Eric Prindle (born August 30, 1976) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who last competed in 2018. A professional competitor since 2008 he has fought in

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

and

Pancrase is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the An ...

, and was the Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tournament Winner.

Background

Prindle was born in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

but grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and Honolulu, Hawaii. Having developed a passion for

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knocko ...

from a young age, Prindle competed in

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

, winning two amateur bouts at the age of 12 against opponents twice his age and much larger than himself. At the age of 18, Prindle enlisted into the United States Army as a weapons specialist and competed in amateur

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, where he found a wealth of success, going on to win various tournaments, become a five-time All-Army Champion, a four-time Armed Forces Champion, and in all compiled over 100 amateur fights during his time of service. He was with special forces and with the 101st Airborne division. In 2004, Prindle's military career ended. He suffered injuries as a soldier and believes that with the benefits Martial Arts has to offer, it helps him mentally subside the injuries and mental trauma he acquired serving his country. After taking some time off to be with his family, Prindle transitioned into mixed martial arts and has trained at Erik Paulsons school in California for STX and CSW as well as training on his own and at Average Joes MMA in AZ.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Prindle made his professional debut in 2008 against veteran Jimmy Ambriz and was defeated via submission. However, Prindle would go on to win his next four fights before being invited to compete in

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

Bellator

Eric made his Bellator debut in April 2011 at

Bellator 40 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feathe ...

where he defeated

Josh Burns Josh Burns (born May 15, 1978) is an Americans, American professional bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. Since 2022, he has competed for BYB Extreme Fighting Series, BYB Extreme. Burns currently competes for Bare Knuckle Fightin ...

via TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at the end of round two. The fight took place on the

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...

live broadcast. Prindle entered into the Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tournament. His first fight was against Abe Wagner on October 1, 2011, at Bellator 52. Prindle won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision. In the semifinal round, Prindle faced Ron Sparks at Bellator 56 and needed to just 40 seconds to KO him in order to advance to the finals. Prindle faced

Thiago Santos Thiago de Lima Santos (born January 7, 1984) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division. Santos competed in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and in the Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

in the finals held at Bellator 59. The bout was ruled a No Contest after Santos kicked Prindle in the groin at 1:24 of the first round and Prindle was unable to continue. Prindle and Santos were scheduled to have a rematch at

Bellator 61 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so i ...

on March 16, 2012. However, on March 15, Bellator announced the fight had been pushed back a week to Bellator 62 due to Prindle having "flu-like symptoms." A week later at the Bellator 62 weigh-ins, Santos weighed in 12 pounds overweight for the rescheduled rematch and the bout was called off. Prindle was announced as the Season Five Heavyweight Tournament Winner. Prindle competed in the Bellator Season Seven Heavyweight Tournament, where he faced

in their long-awaited rematch in the quarter-finals at

Bellator 75 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so i ...

. Prindle would be disqualified after kicking Santos in the groin. Prindle was expected to fight

Brett Rogers Brett Charles Rogers (born February 17, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Rogers has fought in EliteXC, Strikeforce, and Bellator. Bac ...

at Bellator 93 on March 21, 2013. However, the bout was cancelled when Prindle pulled out. In Prindle's next bout with Bellator, he faced

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Peter Graham at

Bellator 104 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

. Prindle lost a hard-fought unanimous decision. Prindle next fought

Javy Ayala Javier "Javy" Ayala (born August 22, 1988) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has competed for Bellator and Tachi Palace Fights. Background Born and rai ...

Bellator 111 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight ...

on March 7, 2014. He lost the fight via TKO at 2:05 in the third round. Prindle's next fight was against

PRIDE Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

veteran James Thompson at Bellator 121 on June 6, 2014. Prindle lost via TKO in the first round. On June 25, 2014, it was announced that Prindle was released from the promotion, along with 18 other fighters.

Post-Bellator

Prindle made his return at Pancrase 269 on August 9, 2015. His opponent was Mitsuyoshi Nakai and he won the fight via TKO in the second round. Prindle had a rematch with Nakai on November 28, 2015, and won the fight this time via submission in the first round.

Bare knuckle boxing

Prindle faced Sam Shewmaker at a Bare Knuckle FC event held on June 2, 2018. He lost the fight via knockout just 18 seconds into the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

Bellator Fighting Championship Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from '' bellātor'', the Latin word for "warrior". Bellato ...

** Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tournament Winner

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, , Jonathan Tsosie , TKO (punches) , MEFC 1: Moore Extreme Fighting Challenge , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 ,

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, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–8 (1) ,

Paul Buentello Paul Anthony Buentello (born January 16, 1974) is an American former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1997 to 2017, Buentello competed in the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, Affliction, King of the Cage, Shark Fights, ACB, Lega ...

, KO (punch) , Abu Dhabi Warriors 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 , Abu Dhabi,

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 11–7 (1) , Maurice Jackson , Submission (kimura) , MCF 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:39 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–7 (1) , Mitsuyoshi Nakai , Submission (americana) , Pancrase 272 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–7 (1) , Mitsuyoshi Nakai , TKO (punches) , Pancrase 269 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:40 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 8–7 (1) , Brandon Cash , TKO (submission to punches) , The Warriors Cage 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 ,

Porterville, California Porterville is a city at the base of Southern Sierra Nevada mountains on the eastern side of San Joaquin Valley, in Tulare County, California, United States. It is part of the Visalia-Porterville metropolitan statistical area. Serving as the ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–6 (1) , James Thompson , TKO (punches) , Bellator 121 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:55 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 (1) , Vince Lucero , TKO (punches) , Imperio MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:12 ,

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Cole Konrad Cole Konrad (born April 2, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter. Konrad won a gold medal at the 2005 Pan-American Championships. He won the NCAA wrestling championships in 2006 and 2007 at 285 pounds and finished third at the ...

, Submission (kimura) , Bellator 70 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 ,

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, No Contest (groin kick) , Bellator 59 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Ron Sparks , KO (punch) , Bellator 56 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Abe Wagner , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 52 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Chris Barnett Christopher James Barnett (born June 14, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Barnett was born in Zaragoza, Spain, where his father ...

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, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Brad Tidwell , TKO (punches) , FFI: Blood and Sand 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

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Bare knuckle record

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prindle, Eric 1976 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing United States Army soldiers Sportspeople from Erie, Pennsylvania American bare-knuckle boxers