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Matt Wiman Bio
Matthew Charles Wiman (born September 19, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes as a lightweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Previously, Wiman was the middleweight champion in the Extreme Fighting Leagueand a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5.
Wiman currently trains with the Kline Brothers at Easton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Arvada, Colorado.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Early career
Matt began training mixed martial arts with legendary UFC fighter, Mikey Burnett, at the Lion's Den in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Wiman's initiation into professional fighting came on August 14, 2004. A relatively unknown fighter at the time, Matt entered the Extreme Fight Night tournament organized by renowned kickboxer, Dale Apollo Cook. Matt won 3 fights that night to became the Extreme Fighting League Middleweight Champion. He defeated Joseph Garza and Greg Bossler, each by unanimous decision, before finishing Venn Johns by triangle choke for the championship belt.
Matt's first title defense came on November 13, 2004, when he defeated David Franks by armbar in 42 seconds of the first round.
He defended the title again on February 5, 2005, knocking D.J. Randall unconscious in 20 seconds of the first round.
Wiman first gained national attention at FFC 15-Fiesta Las Vegas on September 15, 2005 against fellow rising star Roger Huerta. It was a back and forth fight, with both fighters nearly finishing on several occasions. Matt lost a close decision. As a result of their impressive performances, Wiman and Huerta both caught the eyes of Dana White and UFC matchmaker, Joe Silva.
Wiman defended his Extreme Fight League championship belt for a third and final time on November 12, 2005 at Battle at the Brady 2 against Thomas Grissom. Matt won by referee stoppage in the 1st round due to multiple cuts sustained by Grissom.
Wiman's next fight was at MFC-Boardwalk Blitz on March 14, 2006 in Atlantic City, New Jersey against UFC veteran, Nick Agallar. Matt lost by unanimous decision.
Debut in The Ultimate Fighting Championship
When injury forced Leonard Garcia out of his scheduled fight with Spencer Fisher at UFC 60, Wiman was given the call and agreed to make his UFC debut on two weeks notice.
Matt faced UFC veteran, Spencer Fisher at UFC 60 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on May 27, 2006. Round 1 began with the fighters exchanging punches standing, then Wiman shot in quickly and scored a takedown. He wound up on top of Fisher, and nearly finished the fight when he secured a deep guillotine choke. However, Fisher fought it off and eventually gained top position, and connected with several good punches. The round ended with Fisher landing a shot that opened a cut on Wiman's head. Round 2 opened with a few brief exchanges on the feet, until Fisher pushed the pace and landed a solid punch to the head. Wiman appeared dazed and stumbled just before Fisher came in with a devastating flying knee, forcing a referee stoppage at 1:43 of the second round.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 5
Wiman was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5 show, featuring Lightweights. He fought on B.J. Penn's team. His preliminary fight was against Marlon Sims. Wiman landed a devastating overhand right in the opening seconds of the fight, climbed on the back of Sims and choked him unconscious. Wiman was defeated by eventual finalist Manvel Gamburyan of Team Pulver in the quarterfinals by decision. Gamburyan and Wiman exchanged takedowns, but Gamburyan was on top most of the fight and got the victory, despite Dana White's thoughts that "Handsome" could make it to the finals of the show.
Wiman fought Brian Geraghty on June 23, 2007 on the Finale of The Ultimate Fighter 5. He took his opponent down early and worked a ground and pound attack. Wiman landed strikes in Geraghty's guard and passed to full mount, where he unloaded punches to the head, causing referee Yves Lavigne to stop the fight due to strikes at 2:09 of round 1.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (Post TUF 5)
Wiman's next fight was against Japanese Judoka fighter Michihiro Omigawa at UFC 76. Wiman controlled the fight with takedowns and ground control, and won a unanimous decision victory.
His next fight was against Justin Buchholz at UFC Fight Night 12 on January 23, 2008. Wiman scored a takedown in the opening moments of the fight and worked quickly to the mount position. He landed an elbow below the right eye of Buchholz causing a cut. The UFC newcomer turned over to avoid further strikes to the face and Wiman secured the back position. After a brief struggle to secure the rear naked choke, Wiman forced Buchholz to submit at 2:58 of the first round, giving him his third straight victory in the UFC.
Wiman's next fight was against Lightweight contender Thiago Tavares at UFC 85. After an impressive grappling exchange in round one, he eventually beat Tavares by knockout from a right hook in the second round [1], with former Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell in his corner.
At UFC: Fight for the Troops, he struggled with a physically more dominant opponent in Jim Miller and lost via unanimous decision. On April 18, 2009, Wiman faced Canadian Sam Stout at UFC 97 in Montreal, Quebec. In a closely contested fight, Wiman seemed hurt from a flush liver shot late in round two, but rallied and controlled Stout for the final round. Most fans were very upset with the judges decision. He lost via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
He was scheduled to fight Rafael dos Anjos on September 19, 2009 at UFC 103, but was forced to withdraw because of a knee injury. He was replaced by Rob Emerson.
On December 12, 2009, Wiman defeated Shane Nelson at UFC 107 via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Wiman defeated Mac Danzig via first round submission at UFC 115. However, the stoppage was apparently premature and mistaken as Wiman had Danzig in a tight guillotine choke and referee Yves Lavigne called a stoppage despite the fact that Danzig had not submitted and was still conscious.
Wiman was expected to face Danzig again on September 15, 2010 at UFC Fight Night 22, however Danzig was forced off the card with an injury. Wiman was then set to face Efrain Escudero, but Wiman was also forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by Charles Oliveira.
Wiman was expected to face Cole Miller on January 1, 2011 at UFC 125, but the bout eventually took place on January 22, 2011 at UFC Fight Night 23. Wiman dominated Miller for all 3 rounds, resulting in a unanimous decision victory.
Wiman faced Dennis Siver on July 2, 2011 at UFC 132. He lost the fight via close, but controversial unanimous decision where UFC President Dana White stated he felt Wiman's pain at the post-fight press conference and understood why he wouldn't show up (to the post-fight press conference) after a fight like that.
Wiman won a rematch with Mac Danzig via unanimous decision on October 1, 2011 at UFC on Versus 6,. The back and forth action earned Fight of the Night honors.
Wiman was expected to face Mark Bocek on April 21, 2012 at UFC 145. However, Wiman was forced from the bout with an injury and was replaced by returning UFC veteran John Alessio.
Personal life
Matt Wiman was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is married and now makes his home in Arvada, Colorado. He has an older brother and three younger sisters.
Wiman has publicly voiced his appreciation to the men and women in the United States Armed Forces. Matt's older brother was a Green Beret in the United States Army, and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. Because of his gratitude towards the U.S. soldiers, Matt says he is proud to have fought in both UFC fundraising events for the Intrepid Fallen Heros Fund, UFC Fight for the Troops 1 at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina and UFC Fight for the Troops 2 at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas.
Matt is also an advocate of food awareness and supporter of animal rights. After his victory over Cole Miller at UFC Fight for the Troops 2 he told Joe Rogan that he left his TV on at home and gave a shout out to his pets.
In early September 2011, while attending a high school track event in Brighton, Colorado, Matt Wiman's dad, Chip Wiman, was struck by lightning. Matt was interviewed by the local news when he picked his dad up from the hospital, "He's so lucky and blessed to survive something like that," said Matt. "We're so thankful. You know, life is so precious, you want to just enjoy everyday, every minute".
Mixed martial arts record
External links
- Official UFC Profile
- Professional MMA record for Matt Wiman from Sherdog
- Matt Wiman's official website
MMA Shirts
