Ian Freeman

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Ian Freeman
Statistics
Nickname	The Machine
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	205lbs (93 kg)
Born	November 10, 1966
Fighting out of	Stanley, County Durham, United Kingdom
Town of birth	Sunderland, United Kingdom
Fighting style	Vale Tudo
Mixed martial arts record
Wins	18
By knockout	7
By submission	8
Losses	7
Draws	1

Ian "The Machine" Freeman (November 10, 1966-) is a British mixed martial arts fighter. He currently fights as a light heavyweight for Cage Rage. He is their reigning British Light Heavyweight champion. He is also the coach of the forthcoming British-based team in the International Fight League.

1 Biography
2 Mixed martial arts record
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Martial arts background

Ian Freeman came into martial arts from boxing, in which he'd trained for around 10 years. Whilst working as a doorman, he ended up fighting with a man who was high on drugs and a friend mentioned that rather than punch him, he should have choked the man unconscious.^[1] Curious as to what he could learn, he started training in Goshin Jujitsu for around six to eight months before competing in amateur vale tudo competition. In his early days, he trained with periodically with names such as Marco Ruas and Renzo Gracie.^[2]

[edit] Mixed martial arts career

After competing in amateur vale tudo, Ian Freeman turned pro in 1999, considered an early ambassador for the sport and given the nickname, "the Iron Ambassador". In early 2000, UFC approached Ian to fight at UFC 24, where he lost to Scott Adams. He fought two further times in UFC, winning both bouts. Pursuing other avenues, Ian's career seemed to hit the skids with four losses in a row, managing to bounce back with a submission win in a rematch with Stanislav Nuschik.

Ian's greatest triumph was arguably his win on home soil over Frank Mir at UFC 38. The heavy underdog, Ian Freeman lived up to his nickname as he systematically ground Mir down and broke his spirit, winning a first round stoppage in front of a British crowd. The match was bittersweet for Ian, having dedicated the match to his father who, unbeknownst to him, died the previous day of cancer. Victory saw Freeman with the chance to make his mark on the UFC heavyweight division but his next bout saw him stopped by Andrei Arlovski. A draw with Vernon White signalled the end of Freeman's second stint in UFC and saw him return to the fledgling UK MMA scene for which his win over Frank Mir had done so much.

Unfortunately, after one successful fight for the Cage Warriors promotion, Ian took a break from MMA, citing chronic fatigue syndrome and an intense training schedule which had caught up with him. He returned 11 months later to fight Ryan Robinson for the vacant Cage Rage Heavyweight title. Defeating Robinson inside one round with his now-customary ground and pound, Freeman vacated the title and announced he was dropping to Light Heavyweight.^[3] In early 2005, Ian again appeared to ebb away from MMA, appearing as a referee in ITV's ill-fated Celebrity Wrestling gameshow, that was quickly relegated to Sunday mornings and subsequently cancelled.^[4].

[edit] Retirement

Ian Freeman originally signed on to fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 55 - Fury but was involved in a riding accident, which saw him fall from his horse. As he had not competed in nearly 9 months, this confirmed his retirement from competitive MMA^[5]. He later cited the return of chronic fatigue as a factor in his layoff and subsequent retirement. After a year-long layoff, he got back into training and regained his love of MMA. He approached Cage Rage and soon enough, he was offered his big comeback match to fight the Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight champion Melvin Manhoef at Cage Rage 17. Originally slated as a "superbout" at a catchweight of 96kg (211lbs), Manhoef asked for the fight to take place at the light heavyweight limit of 93kg (205lbs), which placed his World Light Heavyweight title on the line. After a career of being a small heavyweight, this was to be Freeman's first match at light heavyweight.

[edit] Return to mixed martial arts

Unfortunately, The Machine's return to MMA ended in a quick, first-round KO loss, being knocked out by Melvin Manhoef in just 17 seconds. However, still being one of the best known mixed martial artists in Britain, he was granted a shot at British Light Heavyweight champion, Mark Epstein at Cage Rage 18 on September 30, 2006. Freeman overpowered Epstein with his ground-and-pound tactics, winning a unanimous decision and his second Cage Rage title.

On November 1, 2006, it was announced that Ian will coach a British-based team that will participate in the International Fight League from 2008.^[6]

[edit] Miscellaneous

Ian is the editor of the UK MMA magazine "Fighters Only".^[7]
Ian was the referee on ITV's ill-fated Celebrity Wrestling gameshow.
Ian's autobiography, "Cage Fighter: The True Story of Ian 'The Machine' Freeman", was published in 2004 by Blake Publishing.

[edit] Mixed martial arts record

18 wins (7 TKO's, 8 submissions, 3 decisions), 7 losses, 1 draw .
Date	Outcome	Opponent	Method	Event	Round, time	Notes
9/30/2006	Win	Mark Epstein	Decision (Unanimous)	Cage Rage 18	3, 5:00	Won the Cage Rage British Light Heavyweight Title
7/1/2006	Loss	Melvin Manhoef	KO	Cage Rage 17 - Ultimate Challenge	1, 0:17	For the Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight Title
12/12/2004	Win	Will Elworthy	TKO	House of Pain - Fight Night	1
9/27/2004	Win	Ryan Robinson	TKO	Cage Rage 9 - No Mercy	1, 3:21	Wins Cage Rage Heavyweight Title but vacates title shortly afterwards, signalling his intention to drop to light heavyweight.
11/2/2003	Win	Keith Dace	TKO	CWFC - Cage Warriors 5	1, 0:47
6/6/2003	Draw	Vernon White	Split Draw	UFC 43 - Meltdown	3, 5:00	Scorecards: 30-27, 28-29, 29-29
2/22/2003	Win	Gerhard Ettl	Submission (Armbar)	Free Fight Association Austria - Fight Night Championships 4	2, 1:40
11/22/2002	Loss	Andrei Arlovski	TKO (Strikes)	UFC 40 - Vendetta	1, 1:25
7/13/2002	Win	Frank Mir	TKO	UFC 38 - Brawl at the Hall	1, 4:35
11/17/2001	Win	Carlos Barreto	Decision (Unanimous)	Hook N Shoot - Kings 1	3, 5:00
7/14/2001	Win	Stanislav Nuschik	Submission (Front Choke)	Free Fight Association Austria - Fight Night Championship 3	1, 1:57
4/27/2001	Loss	Stanislav Nuschik	KO	MFC - Russia vs the World 1	1, 0:20
3/18/2001	Loss	Valentijn Overeem	Submission (Knees)	2 Hot 2 Handle: Simply The Best	1, 1:42
4/4/2001	Loss	Osami Shibuya	Submission (Rib Injury)	Pancrase - Proof 1	1, 3:51
12/12/2000	Loss	Bob Schrijber	TKO	It's Showtime - Christmas Edition
9/22/2000	Win	Tedd Williams	Decision	UFC 27 - Ultimate Bad Boyz	3, 5:00
7/23/2000	Win	Bob Stines	KO (Punch)	Pancrase - 2000 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 1	1, 2:38
6/9/2000	Win	Nate Schroeder	Submission (Strikes)	UFC 26 - Ultimate Field of Dreams	2
3/10/2000	Loss	Scott Adams	Submission (Heel Hook)	UFC 24 - First Defense	1, 3:09
12/5/1999	Win	Travis Fulton	TKO (didn't answer the bell)	Millennium Brawl 1 - The Beginning	3, 0:00
10/3/1999	Win	Dave Shortby	TKO	Total Fight KRG 5	1, 2:02
8/28/1999	Win	Mark Lamborn	Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	British Vale Tudo	1, 0:55
8/28/1999	Win	Keith Dace	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	British Vale Tudo	1, 0:46
6/27/1999	Win	Kemal Lock	Submission (Ankle Lock)	British Grand Prix '99	1, 3:55
6/27/1999	Win	Scotty Smith	TKO	British Grand Prix '99	1, 0:09
6/27/1999	Win	Tony Bailey	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	British Grand Prix '99	1, 1:32