Michael Wayne Pyle (born September 18, 1975) is a retired American professional

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 competed in the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

. A professional competitor since 1999, Pyle is a former WEC Welterweight Champion, and has also competed in

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

, Elite XC, Affliction,

M-1 Global M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year. It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with oth ...

, and for the Los Angeles Anacondas of the IFL.

Background

Pyle was born and raised in Dresden, Tennessee until the age of 17 when he moved to

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. It was there that he began studying

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

. One of his training partners told him, "Man you gotta check out this cage fighter stuff they got going on. There's this guy who lays on the ground and breaks peoples arms ..." The cage fighting they were talking about was the UFC. The man they were talking about was

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist. Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a member of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family, a UFC Hall of Famer ...

, the masterful practitioner of the

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

discipline known as Brazilian jiu-jitsu who won the tournaments at

UFC 1 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship'' (later renamed ''UFC 1: The Beginning'') was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on Novembe ...

, UFC 2 and UFC 4. Pyle created a gym in a 13 x 15-foot shed behind his mother's home in Dresden, searching for any instructional videos for Brazilian jiu-jitsu he could get his hands on as well attending seminars put together by the

Gracie family The Gracie family () is a family of martial artists originally from Belém, state of Pará, Brazil, whose ancestors came from Paisley, Scotland. They are known for promoting the self-defense martial arts system of Gracie jiu-jitsu, commonly kn ...

, whenever they were close enough for him to make the drive. Despite having no formal Brazilian jiu-jitsu training, Pyle would go on to be a successful submission grappler in mixed martial arts, the large majority of his wins coming by submission.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Pyle's first sanctioned amateur MMA fight was in 1999 against future

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Quinton Jackson Quinton Ramone Jackson (born June 20, 1978), known by his ring name of Rampage Jackson, is an American rapper, former mixed martial artist, actor, kickboxer, and professional wrestler. During the course of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, ...

. The bout was on ISCF MMA & IKF Kickboxing Promoter Jeff Mullen's November 13 event at the New Daisey Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee, (Jackson's hometown). Pyle and Jackson were to be the Main Event and was supposed to be for the ISCF Amateur Mid-South Regional Middleweight Title. However, Jackson weighed in 25 lbs heavy (200 lb.) for the title so technically, Pyle (175 lb.) won by forfeit. But this could not keep these two from going for it in the ring. The young Pyle, who tried various different submissions during the fight, was thrown and slammed several times, at one point being actually throw out of the ring by the future

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. In the end, Jackson won by unanimous decision but Pyle, who had also fought with two broken fingers, felt that he had won and was quick to ask for a rematch. From this fight, Pyle learned that "just jiu-jitsu wasn't going to be able to cut it."

World Extreme Cagefighting

On October 14, 2005, Pyle became the WEC Welterweight Champion by defeating Bret Bergmark. He successfully defended the title against veteran

Shonie Carter Shonie Carter (born May 3, 1972), is an American former mixed martial artist. He is a former WEC Welterweight Champion, a UFC veteran, and a contestant on '' The Ultimate Fighter 4'' reality show. He has also competed in Pancrase, Shooto, Ki ...

on January 13, 2006. He defeated Carter by

triangle choke A triangle choke, or sankaku-jime (三角絞) in judo, is a type of figure-four chokehold that encircles the opponent's neck and one arm with the legs in a configuration similar to the shape of a triangle. Applying pressure using both legs and ...

submission in the first round. Pyle then left the WEC for the IFL and was stripped of the title in December 2006.

The IFL and Affliction

Pyle fought three times in the IFL fights as a member of

Bas Rutten Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (; born 24 February 1965) is a Dutch-American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler. As a kickboxer, he fought 16 times, winning the first 14 matches by knockout, 13 in the first round ...

’s Los Angeles Anacondas. He also fought for Elite XC,

, and he was featured on the preliminary card of the first event co-promoted by Affliction Clothing and

Adrenaline MMA Adrenaline MMA was a mixed martial arts organization that operated primarily in North America. It was formerly part of M-1 Global but became independent in October 2007 with Monte Cox as its head. History Foundation In October 2007, Sibling E ...

: Affliction: Banned.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Pyle then signed with the UFC as a replacement for Chris Wilson, fighting

Brock Larson Brock Orville Larson (born August 23, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. A professional competitor from 2002 until 2016, Larson has formerly competed for the U ...

UFC 98 ''UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on May 23, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background A title unification match between the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir and ...

. Pyle took the fight on just one week's notice. Pyle lost in the first round via arm-triangle choke. Next, he fought and defeated Wilson at UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard by submission due to a

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compared to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

in the third round. Pyle was defeated by

Jake Ellenberger Jake Ellenberger (born March 28, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former United States Marine Corps, United States Marine who was known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professi ...

via second round

TKO A technical knockout (TKO) is a professional fighting term. TKO may also refer to: Sports * TKO, the name of a professional wrestling move referring to either the cutter or stunner variant * TKO Group Holdings, a combat sports company Music Ar ...

on January 2, 2010 at

UFC 108 ''UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Background The card for UFC 108 was plagued with numerous injuries, ...

. Pyle defeated Jesse Lennox at

UFC 115 ''UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 12, 2010 at General Motors Place (now Rogers Arena) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Background This was the fourth UFC ev ...

on June 12, 2010. Pyle largely controlled the bout and won via technical submission, when his opponent passed out in a triangle choke late in the third round. Pyle gave

John Hathaway John Lawrence Hathaway (born 1 July 1987) is an English mixed martial artist and wrestler who competes in the welterweight division. He is one of the most accomplished modern-day catch wrestlers, having won three Snake Pit World Championship ...

his first professional MMA loss via unanimous decision on October 16, 2010 at

UFC 120 ''UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 16, 2010, at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. The card featured six televised MMA bouts, as well as four un-aired preli ...

, replacing an injured

Dong Hyun Kim Kim Dong-hyun (; born November 17, 1981), anglicized as Dong Hyun Kim, is a South Korean retired mixed martial artist who most notably fought in the UFC's welterweight division. He was signed by the UFC after fighting in the Japanese promotion ...

. He controlled the fight for all three rounds, out-striking and out-grappling Hathaway, even going as far as putting Hathaway in a modified crucifix-triangle choke hold and raining down unanswered strikes. Pyle faced

Ricardo Almeida Ricardo Alves Almeida (; born November 29, 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist and current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Bordentown, New Jersey. Almeida is a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRID ...

on March 19, 2011 at

UFC 128 ''UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background This event was expected to take place in Abu Dhab ...

. Pyle won the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Pyle next faced Rory MacDonald on August 6, 2011 at

UFC 133 ''UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 6, 2011, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of mun ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Pyle was expected to face

Paulo Thiago Paulo Thiago Alencar Antunes (; born January 25, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of KSW. A professional competitor since 2005, he has also competed for the UFC and Jungle Fight ...

on January 14, 2012 at UFC 142. However, Thiago was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Ricardo Funch. Pyle won the bout via TKO in the first round. Pyle faced Josh Neer on June 8, 2012 at UFC on FX 3. Pyle defeated Neer via first round KO, earning ''Knockout of the Night'' honors. Pyle was then matched up against James Head on December 15, 2012 at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Pyle was expected to face Gunnar Nelson on May 25, 2013 at UFC 160. However, Nelson pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Rick Story. Although he got knocked down in the end of the first round, Pyle withstood Story's attack and recovered in the second round, coming close to submitting his opponent with a kimura. In the third round Pyle came on strong, landing numerous knees and elbows and hurting Story. Pyle won the fight via split decision. Pyle next faced Matt Brown on August 17, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26. Brown defeated Pyle via first round knockout. Pyle faced

TJ Waldburger Anthony "TJ" Waldburger Jr. (born April 25, 1988) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, he competed for the UFC, Shark Fights, and HDNet Fights. Backgroun ...

on February 22, 2014 at

UFC 170 ''UFC 170: Rousey vs. McMann'' was a mixed martial arts held on February 22, 2014, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was released on DVD on May 27, 2014. The DVD was distributed by ''Anchor Bay Entertainment''. Ba ...

. He won via TKO in the third round, after hurting Waldburger with two elbows and a knee. Pyle was expected to face

Demian Maia Demian Augusto Maia Baptista (born 6 November 1977) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, submission grappler and 5th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt. Maia competed in both the Welterweight and Middleweight divisio ...

on August 23, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 49. However, Maia pulled out of the fight with an injury and was replaced by Jordan Mein. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Pyle was expected to face Sean Spencer on May 23, 2015 at UFC 187. However, on April 23, Spencer pulled out of the fight with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by

Colby Covington Colby Ray Covington (born February 22, 1988) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a ...

. Pyle lost the fight via unanimous decision. The bout with Spencer was rescheduled and eventually took place on February 6, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 82. Pyle won the back-and-forth fight via TKO in the third round, after landing a spinning elbow and following up with punches, elbows and knees. Pyle was also awarded his first ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Pyle next faced Alberto Mina on July 7, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 90. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round. Pyle faced Alex Garcia on December 30, 2016 at UFC 207. He lost the fight by knockout in the first round. Pyle faced Zak Ottow on March 3, 2018 at

UFC 222 ''UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 3, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. UFC 222 features ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Pyle retired from MMA competition after this fight.

Personal life

Pyle and his girlfriend were married in October 2009. Pyle played the role of Capt. Kevin Burke in the movie '' Universal Soldier: Regeneration'' starring

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate schoo ...

Dolph Lundgren Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Lundgren made his acting debut in 1985 with a cameo in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film ''A View to a Kill''. Also that year, he h ...

and fellow MMA fighter

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (, born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist and actor. A former UFC Heavyweight Champion, he competed in the heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and holds th ...

. Pyle played a small part in the 2012 blockbuster '' Men In Black III'' starring

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

and

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Tommy Lee Jones, various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Scre ...

. After the retirement from competition, Pyle has been working as an assistant coach at his long-time team Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) ** Knockout of the Night (One time) **UFC.com Awards ***2010: Ranked #7 Upset of the Year ***2012: Ranked #8 Fighter of the Year & Ranked #9 Knockout of the Year *

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

** WEC Welterweight Championship (One time) ***One successful title defense *Viking Fight **Viking Fight Middleweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 27–14–1 , Zak Ottow , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 27–13–1 , Alex Garcia , KO (punch) , UFC 207 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:34 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 27–11–1 , Sean Spencer , TKO (elbows and knees) , UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:25 ,

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 187 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, , Jordan Mein , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. dos Anjos , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:12 ,

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

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, TKO (elbows and punches) ,

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Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 25–8–1 , Rick Story , Decision (split) , UFC 160 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 23–8–1 , Josh Neer , KO (punch) , UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:56 ,

Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 97,335 at the time of the 2020 census. History Early history In ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 22–8–1 , Ricardo Funch , TKO (knee and punches) , UFC 142 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:22 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–8–1 , Rory MacDonald , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:54 ,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–7–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 19–7–1 , Jesse Lennox , Technical Submission (triangle choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:44 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–7–1 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:22 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–6–1 , Chris Wilson , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–6–1 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:06 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–5–1 , Brian Gassaway , Submission (armbar) , SuperFights MMA: Night of Combat 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5–1 , J.J. Ambrose , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Affliction: Banned , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:51 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5–1 , Dan Hornbuckle , Submission (triangle choke) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:52 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5–1 , Damir Mirenic , Submission (kimura) , HCF: Destiny , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:24 ,

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5–1 ,

Jake Shields Jake Shields (born January 9, 1979) is an American former mixed martial artist and podcaster. As a mixed martial artist, he was the last Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Champion, the only Elite XC Welterweight Champion, a former Shooto Welte ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , EliteXC: Renegade , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:39 ,

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

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San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4–1 , Ross Ebañez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EliteXC: Destiny , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:55 ,

Southaven, Mississippi Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Memphis metropolitan area, Greater Memphis. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making it the List of municipal ...

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Matt Horwich Matthew Peter Horwich (born October 2, 1978) was an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Horwich has fought in BAMMA, Strikeforce, Bellator, the UFC, and for ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , IFL: World Championship Semifinals , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:02 ,

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, United States ,

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

bout. , - , Win , align=center, 11–3–1 , John Cole , Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , IFL: Portland , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:17 ,

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Rory Markham Rory Markham (born March 25, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist and actor who most recently acted alongside Will Smith playing Booker Grassie in the latest addition to the '' Bad Boys'' franchise ''Bad Boys for Life''. Formerly ...

, KO (punch) , IFL: Legends Championship 2006 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2–1 , Gustavo Machado , TKO (punches) , GFC: Team Gracie vs. Team Hammer House , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:20 ,

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

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, Submission (triangle choke) ,

WEC 18 The year 2006 was the 6th year in the history of World Extreme Cagefighting, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2006 WEC held 7 events beginning with, ''WEC 18: Unfinished Business''. Title fights Even ...

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Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 252 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2–1 , Bret Bergmark , Submission (triangle choke) , WEC 17 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:36 ,

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Gresham, Oregon Gresham ( ) is a city in the Willamette Valley, Located in Multnomah County in the U.S. state of Oregon, bordered by Portland to the northwest and partially in the southwest. It was first settled in the early 1850s by the Powell brothers. It ...

, United States ,

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 5–2–1 , Patrick Suhl , KO (punches) , Viking Fight 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:31 ,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2–1 , Petras Markevicius , Submission (triangle choke) , Viking Fight 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:55 ,

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2–1 , Arschak Dahabagian , Submission (triangle choke) , Viking Fight 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:39 ,

, Denmark , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–2–1 , Valdas Pocevicius , Submission (guillotine choke) , Shooto , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:37 ,

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, Lithuania , , - , Draw , align=center, 2–1–1 , Andrei Semenov , Draw , M-1 MFC: Russia vs. the World 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:00 ,

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Daan Kooiman , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Viking Fight 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 ,

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 ,

Jon Fitch Jon Fitch (born February 24, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He has competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Professional Fighters League ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Revolution Fighting Championship 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:35 ,

, United States ,

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

debut. , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , ISCF: Memphis , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, United States ,

References

External links

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Official UFC Profile
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UFC 115 Interview: Mike "Quicksand" Pyle looking to sink Jesse Lennox
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyle, Mike American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Extreme Cagefighting champions Living people People from Dresden, Tennessee Mixed martial artists from Tennessee 1975 births American male taekwondo practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 20th-century American sportsmen

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

World Extreme Cagefighting

The IFL and Affliction

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Personal life

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links