Gabe Ruediger

Gabriel G. "Gabe" Ruediger (born August 29, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, currently competing in the lightweight division.

Mixed martial arts career

Gabe Ruediger is a mixed martial arts fighter from Rancho Cucamonga. He started training in karate when he was seven years old and eventually moved on to kung fu. He was a student at Nevada Union High School. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.^[1] He appeared in a video as Paris Hilton's personal trainer.

Ruediger is a former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) lightweight champion. In the WEC, he maintained a 9 fight winning streak before being defeated by Hermes Franca. Ruediger made his UFC debut at UFC 63, losing to The Ultimate Fighter 2 contestant Melvin Guillard via body punch in the second round.

The Ultimate Fighter

Ruediger was one of three fighters on The Ultimate Fighter 5 who had previously fought inside the UFC's Octagon (the others being Joe Lauzon and Matt Wiman). Only Lauzon, of the three, had a victory in the UFC. In episode 5, Team Pulver selected Corey Hill to fight Ruediger. The episode showed Ruediger eating ice cream cake after learning of his upcoming fight, shortly before the weigh ins. He was then shown struggling to make the weight requirement by having to be dragged to and from the sauna room, laying naked by the team house pool facedown on the concrete, displaying signs of extreme exhaustion to the point an ambulance had to carry him off to the hospital. this marks the first time in Ruedigers career that he missed weight. He took direct criticism from his own coaches and teammates for "taking short cuts" and displaying a lack of dedication, due to his request for a colonic to lose weight (a procedure where they input plastic tubes up your rectum to flush fecal matter out of your system). The next day, Dana White dismissed Ruediger from the competition and he was ordered to leave the house.

Ruediger later stated that he saw The Ultimate Fighter show as a "marketing tool"^[2] and that audience members should "take what you see on TV with a grain of salt.

Post UFC

In a March 2007 interview Ruediger says that he would be fighting "very soon" in a "large organization".^[3] In an article by Loretta Hunt at The Fight Network, it was revealed that FEG officials had a verbal commitment from Ruediger to fight Katsuhiko Nagata for their June 2 K-1 Dynamite!! USA supercard in Los Angeles.^[4] Many unsubstantiated rumours appeared on the Internet regarding his failure to obtain a license to fight in California, asserting that his failure to make weight on The Ultimate Fighter was the reason. These were refuted in an interview with Armando Garcia, the executive director of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC). According to Garcia, because Ruediger was a late replacement on the K-1 Dynamite card doctors with the CSAC did not have sufficient time to review his medical information, and could not issue him a license in time for the K-1 fight. He was then cleared for a license, fighting 5 times in the state of California since his reinstatement .^[5]

Return to the UFC

After Terry Etim injured himself in preparation for his bout against Joe Lauzon at UFC 118, Ruediger signed a four fight deal with the UFC, and stepped in as Etim's replacement.^[6] The fight was selected to be shown on the Spike TV broadcast. Ruediger lost the fight early in the first round via armbar submission.

Ruediger was expected to face Paul Kelly on November 20, 2010 at UFC 123.^[7] However, Ruediger was forced out of the bout with a groin injury.^[8]

Ruediger faced Paul Taylor on February 5, 2011 at UFC 126.^[9] Ruediger was defeated via second round KO and subsequently released from the promotion.^[10]

Mixed martial arts record

References

External links

• Gabe's personal site
• The Ultimate Fighter 5 Bio
• Post-TUF 5 Interview
• Professional MMA record for Gabe Ruediger from Sherdog
• NOKAUT Profile