Carl Taulauniu Seumanutafa (born June 15, 1983) is a Samoan

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 ...

and bare-knuckle boxer who competes in the

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 ...

division. A professional since 2007, he has competed for

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) ** ...

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 *' ...

ShoXC ''ShoXC'' is a mixed martial arts series produced by the mixed martial arts organization EliteXC, Showtime and Proelite.com. The series was announced on July 11, 2007. The purpose of the show is to highlight up and coming MMA fighters. On Octo ...

EliteXC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States–based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decem ...

, Tachi Palace Fights,

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

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 the PFL.

Background

Born and raised in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, Seumanutafa moved with his family to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

at the age of 12, living in Bayview-Hunters Point. He attended J. Eugene McAteer High School where he competed in

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Seumanutafa made his professional debut in March 2007, winning his first three bouts all via TKO before being signed by

EliteXC and Strikeforce

Seumanutafa made his promotional debut at EliteXC: Unfinished Business on July 26, 2008, against Mike Cook. Seumanutafa won via first-round knockout with a slam. He returned two months later for the Elite Challenger series, facing Shane del Rosario. Seumanutafa was handed his first loss via TKO in the second round. In February 2009, Seumanutafa fought at M-1 Challenge 12: USA against Edson Franca. Seumanutafa lost via split decision after two rounds. After the closing EliteXC and its absorption by Strikeforce, Semanutafa returned to the promotion three months later at the inaugural Strikeforce: Challengers event on May 15, 2009. Seumanutafa faced

Lavar Johnson Lavar F. Johnson (born June 11, 1977) is an American bare-knuckle boxer and former Heavyweight mixed martial artist. A professional from 2004 until 2014, he competed for the UFC, the WEC, Strikeforce and Bellator MMA. Background Johnson is fr ...

. During a takedown attempt, Seumanutafa was knocked out with an uppercut just 18 seconds into the first round.

Independent promotions

Seumanutafa snapped his three-fight losing streak with three straight TKO wins from 2010 to 2012. In October 2012, Seumanutafa faced Dave Huckaba and was knocked out in the first round. He then fought Javy Ayala February 2013, winning via first-round TKO.

Bellator MMA

Semanutafa made his Bellator debut at Bellator 148 against Javy Ayala on January 29, 2016. Seumanutafa won again via

ground and pound Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the solid terrestrial surface of the Earth * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical circ ...

TKO, this time in the second round. Seumanutafa then faced

Matt Mitrione Matt Mitrione (born July 15, 1978) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former American football player, who competed for both the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and most recently for Bellator MMA. Prior to embarking on an MMA c ...

at Bellator 157. Despite scoring an early knockdown, he was defeated via KO at 3:22 of the first round. Seumanutafa returned to the Bellator cage in 2017 at Bellator 181, losing a unanimous decision to

Valentin Moldavsky Valentin Igorevich Moldavsky (; born 6 February 1992) is a Russian mixed martial artist and combat sambo practitioner. He is currently competing for the PFL. He formerly competed for Bellator MMA, where he was an interim Heavyweight World Cha ...

Professional Fighters League

After his loss to Moldavsky, Seumanutafa went 2-1 in independent promotions before signing with the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

. Seumanutafa made his promotional debut on the preliminary card of PFL 3, facing Croatian Ante Delija. Seumanutafa was defeated via unanimous decision. Seumanutafa then faced

Ali Isaev Ali Isaevich Isaev (; born 18 December 1983) is a Russian-Azerbaijani professional mixed martial artist and former amateur wrestler who competed in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division. He has also formerly competed for Bellator MMA, Figh ...

at PFL 6 on August 8, 2019. He lost again via unanimous decision. Seumanutafa, as a replacement for Stuart Austin, faced Renan Ferreira on June 25, 2021, at PFL 6. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Seumanutafa faced Muhammed DeReese on August 19, 2021, at PFL 8. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Gamebred FC

Seumanutafa faced Jamahl Tatum at Gamebred FC 4 in a bare-knuckle MMA bout on May 5, 2023, winning the bout via unanimous decision. Seumanutafa faced

Chase Sherman Chase Sherman (born November 16, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former bare-knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2014, he has competed for the UFC and Titan FC. Background Born and raised in D'Ibervi ...

at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 6 on October 28, 2023. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Personal life

Seumanutafa is married and has two children; an eight-year old son named Tamatoa and seven-year old daughter; Eliza-Andra. Aside from fighting, Seumanutafa has worked as a personal trainer and is an assistant coach to NFL offseason player development for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

, and his own favorite NFL team, the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–16 , Alex Nicholson , TKO (elbow and punches) , XFC: Detroit Grand Prix 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:09 ,

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, KO (elbow and punches) , Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–14 , Derrick Williams , Submission (guillotine choke) , High Desert Brawl 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 ,

Susanville, California Susanville (formerly known as Rooptown) (, ''bush creek country'')Simmons, W. S., Morales, R., Williams, V., & Camacho, S. (1997). Honey Lake Maidu Ethnogeography of Lassen County, California . Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropolog ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–14 , Jamahl Tatum , Decision (unanimous) , Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–14 , Muhammed DeReese , Decision (unanimous) , PFL 8 (2021) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–13 , Renan Ferreira , Decision (unanimous) , PFL 6 (2021) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–12 , Dustin Joynson , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Fury FC 87 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Ante Delija Ante Delija (born August 7, 1990) is a Croatian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. A professional since 2011, Delija has fought in the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he was the 2022 PFL Heavy ...

, Decision (unanimous) , PFL 3 (2019) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–9 , Nick Rossborough , TKO (injury) , Fierce FC: Fitcon Fights , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:47 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–9 , Shelton Graves , Decision (unanimous) , Final Fight Championship 32 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–8 , Bill Widler , TKO (punches) , KOTC: No Escape , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:05 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–8 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 181 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–7 ,

, KO (punch) , Bellator 157 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:22 ,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–6 , Javy Ayala , TKO (punches) , Bellator 148 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:46 ,

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–6 , DJ Linderman , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC: Total Elimination , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–5 , Josh Appelt , Decision (unanimous) , West Coast FC 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–5 , Jack May , TKO (head kick and punches) , TPF 18: Martinez vs. Culley , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:57 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4 , Javy Ayala , TKO (punches) , Dragon House 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–4 , Dave Huckaba , KO (punch) , Cage Combat Fighting Championships , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:35 ,

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay A ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Ruben Villareal , TKO (elbows) , Gladiator Challenge: World Class , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:57 ,

Lincoln, California Lincoln is a city in Placer County, California, United States, part of the Sacramento, California, Sacramento metropolitan area. Located north of Roseville, California, Roseville in an area of rapid suburban development, it grew 282 percent b ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3 , CJ Leveque , TKO (punches) , Impact MMA 1: Recognition , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 ,

Pleasanton, California Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is an upscale suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 cens ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–3 , Derrick Williams , TKO (punches) , Global Knockout: Fall Brawl , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:05 ,

Jackson, California Jackson (formerly, Botilleas, Botilleas Spring, Bottileas, Bottle Spring, and Botellas) is a city in and the county seat of Amador County, California. Its population was 5,019 at the 2020 census, up from 4,651 at the 2010 census. The city i ...

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, KO (punch) , Strikforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Aina , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:18 ,

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Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Shane del Rosario , TKO (punches) , ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:07 ,

Santa Ynez, California Santa Ynez ( ; Spanish for "St. Agnes", originally spelled ''Santa Inés'') is an unincorporated community in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The population was 4,505 at the 2020 census, up from 4,418 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Mike Cook , KO (slam) , EliteXC: Unfinished Business , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:21 ,

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Chris Bostick , TKO (punches) , Global Knockout 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Pete Werve , TKO (punches) , Global Knockout 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:52 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Chris Garrison , TKO (punches) , Global Knockout 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:32 ,

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References

External links

Carl Seumanutafa
at PFL * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seumanutafa, Carl 1983 births Living people Samoan male mixed martial artists American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Samoan male sport wrestlers American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers Samoan practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu