Luke Zachrich

Luke Zachrich
Born (1981-10-01) October 1, 1981
Defiance, Ohio, United States
Other names The Blender[1]
Nationality American
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Division Middleweight (185 lb) (2006–present)
Cruiserweight (boxing)
Reach 74.5 in (189 cm)[2]
Style Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Columbus, Ohio, United States (current)
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States (former)
Team Ronin Training Center[3]
Team Jorge Gurgel[4]
The Beast Academy
Trainer Head Trainer: Rob Radford
Strength: Brandon Couden
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu: Vitor Oliveira
Wrestling: Nikolai Timbs[1]
Rank      Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Vitor Oliveira[5]
Years active 2006–present (MMA)
2014 (Boxing)
Professional boxing record
Total 1
Wins 1
By knockout 1
Losses 0
Mixed martial arts record
Total 18
Wins 14
By knockout 4
By submission 7
By decision 3
Losses 4
By knockout 1
By submission 3
By decision 0
Amateur record
Total 1
Wins 1
By knockout 1
Losses 0
Other information
Occupation Professional Mixed Martial Artist
University Bowling Green University
Website Official Site
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Luke Zachrich (born October 1, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist and former professional boxer who formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship[6] A professional mixed martial arts competitor since 2006, Zachrich was a member of Team Forrest on the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter, and has also fought for King of the Cage, Xtreme Fighting Organization, Bellator, and Ultimate Victory Challenge, the latter of which he was the inaugural Middleweight Champion.[7]

In the first few years of his career, he trained with professional wrestling and mixed martial arts legend Dan Severn at The Beast Academy in Coldwater, Michigan, before relocating to Team Jorge Gurgel in Cincinnati, Ohio. He now fights out his own training facility, the Ronin Training Center, where he is also one of the head instructors.[8] He currently holds a professional record of 14–4, with seven of his fourteen wins coming by way of submission.[9] As of November 29, 2015, Zachrich is currently ranked as the #193 best Middleweight in active mixed martial arts competition by Fight Matrix, and is ranked at #95 in the Tapology.com Middleweight rankings.[10][2]

Background

Zachrich was born on October 1, 1981, in Defiance, Ohio. During his freshman year, Zachrich was a varsity football player at Bowling Green University in Bowling Green, Ohio. After sustaining an injury in one of the last scheduled games of the season, he chose to discontinue his upstart career in football and find a different profession.[11]

In the last couple of years in college, Zachrich was a part-time lacrosse player and then graduated with bachelor's degree in 2005. Around the same time, he stumbled upon mixed martial arts and began training with UFC legend and Hall of Famer Dan Severn at his gym, The Beast Academy, in Coldwater, Michigan and also trained with renowned Jujitsu practitioner Dave Morris.[12] An upstart, Zachrich trained for two years under the tutelage of Severn and Jorge Gurgel's team, before accepting a last-minute offer to compete in an amateur bout in early 2006.

During an interview with MMA.TV, he was asked about how he made the transition to mixed martial arts.

Honestly, it was by chance. I had a short stint in college football and when that was over I really felt something missing in my life. Being a competitor was all I had ever known. So I started driving from Bowling Green to Toledo and started boxing. I continued that through the last couple years of college. Then, it just seemed like I kept meeting people and training with them that were involved in different aspects of MMA. Even though I had no intentions or aspirations of ever fighting.

Then one day, I met an MMA guy when I moved back to Defiance, Ohio, [and] started training with him for fun and after a few months, someone needed a last minute fill in and I said yes. I won that fight pretty easily but I still didn't really see myself as a fighter. After that first fight, I just kept getting more offers and kept winning.[1]

Mixed martial arts career

In the first combat bout of his career, Zachrich faced off against fellow fighting newcomer Ben Kelley at Mega Fighting Championship's premiere event on January 14, 2006. It was a showcase of heavy stand-up striking for a majority of the bout, with Zachrich coming out on top with a first round technical knockout victory. Following more training, Zachrich would receive the opportunity to turn pro three months later.[13][14] On April 15, 2006, he made a successful transition to professional mixed martial arts, as he submitted Cliff Perillo with strikes at the Ultimate Fight Series.[15]

At 1–0, Zachrich continued his slow-and-steady climb up the divisional rankings, and would collect another victory on May 6, 2006, in the form of a thirty-one second TKO of Micah Bender in the preliminary portion of FightFest 3.[16]

King of the Cage (2006–2007)

On September 29, 2006, Zachrich fought Jason Zazelenchuk at King of the Cage: Detonator, winning the fight by a quick rear-naked choke in the first round.[17] After compiling a 1–1 record in regional promotions, getting the first loss of his career against Danny Ruiz by armbar, and rebounding by submitting Shane Krutchten with an armbar, he returned to the promotion and submitted Brad Burrick, also by an armbar, at King of the Cage: Explosion on June 15, 2007.[18]

The Ultimate Fighter (2008)

After capturing Xtreme Fighting Organization's middleweight championship with a vicious first round knockout of mixed martial arts journeyman William 'Bill' Hill, the UFC announced that Zachrich would be one of the sixteen Middleweight competitors set to take part in the seventh season of their hit reality show, The Ultimate Fighter, hosted by coaches Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin.[19]

Zachrich took on Patrick Schultz in the preliminary round, taking Schultz out with a quick first round rear-naked choke. Impressing the two coaches, he was the final pick by Forrest Griffin of Team Griffin.[20][21]

In the quarter-finals, Zachrich faced off against Team Rampage's Dan "Cosmo" Cramer. Despite having the considerable edge in overall experience, he was defeated with a second round TKO and was eliminated from the show.[22][23]

Post-TUF career (2008–2010)

Zachrich returned to the regional circuit soon after his Ultimate Fighter elimination, and his next fight was quickly put in place for the Full Contact Fight Series 28 event on September 6, 2008, where he took on regional journeyman Michael Musslewhite. In this contest, he continued to showcase his ever-improving boxing skills, taking Musslewhite out with a first-round knockout and moving himself to 8–1 in his growing career.[24]

For his tenth career fight, he took on Robert Thompson at ICF: Breakout on April 11, 2009. Thompson, who came into the fight with a three-fight losing streak hanging over his head, would not fare well against Zachrich, and would be submitted with a keylock in the third round.[25][26]

He faced J.R. Hines at ICF: Sacrifice on May 16, 2009.[27] Zachrich took the fight to the ground early on and submitted Hines with a keylock in the first round, and with the victory, garnered the attention of Indiana based organization, MMA Big Show, who announced that they had signed him to a multi-fight deal on October 21, 2009.[28][29] He was given Byron Sutton as his first opponent, and the two were expected to compete at the promotion's New Dawn event on January 9, 2010, however, the fight would be taken off the card by the promoter shortly after it was announced for undisclosed reasons.[30][31] It wasn't until March 24, 2010, that it was announced that Zachrich had been signed by Bjorn Rebney's upstart mixed martial arts company, Bellator MMA.[32]

Bellator MMA (2010)

Zachrich made his first and only appearance for the promotion at Bellator 16, and was matched-up against World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Eric Schambari in the middleweight tournament quarter-finals on April 29, 2010.[33][34][35] He accepted the opportunity to fight Schambari having been battling nagging back injuries in the months heading into the fight, and after a back-and-forth first couple of minutes, with Zachrich nearly catching his opponent in a guillotine choke, he lost the fight by an arm-triangle choke in the first round.[36] He was subsequently released from the promotion shortly after the bout.

Post-Bellator career (2010–2013)

Zachrich faced Nick Kraus for the inaugural Ultimate Victory Challenge middleweight title at UVC 20: Clash at the Coliseum on August 4, 2012,[37] winning the bout by unanimous decision.[38][39] He made his next appearance for UVC against Marcus Finch at UVC 23 on May 10, 2013.[40][41] Zachrich won the fight via unanimous decision.[42][43]

He faced off against Justin Gamble at AAMMA 34: Proving Ground 2 on August 10, 2013, winning the fight by a straight armbar forty-five seconds into the first round.[44][45] The quick and impressive finish would also earn Zachrich Submission of the Year honors from Bluegrass MMA, and at the end of the 2013, was the close runner-up in the 2013 Pro Male Breakout Fighter awards by BlueGrass MMA, with future UFC bantamweight Cody Garbrandt narrowly snagging the lead slot in that category.[46] Zachrich was tabbed to face UFC veteran Luigi Fioravanti at UVC 27 on February 8, 2014,[47][48] but the fight would be postponed a month to March 15, 2014.[49] However, a couple of weeks after the fight was rescheduled, the entire event would be canceled by the promoter for undisclosed reasons.[50]

Ultimate Fighting Championship (2014–2015)

When Josh Samman had to pull out of his scheduled bout against Caio Magalhães due to an injury, Zachrich was signed to a multi-fight contract and stepped up as a short-notice replacement for Samman at UFC on Fox 11 on April 19, 2014.[51][52] He lost the bout by TKO in just forty-four seconds, after being dropped by heavy body shots from Magalhães.[53]

In his second fight with the promotion, Zachrich faced promotional newcomer Guilherme Vasconcelos at UFC 175 on July 5, 2014.[54] Zachrich would earn his first UFC victory with a dominant unanimous decision verdict over Vasconcelos, effectively outworking his Brazilian counterpart on the feet and showing improved takedown defense.[55][56] He then faced touted promotional newcomer and expert Judoka practitioner Dan Kelly at UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping on November 7, 2014.[57] Zachrich would be a significant betting favorite coming into the bout, however, he was outboxed on the feet and towards the end of the first round, was taken down by Kelly and subsequently submitted with a kimura.[58][59]

Zachrich announced on Twitter on August 1, 2015, that he had successfully recovered from a lingering back injury and was in the process of returning to active MMA competition.[60] However, on October 19, 2015, it was confirmed that Zachrich was released from the promotion.[61]

Boxing career

Boxing is something that I always wanted to do. It is getting harder and harder for me to get MMA fights to stick. So this is a way for me to stay active. I had a lot of fun out there tonight. I am in no way done with MMA, but boxing is definitely something I look forward to doing again.

-Zachrich, in his interview with Robert "Turtle" Whitson of Cage Passion Media.

A few weeks before making his debut with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Zachrich competed in a cruiserweight boxing bout against Strikeforce veteran and combat journeyman John "J.P." Felty at TBC: Championship Boxing, getting a technical knockout victory over Felty in the second round with two seconds left.[62]

In a post-fight interview with Cage Passion Media, Zachrich said that he simply took the fight to keep himself busy and was already planning on returning to mixed martial arts, but didn't rule out the possibility of taking another boxing bout in the future.[62]

Personal life

Zachrich is married and has children.[63] On top of competing in mixed martial arts, Zachrich revealed in an interview with MMAJunkie that he also remotely manages three Mellow Mushroom restaurants, and plans on opening and managing more in the future.[64][65]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Grappling credentials

Professional boxing record

1 Win (1 knockout), 0 Losses, 0 Draws, 0 No Contests [68]
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Event Date Location Notes
Win 1–0 United States John Felty TKO 2 (4) TBC: Championship Boxing March 1, 2014 United States Lifestyle Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio, United States Professional boxing debut.[69]

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 14–4 Dan Kelly Submission (kimura) UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping November 7, 2014 1 4:27 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Win 14–3 Guilherme Vasconcelos Decision (unanimous) UFC 175: Weidman vs. Machida July 5, 2014 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 13–3 Caio Magalhães TKO (punches) UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne April 19, 2014 1 0:44 Orlando, Florida, United States
Win 13–2 Justin Gamble Submission (straight armbar) AAMMA 34: Proving Ground 2 August 10, 2013 1 0:45 Williamstown, Kentucky, United States Won 2013 Submission of the Year (Bluegrass MMA).[46]
Win 12–2 Marcus Finch Decision (unanimous) UVC 23: Invasion May 10, 2013 3 5:00 Columbus, Ohio, United States Non-title bout.
Win 11–2 Nick Kraus Decision (unanimous) UVC 20: Clash at the Coliseum August 4, 2012 3 5:00 Columbus, Ohio, United States Won the UVC Middleweight Championship.
Loss 10–2 Eric Schambari Submission (arm-triangle choke) Bellator 16 April 29, 2010 1 3:34 Kansas City, Missouri, United States Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinals.
Win 10–1 J.R. Hines Submission (keylock) Intimidation Cage Fighting: Sacrifice May 16, 2009 1 2:22 Florence, Kentucky, United States
Win 9–1 Robert Thompson Submission (keylock) Intimidation Cage Fighting: Breakout April 11, 2009 3 3:07 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win 8–1 Michael Musslewhite KO (punches) FCFS 28: Clash of the Titans September 6, 2008 1 1:15 Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States
Win 7–1 William Hill KO (punch) XFO: Xtreme Fighting Organization 21 December 1, 2007 1 4:56 Lakemoor, Illinois, United States Won the XFO Middleweight Championship.[70]
Win 6–1 Darnell Strong KO (punch) XFO: Xtreme Fighting Organization 20 October 19, 2007 1 0:35 Lakemoor, Illinois, United States
Win 5–1 Brad Burrick Submission (armbar) KOTC: Explosion June 15, 2007 1 1:51 Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, United States
Win 4–1 Shane Kruchten Submission (armbar) Dangerzone 34: Fight Farm June 2, 2007 1 N/A Waterloo, Iowa, United States
Loss 3–1 Danny Ruiz Submission (armbar) RFS 8: Invasion of the Cage February 24, 2007 1 1:49 Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 3–0 Jason Zazelenchuk Submission (rear-naked choke) KOTC: Detonator September 29, 2006 1 2:48 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Win 2–0 Micah Bender TKO (punches) FF 3: Fightfest 3 May 6, 2006 1 0:31 Youngstown, Ohio, United States
Win 1–0 Cliff Perillo Submission (punches) UFS: Ultimate Fight Series April 15, 2006 1 1:31 Auburn, Indiana, United States

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 1–1 Dan Cramer TKO (punches) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest (Episode 6) May 7, 2008 (air date) 2 1:49 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest first round.[71]
Win 1–0 Patrick Schultz Submission (rear-naked choke) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest (Episode 2) April 9, 2008 (air date) 1 2:29 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest eliminations.[72]

Amateur mixed martial arts record

Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 1–0 Ben Kelley TKO (punches) Mega Fighting Championship 1 January 14, 2006 1 N/A Marion, Ohio, United States

See also

References

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  2. 1 2 "Luke Zachrich Official Tapology Profile". tapology.com. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  3. "Ronin Training Center". tapology.com. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  4. "Bellator Fighting Championships signs Luke Zachrich for middleweight tournament". adcombat.com. March 24, 2010.
  5. "Luke Zachrich's UFC Profile". ufc.com. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  6. "Luke Zachrich: When Opportunity Knocked". 614columbus.com. November 10, 2014.
  7. "UVC 20 results: Luke Zachrich and Lance Palmer take home first UVC pro titles". MMAMania.com. August 6, 2012.
  8. "TUF 7 and Bellator Veteran Luke Zachrich Approaches True MMA Contendership". h4-entertainment.com. March 28, 2014.
  9. "Luke Zachrich Get’s A Decision Victory At UFC 175". mmafrenzy.com. July 5, 2014.
  10. "Luke Zachrich's FightMatrix profile". fightmatrix.com. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  11. "Site News: "TUF" cast member Luke Zachrich joins MMAjunkie.com". MMAJunkie.com. April 10, 2008.
  12. "Luke Zachrich > MMA > Brazilian Jujitsu > sports training". dietandexerciseguru.com. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  13. "Mega Fighting Championship 1 Official Results". mixedmartialarts.com. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  14. "Amateur MMA: MFC 1 - Mega Fighting Championship Results". sherdog.com. January 14, 2006.
  15. "Ultimate Fight Series results". Sherdog.com. April 15, 2006.
  16. "FF 3: FightFest 3 Official Results". Sherdog.com. May 6, 2006.
  17. "King of the Cage: Detonator Official Results". sherdog.com. September 29, 2006.
  18. "KOTC: Explosion Official Results and Stats". wrestlingdata.com. June 15, 2007.
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  22. "TUF 7 "Episode 6"— Recap". fightline.com. May 8, 2008.
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  25. "UFC vets Carter, Christison, Cruz and Zachrich set for Cincinnati ICF show". mmajunkie.com. February 19, 2009.
  26. "ICF Breakout: Robert Thompson vs. Luke Zachrich". espn.go.com. April 11, 2009.
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  30. "Junie Browning returns for 'Onslaught' at MMA Big Show on Nov. 28". mmamania.com. October 21, 2009.
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  33. "Bellator adds "TUF 7" alum Luke Zachrich for season-two middleweight tourney". mmajunkie.com. March 24, 2010.
  34. "Bellator Signs TUF 7’s Luke Zachrich for Season Two Middleweight Tournament". MMAFrenzy.com. March 24, 2010.
  35. "Eric Schambari Vs. Luke Zachrich Set For Bellator 16". MMARecap.com. April 26, 2010.
  36. "Bellator 16 Recap: Middleweights Bring It, Ask Where They Can Find Some Decent Barbeque". cagepotato.com. April 29, 2010.
  37. "Luke Zachrich, Lance Palmer top UVC 20 card". AdCombat.com. July 30, 2012.
  38. "UVC 20 results: Luke Zachrich and Lance Palmer take home first UVC pro titles". mmamania.com. August 6, 2012.
  39. "UVC 20 Results: Luke Zachrich and Lance Palmer Get Wins at Home". MMAWeekly.com. August 5, 2012.
  40. "Fight Preview: Luke Zachrich faces Marcus Finch in the main event at UVC 23: Invasion". bluegrassmma.com. May 10, 2013.
  41. "Luke Zachrich vs. Marcus Finch: A year in the making". uvcmma.com. April 23, 2013.
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  45. "AMMA 34 "Proving Grounds" II: Looked almost like a Kentucky vs Ohio MMA Championship Event". gatewaymma.com. August 19, 2013.
  46. 1 2 "The 2013 BluegrassMMA award goes to…". bluegrassmma.com. January 13, 2014.
  47. "UVC Announces Huge Main Event". gatewaymma.com. December 20, 2013.
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  49. "UVC 27 Moved to March 15; Zachrich-Fioravanti Headlines". fightnetwork.com. January 29, 2014.
  50. "UVC 27 event cancelled". tapology.com. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  51. "Caio Magalhaes vs. Luke Zachrich booked for UFC on FOX 11 with Josh Samman hurt". MMAMania.com. April 9, 2014.
  52. "Luke Zachrich confident ahead of debut at UFC on FOX 11". bluegrassmma.com. April 18, 2014.
  53. "UFC on FOX 11 results, photos: Body shot leads Caio Magalhaes past Luke Zachrich". MMAJunkie.com. April 19, 2014.
  54. "Guilherme Vasconcelos vs. Luke Zachrich joins UFC 175 lineup". MMAJunkie.com. May 8, 2014.
  55. "UFC 175 results, photos: Luke Zachrich outworks Guilherme Vasconcelos". MMAJunkie.com. July 5, 2014.
  56. "Luke Zachrich vs. Guilherme Vasconcelos". tapology.com. July 5, 2014.
  57. "Daniel Kelly makes UFC debut vs. Luke Zachrich at UFC Fight Night 55". fansided.com. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  58. "UFC Fight Night 55 results: Daniel Kelly beats up, then taps Luke Zachrich". MMAJunkie.com. November 7, 2014.
  59. "Daniel Kelly submits Luke Zachrich in first round at UFC Fight Night 55". fightnewsaustralia.com. November 8, 2014.
  60. "Luke Zachrich status, August 2015". twitter.com. August 1, 2015.
  61. Sean Ross Sapp (October 19, 2015). "UFC Releases Over A Dozen More Fighters, More Coming?". wrestlinginc.com.
  62. 1 2 "Zachrich Makes Successful Pro Boxing Debut". cagepassionmedia.com. March 3, 2014.
  63. "Video: 'TUF' vet, newlywed, pizza peddler Luke Zachrich returns from two-year layoff". mmajunkie.com. August 4, 2012.
  64. "UFC's Luke Zachrich puts Mellow Mushroom on back burner for renewed MMA career". MMAJunkie.com. October 18, 2014.
  65. "Luke Zachrich interview with Cageside Cain". funkymonkeymma.com. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  66. "UVC nominated for 8 BluegrassMMA Awards". uvcmma.com. January 4, 2014.
  67. 1 2 "Luke Zachrich". ronintrainingcenter.com. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  68. "Luke Zachrich's Boxing Record". boxrec.com. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  69. "Video: UFC 175 winner Luke Zachrich thought about quitting MMA before UFC call". mmajunkie.com. July 6, 2014.
  70. "XFO 21 Official Results". mixedmartialarts.com. December 1, 2007.
  71. "The Ultimate Fighter 7 Recap: Cramer vs. Zachrich". angrymarks.com. May 7, 2008.
  72. "Ultimate Fighter 7: Episode 2 recap and discussion". mmamania.com. April 9, 2008.
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