Edward Norris Ratcliff (born March 5, 1983) 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 ...

. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2010, he fought in the WEC.

Background

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Ratcliff is African-American but is also of Iroquois Native American descent. Ratcliff was raised alongside his sister by his single mother, Laceine. It was Ratfcliff's mother who was his original martial arts instructor. In elementary school, Ratcliff began

Tae Kwon Do 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 a ...

and would eventually earn black belts in both disciplines. At the age of 17, Ratcliff tried out to be a part of

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock ( né Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Ken Shamrock. He is best known ...

's gym The Lion's Den in 2001 and made the team.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ratcliff made his professional MMA debut in 2005 and compiled an undefeated professional record of 4-0 before being signed by the WEC.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Ratcliff debuted at

WEC 27 ''WEC 27: Marshall vs. McElfresh'' was the third mixed martial arts event held by the World Extreme Cagefighting under Zuffa management. The event was held on May 12, 2007. UFC lightweight fighter and future WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varne ...

, defeating Johnny Sampaio via TKO (knees) in the second round. Next, he faced Ultimate Fighter alumni

Alex Karalexis Alexander Karalexis (born September 20, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2003 until 2011, Karalexis was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 1, and competed for the UFC and WEC. Background Karal ...

and was again victorious via technical knockout. However, Ratcliff suffered his first WEC and professional loss at WEC 33 at the hands of

Marcus Hicks Marcus Dewayne Hicks (born November 25, 1975) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who last competed in 2014. A professional since 2002, he is perhaps best remembered for his six-fight stint in the World Extreme Cagefighting, W ...

via guillotine choke. Ratcliff then bounced back against

Phil Cardella Phil Ryan Cardella (born July 9, 1976) is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He formerly fought as a lightweight in the World Extreme Cagefighting organization. All but one of Cardella's triumphs have come by first-round submission. He ho ...

, winning via unanimous decision. He lost his last fight against

Donald Cerrone Donald Anthony Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American former professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and actor. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions of the Ultima ...

via submission at

WEC 45 ''WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on December 19, 2009 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.www.wec.tv/index.cfm It marked the first time the WEC has held back-t ...

on December 19, 2009. Ratcliff was expected to face

Chris Horodecki Christopher Horodecki (born September 24, 1987) is a Polish-Canadian mixed martial artist. He has competed for the WEC, the IFL, Bellator, TKO Major League MMA, and Palace Fighting Championship. Background Horodecki was born in London, Ontari ...

on June 20, 2010 at

WEC 49 ''WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 20, 2010 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background WEC 49 was the only event the organization had held outsi ...

, but just days before the event, Ratcliff pulled out of the event for undisclosed reasons. Horodecki instead faced WEC newcomer Danny Downes. The fight between Horodecki and Ratcliff eventually took place on September 30, 2010 at

WEC 51 ''WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on September 30, 2010 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. This was the only event that the WEC hosted in Colorado. Backg ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Ratcliff was released by UFC/Zuffa in January 2011.

Championships and accomplishments

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 ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs.

Mixed martial arts record

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WEC 42 ''WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on August 9, 2009, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background Kenji Osawa was originally scheduled to face Rani Yahya at th ...

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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 ...

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratcliff, Ed 1983 births American male mixed martial artists African-American mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Living people American male karateka American male taekwondo practitioners 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen