| Ian Freeman | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 10, 1966 Sunderland, England |
| Other names | The Machine |
| Nationality | English |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) |
| Division | Light Heavyweight Heavyweight |
| Style | Vale Tudo |
| Fighting out of | Stanley, County Durham, England |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 27 |
| Wins | 19 |
| By knockout | 8 |
| By submission | 7 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 3 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Ian William Freeman, a.k.a. "The Machine," (born November 10, 1966) is a retired English mixed martial artist. He used to fight as a light heavyweight for Cage Rage. He was their final British Light Heavyweight champion. He was the first English person to fight in the UFC and holds a UFC record of 3-2-1. He was also the first person to beat former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Notably, he holds wins over veterans Travis Fulton and Paul Cahoon.
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Ian Freeman came into martial arts from boxing, in which he'd trained for around 10 years. While working as a doorman, he ended up fighting with a man who was intoxicated 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 an amateur Vale tudo competition. In his early days, he trained periodically with various instructors, including Marco Ruas and Renzo Gracie.
Freeman entered the professional circuit in 1999, considered an early ambassador for mixed martial arts 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 more times in the UFC, winning both times. Later, Freeman's career hit a low point with four losses in a row, but he returned 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 the English crowd. The match was bittersweet for Ian, having dedicated the match to his father who, unbeknownst to him, died of cancer the day before. Victory gave Freeman with the chance to make his mark on the UFC heavyweight division but his next round saw him stopped by Andrei Arlovski. A draw with Vernon White signaled the end of Freeman's second stint in UFC and led to his return to the fledgling UK MMA scene.
After one successful fight for the Cage Warriors promotion, Ian took a break from MMA, citing chronic fatigue syndrome and an overly intense training schedule. He returned 11 months later to fight Ryan Robinson for the vacant Cage Rage Heavyweight title. Defeating Robinson within one round with his now-customary ground and pound, Freeman vacated the title and announced he was dropping to Light Heavyweight.[2] 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.[3]
Ian Freeman originally signed on to fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 55 - Fury but suffered a horse-riding accident and was unable to compete. As he had not competed in nearly 9 months, this confirmed his retirement from competitive MMA.[4] He later cited the return of chronic fatigue as a factor in his layoff and subsequent retirement. After a year-long layoff, he returned to training. He approached Cage Rage and was soon offered a match against the Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight champion Melvin Manhoef at Cage Rage 17. Originally slated as a "superbout" at a catchweight of 96 kg (211 lbs), Manhoef asked for the fight to take place at the light heavyweight limit of 93 kg (205 lbs), which placed his World Light Heavyweight title on the line. After a career of being a small heavyweight, this would be Freeman's first match at light heavyweight.
Freeman's return to MMA ended in a quick, first-round K.O. loss, being knocked out by Melvin Manhoef in just 17 seconds. However, as 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 tactic, winning his second Cage Rage title.
Ian trained at the TSG MMA (Team Sure Grip Mixed Martial Arts) School under Head Instructor Daniel Burzotta to fight Paul Cahoon for the British Cage Rage Light Heavyweight title on May 10, 2008. He won unanimously after three rounds.
Freeman has not fought since Cage Rage ceased operations in late 2008.
Ian is a spokesperson for the MMA magazine "Fighters Only" as well as a part time plumber.
His autobiography, "Cage Fighter: The True Story of Ian 'The Machine' Freeman", was published in 2004 by Blake Publishing.
On November 1, 2006, it was announced that Ian was due to coach a British-based team that would have participated in the International Fight League from 2008, had promotion not shut down due to financial difficulties.[5]
He owns Northern Inuit dogs.
In 2005, Ian was the referee on ITV's ill-fated Celebrity Wrestling gameshow. Freeman also starred in the 2008 British action-comedy film Sucker Punch.[6]
Ian was the ring announcer for M-1 Global: Breakthrough,[7] which took place August 28, 2009 at Memorial Hall, in Kansas City, Kansas.[8]
Ian has recently agreed to be ring announcer for Clan Wars[9] - Ireland's first Pro ISKA governed MMA competition.
In 2010, Ian worked as spokesman for the now defunct Kudegra Fighting Championship, shortly after he parted company with the promotion.[10]
On 26th Feb 2011, Ian was MC for On Top 1, a Mixed martial arts event held in the Kerrydale Suite (Celtic Park, Glasgow).
On 19th July 2011, Ian formed an affiliation with Battlefield gym/Gracie barra Scotland to form Team Machine MMA Scotland.
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 27 matches | 19 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 8 | 4 |
| By submission | 7 | 3 |
| By decision | 4 | 0 |
| By disqualification | 0 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No contests | 0 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 19–7–1 | Paul Cahoon | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Rage 26 | 10 May 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Birmingham, England | Won the Cage Rage British Light Heavyweight Title |
| Win | 18–7–1 | Mark Epstein | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Rage 18 | 30 September 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | Won the Cage Rage British Light Heavyweight Title. (Subsequently vacated title) |
| Loss | 17–7–1 | Melvin Manhoef | KO | Cage Rage 17 | 1 July 2006 | 1 | 0:17 | London, England | For the Cage Rage World Light Heavyweight Title |
| Win | 17–6–1 | Will Elworthy | TKO | House of Pain: Fight Night | 12 December 2004 | 1 | Wales, UK | ||
| Win | 16–6–1 | Ryan Robinson | TKO | Cage Rage 9: No Mercy | 27 September 2004 | 1 | 3:21 | London, England | Wins Cage Rage Heavyweight Title but vacates title shortly afterwards, signalling his intention to drop to light heavyweight. |
| Win | 15–6–1 | Keith Dace | TKO | Cage Warriors FC: Cage Warriors 5 | 2 November 2003 | 1 | 0:47 | South Shields, England | |
| Draw | 14–6–1 | Vernon White | Draw (split) | UFC 43 | 6 June 2003 | 3 | 5:00 | Paradise, Nevada, USA | |
| Win | 14–6 | Gerhard Ettl | Submission (armbar) | Free Fight Association Austria: Fight Night Championships 4 | 22 February 2003 | 2 | 1:40 | ||
| Loss | 13–6 | Andrei Arlovski | TKO (strikes) | UFC 40 | 22 November 2002 | 1 | 1:25 | ||
| Win | 13–5 | Frank Mir | TKO (punches) | UFC 38 | 13 July 2002 | 1 | 4:35 | ||
| Win | 12–5 | Carlos Barreto | Decision (unanimous) | Hook N Shoot: Kings 1 | 17 July 2001 | 3 | 5:00 | Won Hook N Shoot Title | |
| Win | 11–5 | Stanislav Nuschik | Submission (front choke) | Free Fight Association Austria: Fight Night Championship 3 | 14 July 2001 | 1 | 1:57 | ||
| Loss | 10–5 | Stanislav Nuschik | KO | MFC: Russia vs the World 1 | 27 April 2001 | 1 | 0:20 | ||
| Loss | 10–4 | Valentijn Overeem | Submission (knees) | 2 Hot 2 Handle: Simply The Best | 18 March 2001 | 1 | 1:42 | ||
| Loss | 10–3 | Osami Shibuya | Submission (rib injury) | Pancrase: Proof 1 | 4 February 2001 | 1 | 3:51 | ||
| Loss | 10–2 | Bob Schrijber | TKO (doctor stoppage) | It's Showtime - Christmas Edition | 12 December 2000 | 1 | 1:28 | ||
| Win | 10–1 | Tedd Williams | Decision | UFC 27 | 22 September 2000 | 3 | 5:00 | ||
| Win | 9–1 | Bob Stines | KO (punch) | Pancrase: 2000 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 1 | 23 July 2000 | 1 | 2:38 | ||
| Win | 8–1 | Nate Schroeder | Submission (strikes) | UFC 26 | 9 June 2000 | 2 | |||
| Loss | 7–1 | Scott Adams | Submission (achilles leg lock) | UFC 24 | 10 March 2000 | 1 | 3:09 | ||
| Win | 7–0 | Travis Fulton | TKO (didn't answer the bell) | Millennium Brawl 1: The Beginning | 5 December 1999 | 3 | 0:00 | ||
| Win | 6–0 | Dave Shortby | TKO | Total Fight KRG 5 | 3 October 1999 | 1 | 2:02 | ||
| Win | 5–0 | Mark Lamborn | Submission (rear naked choke) | British Vale Tudo | 28 August 1999 | 1 | 0:55 | Won British Vale Tudo Title | |
| Win | 4–0 | Keith Dace | Submission (guillotine choke) | British Vale Tudo | 28 August 1999 | 1 | 0:46 | ||
| Win | 3–0 | Kemal Lock | Submission (ankle lock) | British Grand Prix '99 | 27 June 1999 | 1 | 3:55 | ||
| Win | 2–0 | Scotty Smith | TKO | British Grand Prix '99 | 27 June 1999 | 1 | 0:09 | ||
| Win | 1–0 | Tony Bailey | Submission (guillotine choke) | British Grand Prix '99 | 27 June 1999 | 1 | 1:32 |