| Sean McCorkle | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 17, 1976 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Other names | Big Sexy, Curtain Jerker |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Weight | 266 lb (120.7 kg; 19.0 st) |
| Division | Heavyweight Super Heavyweight (formerly) |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Team | C-4 MMA |
| Years active | 2005-present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 15 |
| Wins | 13 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 8 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Sean McCorkle (born July 17, 1976) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, McCorkle fought for King of the Cage and local promotions in Indiana before signing with the UFC.[1]
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McCorkle is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and fights out of C-4 MMA.[2] He fought at Super Heavyweight in his early career, weighing as much as 320 lbs.[3] McCorkle is currently nicknamed "Big Sexy", having previously nicknamed himself "The Hater", "Curtain Jerker", "The Big Angry", and "Big Hungry".[4]
McCorkle began his MMA training with jiu-jitsu and soon met Chris Lytle and Jake O'Brien who talked him into starting a career in MMA .[4] After winning his first four fights, McCorkle faced Jeremy Norton on New Year's Eve 2006. During the bout, McCorkle dislocated his shoulder and broke his arm, but was able to continue and took a split decision victory.[4] Due to the injury, he was out of action for fourteen months of physical therapy before he could return to MMA.[4]
McCorkle signed a four-fight contract with the UFC in July 2010.[5] Originally, McCorkle was reluctant to sign with the UFC, saying, "I'm not interested in fighting the best guys in the world for $3,000 to show and $3,000 to win. If that's what the offer is, sorry. I'll probably pass."[6] McCorkle also stated, "I want to let them know that I don't have any problem turning down bad opponents, like me fighting the loser of (Shane) Carwin and (Brock) Lesnar for $8,000. I wasn't interested in being used to build someone else up. Not that they would do that to me, but I was just pretty wise to that from the beginning."[6]
After agreeing to sign with the UFC, his debut opponent was announced as the K-1 and Pride Fighting Championships veteran Mark Hunt at UFC 119 in McCorkle's hometown of Indianapolis. In order to make weight for the fight, McCorkle had to cut down to 265 lbs - a weight he had not hit since the age of 18[6] - from around 320 lbs.[3] McCorkle won the fight in just 67 seconds, after locking in a straight armbar from his back.[7] It was later revealed that McCorkle's armlock had potentially caused significant damage to Hunt. [8]
McCorkle next fought 6'11" Dutch fighter Stefan Struve at UFC 124 in Montreal, Quebec. Struve and McCorkle traded trash talk on the Internet in the weeks leading up to the bout, which was a new experience for the usually reserved Struve. After McCorkle unleashed a continual barrage of taunts via his Twitter account, Struve issued a contest in which fans would Photoshop insulting pictures of McCorkle.[9] The winner of the contest was promised the bloodstained fight gloves Struve was to use against McCorkle.[10] The eventual winner of the contest submitted a picture of McCorkle as Justin Bieber, which led McCorkle to show up at the weigh-ins wearing a Bieber-style wig for photographers.[11] When the fight began, McCorkle came out strong in the opening minutes, but things began to unravel after he secured a kimura on Struve but failed to submit him. He soon ran out of energy and was reversed and pounded out by Struve.[12]
McCorkle was defeated by Christian Morecraft on March 26, 2011 at UFC Fight Night 24.[13] After a closely contested first round, Morecraft came out and dominated the first four minutes of the second round. The referee briefly stopped the fight for two minutes after Morecraft delivered an illegal low blow to McCorkle's groin.[14] When the action resumed, McCorkle dove in for a takedown but Morecraft was able to leverage this attempt into a standing guillotine choke that left McCorkle unconscious.
In the spring of 2011, the UFC released McCorkle from the final fight on his contract following back-to-back losses against Struve and Morecraft.[15] McCorkle recently spoke on his future with the league, saying, "I think I’m just a few wins away from getting back to the UFC. I’m not interested in coming back for a terrible matchup, just to lose and get cut again. I want to make sure that I can stay for awhile before I come back."[16] Since his release from the UFC, McCorkle has won three fights in a row headlining various promotions.
On October 17, 2011, ESPN announced that Sean McCorkle will be a featured heavyweight in the upcoming video game UFC Undisputed 3.[17]
McCorkle has two children.[18]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 15 matches | 13 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 1 |
| By submission | 8 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 13–2 | Justin Grizzard | Submission (kimura) | Chicago Cagefighting Championship 4 | October 15, 2011 | 1 | 1:57 | Villa Park, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 12–2 | Alex Rozman | Submission (punches) | Legends of Fighting 48: Mega | August 19, 2011 | 1 | 1:29 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 11–2 | Cameron Befort | Submission (kimura) | Championship Fighting Alliance 2 | July 23, 2011 | 1 | 1:12 | Miami, Florida, United States | |
| Loss | 10–2 | Christian Morecraft | Technical submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis | March 26, 2011 | 2 | 4:10 | Seattle, Washington, United States | |
| Loss | 10–1 | Stefan Struve | TKO (punches) | UFC 124 | December 11, 2010 | 1 | 3:55 | Montreal, Quebec | |
| Win | 10–0 | Mark Hunt | Submission (straight arm lock) | UFC 119 | September 25, 2010 | 1 | 1:07 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 9–0 | Johnathan Ivey | TKO (punches) | Legends of Fighting 39 | May 28, 2010 | 2 | 3:21 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 8–0 | Bobby Favors | TKO (punches) | Legends of Fighting 38 | April 29, 2010 | 1 | 1:39 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 7–0 | Joe Mellotte | Submission (punches) | Legends of Fighting 37 | February 26, 2010 | 1 | 0:29 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | James Ferguson | Submission (kimura) | Legends of Fighting 19: Back in Action | July 27, 2007 | 2 | 1:28 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Jeremy Norton | Decision (split) | Legends of Fighting 12: Black Tie Battles | December 31, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Justin Wade | Submission (punches) | Legends of Fighting 11: Total Chaos | December 8, 2006 | 1 | 1:51 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Robert Hogan | TKO (punches) | King Of The Cage: Meltdown | October 7, 2006 | 1 | 0:30 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Jason Johnson | TKO (punches) | Battle Ground 3 | December 9, 2005 | 1 | 1:05 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Shane Paulson | Submission (punches) | Legends of Fighting 2 | October 21, 2005 | 1 | 0:32 | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |