

Mark Hunt Mark Richard Hunt (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand former mixed martial artist and kickboxer of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) until 2018 and was the winn ...

at UFC 119 in McCorkle's hometown of Indianapolis. In order to make weight for the fight, McCorkle had to cut down to 265 lbs - a weight he had not hit since the age of 18. When the fight began, Hunt landed several punches and was able to land on top when McCorkle went for a takedown. McCorkle won the fight in just 67 seconds however, after locking in a straight armbar from his back. It was later revealed that McCorkle's armlock had caused significant damage to Hunt. In his post-fight interview with

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American 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 ...

, McCorkle lauded how hard Hunt’s punches were. Due to his colorful persona and the sudden publicity he received for his win over Hunt, McCorkle's next fight was the Co-Main Event of UFC 124. He fought 6'11" Dutch fighter Stefan Struve in Montreal, Quebec. McCorkle initiated an extreme trash talk battle in the media leading up to the bout, which was a new and unpleasant experience for the usually reserved Struve. After McCorkle unleashed a continual barrage of taunts via his

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account, Struve issued a contest in which fans would Photoshop insulting pictures of McCorkle. The winner of the contest was promised the bloodstained fight gloves Struve was to use against McCorkle. The eventual winner of the contest submitted a picture of McCorkle as

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

, which led McCorkle to show up at the weigh-ins wearing a Bieber-style wig for photographers. When making his ring entrance, Struve’s skin had noticeably broken out in hives. He later said this was from the stress and pressure he felt to win. McCorkle came out strong in the opening minutes of the bout, forcefully slamming Struve onto the ground and securing a kimura on him that nearly led to a tap out. After a struggle that sapped McCorkle of his energy, Struve was able to reverse the hold and pound him out, winning the fight by TKO. McCorkle next fought

Christian Morecraft Christian Morecraft (born September 8, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist, who fought in the UFC in the heavyweight division. Background Morecraft is from Washington, D.C., and went to an MMA school before turning pro in 2008. He also work ...

on March 26, 2011 at

UFC Fight Night 24 ''UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 24'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 26, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. Background The event did not lead ...

. After a closely contested first round, Morecraft came out and dominated the first four minutes of the second round. The referee briefly stopped the fight for two minutes after Morecraft delivered an illegal low blow to McCorkle's groin. When the action resumed, McCorkle dove in for a takedown but Morecraft was able to leverage this attempt into a standing guillotine choke that left McCorkle unconscious. In the spring of 2011, the UFC released McCorkle from his contract. On October 17, 2011,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

announced that Sean McCorkle would be a featured heavyweight in the video game

UFC Undisputed 3 ''UFC Undisputed 3'' is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's and published by THQ. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is a sequel to ''UFC Undisputed 2 ...

. The game was released for

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

and

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

on February 14, 2012. The game went on to sell over one million copies.

Bellator Fighting Championships

After his release from the UFC, McCorkle won his next six fights with various promotions. He then signed to

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Global. ...

, and on March 9, 2012 at

Bellator 60 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

he made his debut in a catchweight fight against Richard White, winning via first round submission.

Rivalry with "The World's Strongest Man"

Immediately after his win at Bellator 60, McCorkle lost three straight fights for the first time in his career. He then signed with Polish promotion KSW to face the five time

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international Strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decembe ...

, Mariusz Pudzianowski. With McCorkle seeming to be at a low point in his career, many fight observers did not expect much from him in the bout. The two met at KSW 23 on June 8, 2013. When the fight began, Pudzianowski came out swinging and took it straight to McCorkle. The two struggled fiercely, with Pudzianowski controlling the tempo of the match until he stepped into a hard jab from McCorkle which subsequently dropped Pudzianowski. McCorkle was able to quickly capitalize and locked in a kimura, submitting Pudzianowski. The unexpected outcome of the fight made news immediately, and the notoriety of the bout led both men to agree to a rematch. McCorkle and Pudzianowski met again at KSW 24 on September 28, 2013. According to sports writer Chuck Mindenhall, "The two met like titanic slabs in the middle of the ring." Pudzianowski was able to take the fight to the ground, where he remained on top as the two grappled for the remainder of the first round. The scene repeated itself in the second round, but midway through McCorkle went for a kimura and was able to reverse Pudzianowski and end up on top. The fight was only scheduled for two rounds, and Pudzianowski took the decision victory. After the fight, McCorkle asked KSW for a third match with Pudzianowski, which was never granted.

Professional Wrestling

Sean McCorkle also made appearances for Freedom Pro Wrestling, a promotion based in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. On April 20, 2012, McCorkle won his debut match against C.J. O'Doyle, the promotion's current heavyweight champion. McCorkle was called "a smack-talking jobber."

Retirement

On September 29, 2014, Sean McCorkle officially announced his retirement at the age of 38 during a light-hearted interview on The MMA Hour with

. He also admitted he had been suffering from "miserable" back injuries for some time. McCorkle said he is currently focused on managing other fighters.

Personal life

McCorkle has two grown children. At the peak of his fame, he often joked about his tense relationship with his ex-wife. He became engaged again in January 2022. In the late 1990’s, McCorkle attended college for a year and a half on basketball scholarships, but dropped out to start his own business.

Mixed martial arts record

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Soa Palelei Soa Palelei (born 12 July 1977) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 2002 until 2015, he most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and PRIDE Fighting Championships. Background Born in 1977, Newc ...

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Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mccorkle, Sean 1976 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Super heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Indiana American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Indianapolis Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Legends of Fighting

King of the Cage

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bellator Fighting Championships

Rivalry with "The World's Strongest Man"

Professional Wrestling

Retirement

Personal life

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links