Carlos Newton (born August 17, 1976) is an Anguillia-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

retired

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 ...

(MMA). He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and Pride FC Japan MMA Legend. Known as "The Ronin", he competed worldwide in MMA organizations including UFC, Pride FC, IFL,

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

, Shooto and W-1. He is a 3rd Degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt alongside his coach Terry Riggs under Renzo Gracie, at Warrior MMA in

Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto Area, Greater Toron ...

. Newton is known as a "Submission Master" and has dubbed his personal fighting style — an amalgam of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

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 ...

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

, Krav Maga, and

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 ...

— as "Dragon Ball Jiu-Jitsu" in tribute to

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...

, a Japanese manga and anime franchise. Newton is one of only a few MMA athletes to compete in the UFC and Pride FC at the same time. In Canada he was the first Canadian UFC Champion at UFC 31 (Welterweight) defeating Pat Miletich.

Early life

Carlos Newton was born in

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

and moved to Canada at the age of 8. He attended Westview Centennial Secondary School in the early 90s in the Jane and Finch area of Toronto, Ontario. Newton competed in numerous Jiu-Jitsu and BJJ competitions in Canada and across the world, starting under the legendary Tom Sharkey. Notably, the prestigious Abu Dhabi Combat Club in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, against Rodrigo Gracie of the legendary Gracie family. Newton started his Jiu-Jitsu competing career out of the Samurai Club in Toronto. Shortly after, in 1996, Terry Riggs founded Warrior Mixed Martial Arts in Newmarket, Ontario, which was Canada's first official MMA Academy; Newton followed his long-time training partner and made it his home. Out of Warrior MMA, Newton's career flourished under the coaching of Terry Riggs and Everton McEwan. Newton, a Toronto

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

student, did his study on geriatric medicine, having done research at Baycrest Hospital, one of the world leaders in geriatric care.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Newton's professional mixed martial arts career began at age of 19 in 1996. His first professional fight took place in April 1996 at the

Kahnawake The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, across from Montreal. Establi ...

reservation near Montreal, where he faced Jean Rivière, who was at least 75 lbs heavier. After dominating much of the fight, it ended with a submission loss due to sheer exhaustion for Newton, however, the spectacle of the brave smaller fighter launched his career. Newton competed in the world's top mixed martial arts organizations such as Shooto, K-1 and Pride Fighting Championships in Japan, UFC in America and W-1 in Canada.

Pride FC and Shooto Japan

Newton started his Japan fight career with a win over Erik Paulson to become the Vale Tudo Japan World Champion. After a few dominating fights in the Shooto organization, he then moved on to PRIDE FC, considered to be the top MMA show in the world along with the UFC. In June 1998, Newton lost a technical bout in Pride Fighting Championships against

Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, submission wrestling, submission wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH, Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Championship, G ...

. The Sakuraba vs. Newton fight is remembered today as a classic and one of the best MMA fights ever for submission grappling fans. This legendary fight propelled both fighters to MMA superstardom. Newton went on in the PRIDE Japan to rack up wins over Daijiro Matsui,

Naoki Sano (born February 2, 1965) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist most notable for being the generational rival of legendary Japanese pro wrestler Jushin Liger. During the last years of his career he went by th ...

, Johil de Oliveira, all on his way to a spectacular armbar victory over "Pelé" José Landi-Jons at Pride 19 in February 2002. After this win Pride President Naoto Morishita declared, "Newton is considered the unofficial PRIDE middle weight Champion". In October 2003, Newton gained a split-decision victory over Renzo Gracie at Pride Bushido 1.

Ultimate Fighting Championships

Newton's fourth and fifth fights marked his UFC debut at UFC 17, defeating Bob Gilstrap and losing a controversial decision to Dan Henderson on the same night for the middle weight tournament title. Newton's greatest professional accomplishment in his career was capturing the UFC Welterweight Championship from Pat Miletich in May 2001 at

UFC 31 ''UFC 31: Locked and Loaded '' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 4, 2001. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later ...

. The reign was short-lived however, as Newton lost his first title defense in November of that same year at '' UFC 34'' against accomplished wrestler Matt Hughes. Newton had a triangle choke locked in on Hughes, but Hughes picked up Newton, walked him to the corner, and attempted to slam him. Newton placed his arm over the side of the cage to prevent the slam, causing John McCarthy to warn him, before Hughes seemed to lose consciousness and fall to the mat while still holding Newton, causing Newton to hit his head and also lose consciousness. With Hughes slow to get up and Newton out cold on the mat, McCarthy would award the victory to Hughes via KO. The ending of the fight proved to be controversial, as many believed that Hughes was unconscious before Newton, who should have been awarded the victory as a result.

K-1 HEROs

Newton was set for a comeback fight at K-1's HEROs MMA promotion against

Melvin Manhoef Melvin Manhoef (born 11 May 1976) is a retired Surinamese people, Surinamese-born Dutch people, Dutch mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Kickboxing, kickboxer. In kickboxing, he is a former It's Showtime (kickboxing), It's Showtime Middl ...

at the Ariake Coliseum on August 5, but had to pull out of the fight at the last minute due to a torn ligament in his knee. He made a second attempt at a comeback in K-1 HEROs, this time facing Tokimitsu Ishizawa. Newton made short work of the Japanese fighter, needing only four punches to score the TKO victory in just 22 seconds. He then faced Shungo Oyama at Hero's Korea 2007 where he lost by submission due to punches.

International Fight League

Newton and Riggs were the coaches of the Toronto Dragons in the IFL in the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Based out of Warrior MMA in Newmarket, the Dragons were made up of international notable fighters such as Claude Patrick, Wagnney Fabiano, Brent Beauparlant, Rafael Cavalcante, Leo Santos and Dennis Hallman. The Dragons made the playoffs in the 2006 season and went on as far as the semifinals round. Wagnney Fabiano from the team qualified and won the IFL Lightweight Championship. Newton fought in a superfight that year and lost to Renzo Gracie by way of an extremely controversial split decision at the IFL Championship Final. Gracie himself questioned the call after the fight.

W-1

Carlos, motivated by a chance to compete in Canada, made a return to MMA again in 2009 at Warrior-1: Inception. He scored a first round victory by way of KO against Nabil Khatib, this was Carlos's first fight on Canadian soil in 13 years. He again returned to action on October 10, 2009, against former UFC veteran "Mr. International" Shonie Carter at Warrior-1: High Voltage. The bout was to be for the Warrior-1 Welterweight Championship, but because Newton did not make weight, it was a non-title bout. Newton beat Carter by unanimous decision after three rounds. In 2009, after his win over Shonie Carter, he stated in an interview to Sherdog that he was anticipating his return to fighting abroad, with particular interest in Japan. However, after one more fight in Australia, Newton decided, that after a successful fight career that spanned 14 years, it was finally time to take a break and focus on coaching. Following his retirement, Newton had coached at his home gym, Warrior Mixed Martial Arts, in

, until he eventually opened and began coaching at his own gym, Newton Mixed Martial Arts, in Pickering, Ontario.

Accomplishments

* Jiu-Jitsu **Canadian Jiu-Jitsu Champion (5 times) (including Open Weight Champion) *

Pankration Pankration (; ) was an unarmed combat sport introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques but also others, such as kicking, holds, joint locks, and chokes on the ground, making it s ...

**Canadian Pankration Champion (2 times) *

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 ( ...

** UFC Welterweight Championship (One time) ***First Canadian champion in UFC history ** UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Runner Up ** UFC Encyclopedia Awards *** Fight of the Night (One time) *** Submission of the Night (Three times)

Mixed martial arts record

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Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is a village in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is located in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

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Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–10 , Ryo Chonan , Decision (unanimous) , Pride Bushido 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–9 , Daiju Takase , Decision (split) , Pride Bushido 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–8 ,

Renato Verissimo Renato Verissimo de Oliveira (born August 3, 1973) is a Brazilian 5th degree Black belt in Brazilian Jiu jitsu under André Pederneiras and also a retired mixed martial artist, who has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Elite Xt ...

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 46 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 13–7 , Renzo Gracie , Decision (split) , Pride Bushido 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–7 , Anderson Silva , KO (flying knee and punches) , Pride 25 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:27 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–6 , Pete Spratt , Submission (kimura) , UFC 40 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:45 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–6 , Matt Hughes , TKO (punches) , UFC 38 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 3:35 ,

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, 11–5 , Jose Landi-Jons , Submission (armbar) , Pride 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:16 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–5 , Matt Hughes , KO (slam) , UFC 34 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,

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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 ...

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Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Karl Schmidt , Submission (armbar) , WEF 9 – World Class , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:12 ,

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

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, Submission (kneebar) , Pride 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:19 ,

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Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

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Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Carlos 1976 births Living people Black Canadian mixed martial artists Black Canadian sportsmen Canadian male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Canadian jujutsuka Mixed martial artists utilizing pankration Mixed martial artists utilizing jujutsu Canadian submission wrestlers Ultimate Fighting Championship champions York University alumni Anguillan emigrants to Canada Martial artists from Toronto Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters