Ben Saunders (fighter)

Ben Saunders
Born April 13, 1983 (1983-04-13) (age 28)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Other names Killa B
Nationality American
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Division 170
Reach 77.5 in (197 cm)
Style Jeet Kune Do, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,
Fighting out of Coconut Creek, Florida
Team American Top Team
Rank brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active 2004–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 18
Wins 12
By knockout 6
By submission 5
By decision 1
Losses 4
By knockout 2
By decision 2
Draws 2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: January 20, 2010

Benjamin Saunders (born April 13, 1983), is an American professional mixed martial artist. His background is in Jeet Kune Do Concepts and he was a featured fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, fighting on Team Serra.[1]

Contents

Mixed martial arts

Saunders began training in martial arts at a young age starting with some Jeet Kune Do Concepts. He began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with the gi in 2003 and on January 16, 2010, he received his brown belt.

The Ultimate Fighter

Saunders defeated Dan Barrera in the first round of the competition by majority decision. Saunders reportedly contracted influenza after the Barrera bout. Despite the illness, Saunders competed in the quarter-finals against Tommy Speer, losing by unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Saunders defeated Dan Barrera at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs Team Serra Finale by unanimous decision.

In his second career UFC fight, Saunders defeated UFC newcomer Ryan Thomas by armbar in the second round.

In his third career UFC fight he fought Brandon Wolff, defeating him in the first round with knees from the Thai clinch, by landing 42 knees to his opponent. This left Wolff's face a bloody and swollen mess. After the bout many comparisons were made between him and Anderson Silva, who is also known for his Thai clinch prowess.

Saunders' next fight was supposed to be at UFC 96 against welterweight standout Dustin Hazelett, but due to injury Hazelett pulled out of the match. Saunders was then set to face UFC newcomer Ryan Madigan. However, Saunders later pulled out of the match due to an injured foot.

On February 28, 2009, it was confirmed that Saunders would be facing Mike Swick at UFC 99.[2] Saunders was defeated by Swick by TKO in the second round. As Swick struck, Saunders ducked into Swick's striking range every time which essentially cost him the fight.

Saunders defeated Marcus Davis on November 21, 2009, via KO due to a knee at 3:24 into the first round at UFC 106 making him the first man to knock out Marcus Davis.[3]

Saunders was expected to face off against top ten welterweight Martin Kampmann at UFC 111 in March. However, an injury forced Kampmann off the card and Saunders was set to face Jake Ellenberger.[4] On March 25, 2010, news broke that Thiago Alves's pre-fight CT scan found an irregularity in his brain, and he was not cleared to fight. Saunders asked to fight Alves's opponent and former #1 contender Jon Fitch, forcing Saunder's opponent Ellenberger out of the match.[5] Saunders lost to Fitch by unanimous decision.

Saunders next faced Dennis Hallman on August 7, 2010 at UFC 117.[6] Ben lost the fight by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28). Following the loss, Saunders was cut from the UFC.[7][8]

Bellator Fighting Championships

On February 3, it was announced by Bellator that they had signed Saunders to compete in their Welterweight division. Although he will not be a part of the Season 4 Tournament, Saunders fights are expected to air live on the main card.[9] At Bellator 39 Saunders beat Matt Lee by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in the third round after brutalising Lee in the clinch with knees and elbows for most of the fight.

Saunders was expected to fight at Bellator 47 but had to pull out of the event due to an undisclosed injury he suffered in training.[10]

Saunders was expected to face Rick Hawn at Bellator 49.[11] But Hawn later pulled out of the bout due to a knee injury.[12] Saunders instead fought replacement Chris Cisneros. Saunders won by TKO in the third round.[13]

In the semifinals, Saunders faced Luis Santos at Bellator 53. Saunders controlled Santos standing up and on the ground. Even after getting taken down, Saunders stayed on the offensive and went for multiple submission attempts, eventually finishing the fight via submission in the third round.

Mixed martial arts record

Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 12-4-2 Douglas Lima KO (punches) Bellator 57 02011-11-12 November 12, 2011 2 1:21 Rama, Ontario Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Final
Win 12-3-2 Luis Santos Submission (americana) Bellator 53 02011-10-08 October 8, 2011 3 1:45 Miami, Oklahoma, United States Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Semifinal
Win 11-3-2 Chris Cisneros TKO (knee to the body and punches) Bellator 49 02011-09-10 September 10, 2011 3 0:29 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal
Win 10-3-2 Matt Lee TKO (doctor stoppage) Bellator 39 02011-04-02 April 2, 2011 3 1:24 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Catchweight 175 lb.
Win 9-3-2 Elijah Harshbarger Submission (punches and elbows) WEF: Saunders vs. Harshbarger 02010-11-06 November 6, 2010 1 4:21 Kissimmee, Florida, United States
Loss 8-3-2 Dennis Hallman Decision (unanimous) UFC 117 02010-08-07 August 7, 2010 3 5:00 Oakland, California, United States
Loss 8-2-2 Jon Fitch Decision (unanimous) UFC 111 02010-03-27 March 27, 2010 3 5:00 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Win 8-1-2 Marcus Davis KO (knees) UFC 106 02009-11-21 November 21, 2009 1 3:24 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 7-1-2 Mike Swick TKO (punches) UFC 99 02009-06-13 June 13, 2009 2 3:47 Cologne, Germany
Win 7-0-2 Brandon Wolff TKO (knees) UFC: Fight for the Troops 02008-12-10 December 10, 2008 1 1:49 Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States
Win 6-0-2 Ryan Thomas Submission (armbar) UFC 87 02008-08-10 August 10, 2008 2 2:28 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Win 5-0-2 Dan Barrera Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs Team Serra Finale 02007-12-08 December 8, 2007 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 4-0-2 Charles Blanchard Submission (armbar) Combat Fighting Championships 3 02007-02-17 February 17, 2007 1 0:46 Orlando, Florida, United States
Win 3-0-2 Kenny Stevens TKO (punches) Combat Fighting Championship 1 02006-07-15 July 15, 2006 3 3:05 Orlando, Florida, United States
Win 2-0-2 Rick Delvecchio KO (head kick) Absolute Fighting Championships 15 02006-02-18 February 18, 2006 1 4:31 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Win 1-0-2 Reggie Pena Submission (triangle choke) Absolute Fighting Championships 14 02005-12-12 December 12, 2005 1 1:12 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
vDraw 0-0-2 Diego Lionel Vitosky Draw Absolute Fighting Championships 12 02005-04-30 April 30, 2005 2 5:00 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
vDraw 0-0-1 Crafton Wallace Draw Absolute Fighting Championships 8 02004-05-01 May 1, 2004 2 5:00 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

References

  1. ^ Meltzer, Dave (2007-08-27). "Participants in Ultimate Fighter season six are announced". Los Angeles Times.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20071024150433/http://latimes.com/sports/boxing/la-mmacol27aug27,1,7872443.story?page=1&ctrack=3&cset=true. Retrieved 2007-08-27. 
  2. ^ "Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders signed for UFC 99". Five Ounces of Pain. http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/02/28/mike-swick-vs-ben-saunders-signed-for-ufc-99. 
  3. ^ "UFC 106 Results: Ben Saunders Knees Out Marcus Davis". 2009-11-21. http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/11/21/1168459/ufc-106-results-ben-saunders-knees. Retrieved 2009-11-22. 
  4. ^ "Kampmann out, Ellenberger faces Saunders at UFC 111 in March". MMAjunkie. http://mmajunkie.com/news/17884/kampmann-out-ellenberger-faces-saunders-at-ufc-111-in-march.mma. 
  5. ^ "Jon Fitch replaces Jake Ellenberger, meets Ben Saunders on UFC 111 main card". MMAjunkie. http://mmajunkie.com/news/18446/jon-fitch-replaces-jake-ellenberger-meets-ben-saunders-on-ufc-111-main-card.mma. 
  6. ^ "Dennis Hallman faces Ben Saunders at UFC 117". mmajunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/19005/dennis-hallman-faces-ben-saunders-at-ufc-117.mma. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
  7. ^ "UFC 117: Ben Saunders Cut from the UFC Following Loss to Dennis Hallman". http://bleacherreport.com/articles/435475-ufc-117-ben-saunders-cut-from-the-ufc-following-loss-to-dennis-hallman. Retrieved 10 November 2010. 
  8. ^ "Ben Saunders Cut By The UFC". http://www.cagetoday.com/ben-saunders-cut-by-the-ufc/. Retrieved 10 November 2010. 
  9. ^ "Bellator signs UFC vet Ben Saunders for non-tourney fights". MMAjunkie. http://mmajunkie.com/news/22332/bellator-signs-ufc-vet-ben-saunders-for-non-tourney-fights.mma. 
  10. ^ "Saunders Sidelined, Scratched from Bellator’s Canadian Debut". http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Saunders-Sidelined-Scratched-from-Bellators-Canadian-Debut-33730. Retrieved 6 July 2011. 
  11. ^ "Ben Saunders vs. Rick Hawn Highlights Bellator's Welterweight Tournament Field". http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/07/08/ben-saunders-vs-rick-hawn-highlights-bellators-welterweight-to/. Retrieved 16 July 2011. 
  12. ^ "Hawn Injures Knee, Withdraws from Bellator Tournament". http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Hawn-Injures-Knee-Withdraws-from-Bellator-Tournament-34833. Retrieved 17 August 2011. 
  13. ^ "Cisneros Replaces Injured Hawn in Bellator Welterweight Draw". http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Cisneros-Replaces-Injured-Hawn-in-Bellator-Welterweight-Draw-34914. Retrieved 20 August 2011. 

External links

Coaches: Matt Hughes · Matt Serra
Assistant Coaches: Marc Fiore · Robbie Lawler · Ray Longo · Matt Pena · Pete Sell