Zane Troy Frazier (born July 16, 1966) is an American former

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

ka, 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 competed in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division. After a successful career in karate during the 1980s in which he won numerous international accolades, Frazier then turned his hand to kickboxing and became a United States and North American champion. After taking part at the inaugural

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 ...

event in 1993, he would continue his career in MMA until retiring in 2008.

Early life

The son of Floyd and Bertha Frazier, he grew up in a

Crips The Crips is an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance ...

infested neighborhood in

Los Angeles 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' ...

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 ...

, and began training in martial arts in 1972 after seeing the film ''

Fist of Fury ''Fist of Fury'' is a 1972 Hong Kong action martial arts film written and directed by Lo Wei, produced by Raymond Chow, and starring Bruce Lee in his second major role after ''The Big Boss'' (1971). Lee, who was also the film's action choreogra ...

''. Frazier graduated from Fairfax High School in 1980, and was recruited to play college basketball at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

under head coach

Don Monson Donald Lloyd Monson (born April 11, 1933) is a former college basketball head coach and the father of head coach Dan Monson. He was a high school head coach for 18 seasons and college head coach for 14 seasons: five at Idaho and nine at Oregon. ...

. He saw action as a true freshman in

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in and finished his bachelor's degree in 1986. In addition to his martial arts career, he later tried out for the

New Jersey Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

. Although his birth year is often given as 1966, this is

age fabrication Age fabrication occurs when people deliberately misrepresent their true age. This is usually done with the intention to garner privileges or status that would not otherwise be available to that person (i.e., a minor misrepresenting their age in o ...

; he is four to five years older

Career

Frazier attained the rank of fourth degree black belt in American Kenpo

and was the winner of the California, United States and North American karate championships in 1984 before becoming the international karate champion in 1987 and again in 1990. After making the transition to

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

, he won the World Kickboxing Federation (WKF) United States super heavyweight title in 1993. On November 12, 1993, Frazier competed at ''

UFC 1 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship'' (later renamed ''UFC 1: The Beginning'') was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on November ...

'', a no-holds-barred fighting tournament and the very first

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 ...

event held by the

. He reportedly earned his place in the tournament by beating up

Frank Dux Frank William Dux (; born April 6, 1956) is a Canadian-American martial artist and fight choreographer. According to Dux, a ninjutsu expert named Senzo Tanaka trained him as a ninja when he was a teenager. He established his own school of ninju ...

in a street fight which was witnessed by UFC founders

Rorion Gracie Rorion Gracie (; born January 10, 1952) is a Brazilian-born Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Grand Master, a prominent member of the Gracie family, writer, publisher, producer, lecturer, lawyer and the co-founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the ...

and

Art Davie Art Davie (born April 5, 1947) is a business executive and entrepreneur formerly active in Southern California advertising circles. In 1993, he created and co-produced the tournament which became the televised Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 19 ...

. Gracie and Davie had come to Los Angeles to scout the U.S. karate championships for potential fighters but saw Frazier and Dux's brawl beforehand. Frazier claims that he had been teaching classes for Dux and that Dux hadn't paid him; Dux disputes that account and says that Frazier

sucker punch A sucker punch (American English), also known as a dog shot, coward punch, king hit or one-punch attack ( Australian and New Zealand English) or cold-cock (American English), is a punch made without warning or while the recipient is distracted ...

ed him while wearing

brass knuckles Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckle ...

. In the ''UFC 1'' tournament quarterfinals, he faced fellow kickboxer

Kevin Rosier Kevin Rosier (January 6, 1962 – April 14, 2015) was an American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He had much success as a kickboxer, winning a number of titles, but did not transition particularly well into the world of boxing and ...

in what turned out to be a sloppy brawl. The match ended with Rosier clubbing Frazier to the floor with a series of blows to the back of the head, then

stomping A stomp (also referred to as a stamp) is a downwards strike with the heel of the foot from the stand-up position, and is usually directed at the head or body of a downed opponent. A stomp similar to an axe kick is referred to as an axe stomp, w ...

on him before Frazier's corner threw in the towel. Frazier suffered respiratory failure and was rushed to hospital after the fight. He returned to kickboxing the following year to win the WKF North American Super Heavyweight Championship but took his second MMA bout in September 1995 when he fought at '' Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception'' in

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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, knocking out

Kendo Nagasaki Kendo Nagasaki is a professional wrestling stage name, used as a gimmick of that of a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and even supernatural powers of hypnosis. The name derives from the modern martial art of Japanese fencing (Kendo) ...

thirty-six seconds into the fight. Having amassed a 17–0 kickboxing record in the United States, Frazier made his K-1 debut at '' K-1 Hercules'' in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, Japan on December 9, 1995 against Takeru and suffered his first defeat at the hands of the Seido karate stylist as he succumbed to a barrage of knees and

punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

es in round two. Frazier then made his way back to the UFC in May 1996 at ''

UFC 9 ''UFC 9: Motor City Madness'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 17, 1996, at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on ...

'' and was defeated via

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 ...

by Cal Worsham three minutes into the fight. In his second and last outing in K-1, he went up against

Nobuaki Kakuda is a retired karateka and kickboxer. Early life After attending university, Kakuda opened a karate dojo in Kobe but was forced to shut it down after two years. He subsequently worked as a dishwasher, ramen chef, and construction worker. At age ...

at '' K-1 Revenge '96'' in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, Japan on September 1, 1996. Despite having a massive size advantage, Frazier was knocked down with a

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 ...

in round four and lost by

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 fighter ...

. Following this, Frazier continued his career in MMA and in his next fight against Sidney "Mestre Hulk" Gonçalves Freitas in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, he was knocked out after falling from the ring and hitting his head on the floor. After this, he continued to fight throughout the 1990s and 2000s and recorded mostly losses. His final fight came in January 2008 and he was knocked out by Richard Blake.

Championships and awards

Karate

*California Karate Championships **California Karate Championship (1991) **California Karate Championship (1992) *International Karate Championships **International Karate Championship (1987) **International Karate Championship (1990) *North American Karate Championships **North American Heavyweight Karate Championship (1984) *North Western Karate Championships **North Western Karate Championship (1984) *USA Karate Championships **USA Heavyweight Karate Championship (1984)

Kickboxing

*World Kickboxing Federation **WKF United States Super Heavyweight Championship **WKF North American Super Heavyweight Championship

Mixed martial arts

*Worldwide Fighting Championship **WFC Heavyweight Championship

Kickboxing record

, - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 1996-09-01 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , K-1 Revenge '96 , ,

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 5 , , 3:00 , , 17–2 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 1995-12-09 , , Loss , , align=left, Takeru , , K-1 Hercules , ,

Nagoya, Japan is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, , KO (right hook) , , 2 , , 0:45 , , 17–1 , - , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 4–11 , Richard Blake , KO (punches) , NoLimit Fighting: Heavy Hands , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:56 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 4–10 , Melville Calabaca , TKO (punches) , WFC: Fight Club , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:43 , Loveland, Colorado,

, , - , Win , align=center, 3–10 , Ron Rumpf , KO (punches) , WFC: Clash of the Titans , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Denver, Colorado 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 ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 2–10 ,

Aaron Brink Aaron Franklin Brink (born November 12, 1974), also known by his stage name Dick Delaware, is an American professional mixed martial artist and pornographic film actor who competes in the Light Heavyweight division. He has competed for King of ...

, TKO (punches) ,

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 ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 , Lemoore, California,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 2–9 , Mark Smith , TKO (punches) , Ultimate Pankration 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:33 ,

Cabazon, California Cabazon (Spanish: ''Cabazón'') is a unincorporated community in Riverside County, California, United States. Cabazon is on the Pacific Crest Trail. In the 21st century, the area has become a tourist stop, due to the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 2–8 ,

Giant Ochiai Takayuki Okada (May 8, 1973 – August 8, 2003), more widely known as Giant Ochiai, was a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Okada's MMA record was 3-3-2 (win–loss–draw). Career As a student, Okada won the All Japan I ...

, Decision (unanimous) , KOTC 10: Critical Mass , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:00 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 1–8 ,

Bobby Hoffman Bobby "The Truth" Hoffman (born October 28, 1966) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the heavyweight division. He is the former King of the Cage super heavyweight champion as well as the former King of the Cage heavywei ...

, Submission (armbar) , RINGS USA: Battle of Champions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:34 ,

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 1–7 , Jason Godsey , Submission (rear naked choke) , Extreme Challenge 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 ,

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 ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 1–6 ,

Dick Vrij Dick Vrij is a retired Dutch professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1995 until 2003, he competed in the Heavyweight division for RINGS and It's Showtime. Professional wrestling career A former bodybuilde ...

, KO (punch) , RINGS Holland: Judgement Day , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 ,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 1–5 , Vasily Kudin , TKO (submission to punches) , 1st Absolute Fighting World Cup Pankration , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:31 ,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 1–4 , Wes Gassaway , TKO (submission to punches) , IFC 4: Akwesasane , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

Hogansburg, New York Hogansburg ( moh, Tekahswen’karó:ros) is a hamlet, in the Town of Bombay, in Franklin County, New York, United States. It lies on NY 37 near the Canadian-US border at the confluence of the St. Regis River with the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Hoga ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 1–3 , Mestre Hulk , KO (fall from ring) , World Vale Tudo Championship 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Cal Worsham , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:14 ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 ,

, KO (punch) , Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, TKO (corner stoppage) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:20 ,

References

External links

*
K-1Sport profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frazier, Zane Living people 1966 births American male kickboxers Kickboxers from California Heavyweight kickboxers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Heavyweight mixed martial artists African-American mixed martial artists American male karateka Mixed martial artists utilizing American Kenpo Idaho Vandals men's basketball players Sportspeople from Los Angeles People from Hollywood, Los Angeles American men's basketball players Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople