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Ian Freeman Bio
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. Freeman also holds a notable victory over veteran Travis Fulton.
Biography
Martial arts background
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. 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.
Mixed martial arts career
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. 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.
Quitting
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. 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.
Comeback
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.
Non-fighting career
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.
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.
Ian was the ring announcer for M-1 Global: Breakthrough, which took place August 28, 2009 at Memorial Hall, in Kansas City, Kansas.
Ian has recently agreed to be ring announcer for Clan Wars - 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.
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.
Mixed martial arts record
External links
- Professional MMA record for Ian Freeman from Sherdog
- UFC profile
- IMDB profile
- "Fighters Only" magazine
- Ian Freeman's Website
MMA Shirts
