Dan Quinn (born June 23, 1967) is a retired American professional

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 ...

, boxer, and former collegiate football player. Quinn is notable for his advocacy of stevia as a performance-enhancing substance and fat burner.

Education

Quinn graduated from

San Dieguito High School San Dieguito High School Academy, originally known as San Dieguito Union High School and San Dieguito High School, is a public high school in the San Dieguito Union High School District of Encinitas, California in San Diego County. The sch ...

in 1985. Quinn attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

from 1986 to 1987 as a recruit and would be a student at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

numerous times in the transpiring years.

Football

Quinn played football at Notre Dame at the inside linebacker position and occasionally special teams as a tackling specialist. While attending the school, he was involved in a bitter feud with Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz and starter

Frank Stams Francis Michael Stams (born July 17, 1965) is a former American football defensive lineman who played at the University of Notre Dame. He played on the 1988 National Championship team. He would later play in the NFL, where he was converted to li ...

. Quinn alleged that Holtz assaulted players and engaged in illegal

point shaving In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to change the final score of a game without changing who wins. This is typically done by players colluding with gamblers to prevent a team from covering a p ...

by not allowing him more time on the field to make "spectacular fucking plays". Notre Dame students held an annual benefit boxing event known as Bengal Bouts on March 7, 1986, with he proceeds going towards the Holy Cross Missions of Bangladesh. Quinn took part in a super heavyweight match against fellow football player Parnell Taylor. Quinn emerged victorious in a split-decision. The following year, the two met in a rematch with Taylor coming out on top in a unanimous decision. In April 1987, Holtz suspended Quinn and four of his teammates and barred them from participating in upcoming practice drills. Holtz did not give a reason for the suspension, but did say, "they're not bad kids, they just made a bad decision".

Arrests

On November 27, 1991 Quinn was charged on two counts of battery. He was later dismissed in court on both counts. On February 17, 1993 Dan Quinn was charged with one felony count of possession of a controlled substance and on one misdemeanor count of concealable weapon possession. On March 16, 1993 Quinn pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor count and was sentenced to a 1-year informal probation, and served 15 days in custody. On November 3, 1993 Quinn's felony charge was later dismissed after time served. On February 25, 1997 Dan Quinn was charged with marijuana possession (less than 2 grams), and possession of a controlled substance (

methamphetamines Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphe ...

), he later pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, and was sentenced to 3 years of supervised probation under the Sheriff's Work Program in

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

. He also spent 2 months in custody. On June 2, 1998 Quinn was charged with two misdemeanor counts of assault (an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability to commit a violent injury on another person). He later spent 10 days in custody for violating his parole and the charges were dismissed. On February 16, 1999 Dan Quinn was charged with two felony counts. One for concealable weapons charge and another for evading a police officer. A month later Quinn was sentenced to a 5-year formal probation in a Work Furlough program, which was downgraded to Sheriff's Work Program on June 4, 1999; and spent 5 months in state jail. On March 2, 2000 Quinn was charged with domestic violence/spousal abuse. The charge was later dismissed. On March 23, 2004 Dan Quinn was again charged with one felony count of domestic violence/spousal abuse and one count for willfully threatening to commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily injury of an immediate family member. He was later was sentenced to 3 years probation and served 79 days in a minimum security prison that held inmates under different work programs within Southern California. Quinn was arrested on August 9, 2012 on the charges of Possession of a firearm by a felon and of making

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a de ...

s. After numerous postponements, Dan was ultimately found "incompetent" to stand trial. On January 3, 2014 Dan was "committed to a state hospital". On March 12, 2014, he was returned to the Sacramento County Jail. Quinn "retained counsel" on June 12, 2014. His case will go to

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

on August 5, 2014. Quinn was released from jail on August 7, 2014.

Mixed martial arts career

After three years away from fighting sports, Quinn decided to try his hand at

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 ...

. In his second fight, he lost to future

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 ...

World Heavyweight champion

Frank Mir Francisco Santos Mir III (; born May 24, 1979), is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed for Bellator MMA in the Heavyweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for sixteen years. A fo ...

. Other notable bouts Quinn had were his fight against UFC star

Jason Lambert Jason L. Lambert (born September 23, 1977) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2001 until 2013, he competed for the UFC, WEC, Bellator, King of the Cage, and AFC. He is the former WEC light heavyweight champion. ...

, in which Lambert avoided engagement and won via decision, and a fight against K-1 striker Carter Williams, who controversially defeated Quinn by TKO via illegal low kick. Although he was locked deep in a keylock, Quinn refused to submit against Dan Molina, ultimately forcing the referee to end the fight in favor of Molina. Quinn then went on hiatus from MMA for four years. In his return fight, Quinn KO'd Muay Thai/X-Arm fighter Bond Lapua, who outweighed him by fifty pounds. Quinn next fought Harry Gopaul, questionably losing via KO when the second round went 15 seconds over the scheduled duration.Quinn, Dan. "Facts about the Gopaul fight."
/ref> Quinn next fought

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 ...

who won via TKO to strikes, after this fight Quinn and Brink became close friends, and even invited Dan to occasionally train at The Arena MMA gym, host to many current and former

fighters including Diego Sanchez and Brink himself. Quinn most recently suffered a loss at the hands of Rick Vardell.

Boxing

After leaving Notre Dame, Quinn turned to

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 ...

before transitioning to

. He was a multi time champion in the annual

Bengal Bouts The Bengal Bouts is an annual charity boxing tournament hosted by the Men's Boxing Club at the University of Notre Dame airing on ESPN, with proceeds benefiting the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the Peopl ...

and also traveled to Florida in 1998 to win a

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 ...

Heavyweight 8-man single night tournament.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 5–6–1 , Rick Vardell , TKO (strikes) , Gladiator Challenge: Impulse , , style="text-align:center;", 2 , style="text-align:center;", 1:43 ,

Placerville, California Placerville (, ; formerly Old Dry Diggings, Dry Diggings, and Hangtown) is a city in and the county seat of El Dorado County, California. The population was 10,747 as of the 2020 census, up from 10,389 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Sa ...

, United States , For Gladiator Challenge Super Heavyweight Championship. , - , Loss , align=center, 5–5–1 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , Gladiator Challenge: Fahrenheit , , style="text-align:center;", 2 , style="text-align:center;", 0:22 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( ; ; Spanish for " St. Hyacinth") is a city in Riverside County, California. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, to its north. The mountains associated with ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–4–1 , Harry Gopaul , TKO (punches) , Gladiator Challenge: Chain Reaction , , style="text-align:center;", 2 , align=center, 2:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–3–1 , Bond Lapua , TKO (punches) , Gladiator Challenge: First Strike , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:49 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–3–1 , Dan Molina , TKO (corner stoppage) , Gladiator Challenge 34: Legends Collide , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:39 ,

Colusa, California Colusa is a city and county seat of Colusa County, California, located in the Sacramento Valley region of the Central Valley. The population was 5,971 at the 2010 census, up from 5,402 at the 2000 census. Colusi originates from the local Coru N ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2–1 , Mike Macgregor , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Gladiator Challenge 27: Fightfest 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:08 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2–1 , Adrian Perez , Submission (guillotine choke) , Gladiator Challenge 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–2–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Gladiator Challenge 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1–1 , Rick Vardell , TKO (strikes) , Gladiator Challenge 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:57 ,

, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 1–1–1 , Kevin Tolai , Draw , Gladiator Challenge 7: Casualties of War , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 ,

, Submission (triangle choke) , IFC: Warriors Challenge 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. The population of the city was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 2000 census. Following the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Tosh Cook , Decision , IFC: Warriors Challenge 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States ,

References

External links

* * * Fitzpatrick, Thomas.
Alone at the Top
" Phoenix New Times. {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Dan 1967 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players University of Notre Dame alumni San Diego State University alumni American people convicted of theft American cannabis activists Sportspeople from Roseville, California American people convicted of assault American people convicted of drug offenses American male boxers