David Michael Terrell (born January 9, 1978) 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

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 ...

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 ...

Background

Terrell is from

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

and was introduced to combat sports through

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 ...

, and was an accomplished wrestler in high school. He officially began training in

Sambo Sambo may refer to: Places * Sambo, Angola, a commune in Tchicala Tcholohanga, Huambo Province, Angola * Sambo Creek, a village in Honduras People * Ferdy Sambo (born 1973), former Indonesian police general * Khem Sambo (1961–2011), Cambodi ...

at 16, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when he was 19 years old, being interested in the martial art after watching several UFC fights on television.

Mixed martial arts career

UFC career

In his

debut, he scored a stunning

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

victory over top Middleweight

Matt Lindland Matthew James Lindland (born May 17, 1970), is an American retired mixed martial artist, Olympic wrestler, speaker, actor, coach, entrepreneur, and politician. He won the Oregon Republican Party's nomination for the Oregon House of Representati ...

. The victory instantly thrust Terrell into title contention, as his next fight was against

Evan Tanner Evan Lloyd Tanner (February 11, 1971 – September 5, 2008) was an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a former UFC Middleweight Champion and was the first American to win the Pancrase Neo-Blood tournament in Tokyo, ...

for the vacant UFC Middleweight Championship title in February 2005. Despite locking Tanner in a tight

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 ...

, Terrell lost the hold and eventually lost the match by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in the first round. Plagued by recurring injuries, Terrell's next fight did not come until

UFC 59 ''UFC 59: Reality Check'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 15, 2006 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, and broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada. This was the ...

in April 2006, where Terrell submitted his opponent, Scott Smith, with a

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

in the first round. Controversy surrounds the victory as the referee told the fighters to break before Terrell took Smith down. Smith was appealing to the referee when Terrell was able to get Smith's back and apply a rear naked choke. Questionable officiating by referee Marco Lopez led Smith to file a complaint to the

California State Athletic Commission The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) regulates amateur and professional boxing, amateur and professional kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts (MMA) throughout the State by licensing all participants and supervising the event ...

. At UFC 62 he was supposed to fight

Yushin Okami is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Okami has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, M-1 Global, World Series of Fighting, DEEP, Professional Fighters League, and ONE Championship. He is regarded as one o ...

but withdrew the bout due to a

sinus infection Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis, is an inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinuses resulting in symptoms that may include production of thick nasal mucus, nasal congestion, facial congestion, facial pain, facial pressure, ...

. The fight with Okami was then rescheduled to UFC 66, but Terrell again pulled out of the fight citing an elbow injury suffered during training

Despite an early report which claimed that Terrell was planning to move to Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight, Terrell was scheduled to fight

Ed Herman Edward Benson Herman (born October 2, 1980) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor from 2003 to 2023, Herman was a ...

in a Middleweight contest at UFC 78 in November 2007. However, he withdrew from the bout due to injury and was replaced by

Joe Doerksen Joseph Daniel Doerksen (born October 9, 1977) is a Canadian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1999 until 2014, he fought in the UFC, WEC, IFL, King of the Cage, Aggression Fighting Championship, World Victory Road, RINGS, SuperB ...

. On February 21, 2008 Terrell was released by the UFC.

Post-UFC

In early 2010 Terrell expressed his desire to continue fighting.

Career accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

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 Encyclopedia Awards *** Knockout of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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, KO (punches) ,

UFC 49 ''UFC 49: Unfinished Business'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 21, 2004, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and lat ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Terrell, David 1978 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Sacramento, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers