Ed West (born October 30, 1983) is a Filipino-born American

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 ...

. He competed in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division of

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

, and the World Series of Fighting (WSOF).

Early life

West was born in

Olongapo Olongapo (), officially the City of Olongapo (; ; ; Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Olongapo''), is a highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 260,317 peo ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

where both his mother and father served in the US Navy. He attended kindergarten, first grade and his first

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 ...

classes there and then moved to the States with his parents when he was 7 years old. A few years after arriving in America, Ed became re-involved in

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; ...

when he was 9 years old. He was inspired by watching

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 ...

movies and practiced styles like

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

Jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

, and

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

. At 16, Ed met a man who told him he was a

cage fighter Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

, which led West to travel down the road of

Mixed Martial Arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

. West's first cage fight was in March 2003 fighting in the Rage in the Cage organization. West also attended

Pima Community College Pima Community College (PCC) is a Public university, public community college in Pima County, Arizona. It serves the Tucson, Arizona, Tucson metropolitan area with a community college district consisting of five campuses, four education centers, ...

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, where he studied

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

and

sports medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

Mixed martial arts career

West currently trains at Apex MMA in

. Since 2003, West has fought in many

MMA 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 ...

organizations in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he finished 9 of his 17 victories with a submission (particularly armbars) as a professional fighter. He made his debut in the ''Rage in the Cage'' tournaments and piled up a successful winning record.

International Fight League

In 2006–2007, West competed in the team-based

International Fight League The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

as a member of Ken Yasuda's Tokyo Sabres. Despite his three losses in the IFL, West proved himself by moving up two weight classes and fighting against bigger fighters in the

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division. Although West's first IFL match was a loss to his opponent,

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 ...

, after having to be decided by the judges, the pair put on a tough battle that was awarded "Fight of the Night" honors.

Desert Rage Full Contact Fighting

In 2010, West won Arizona's Desert Rage Full Contact Fighting bantamweight championship when he defeated Tyler Bialecki. West then defended his belt against Sam Rodriguez the following year.

Bellator Fighting Championships

West quickly became a fan favorite when he entered the

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from '' bellātor'', the Latin word for "warrior". Bellato ...

bantamweight tournament in 2010. At

Bellator 32 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010, and ended on June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the Featherweight (MMA), featherweight, Light ...

, West fought Zach Makovsky in the finals for the chance to become the Bellator bantamweight champion. Despite a noble effort, fighting a war for five rounds, Makovsky received the unanimous decision. West took on Luis Nogueira at Bellator 51 in the opening round of the season 5 tournament. He won by unanimous decision. West would then take Eduardo Dantas in the semi-finals at Bellator 55. He lost by Split Decision. West took on

Marcos Galvão Marcos Galvão (born 23 June 1982) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2003, Galvão peaked at a global ranking ...

Bellator 65 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so i ...

in the season six quarter-finals match up. He lost via unanimous decision. At Bellator 91 West would take on Josh Montoya. He won via Knockout, which happens to be his first win by knockout. After his win over Montoya, West was granted his release from

and became a free agent.

Independent promotions

After parting ways with Bellator, West returned almost a year later and faced Antonio Duarte at MF - Mexico Fighter 5 on February 15, 2014. West lost the bout via anaconda choke submission in the first round, the first submission loss of his career.

Return to Bellator

On May 29, 2014, it was announced that West re-signed with Bellator. West faced

Mike Richman Michael Richman (born June 23, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer currently competing with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, where he is a former BKFC Light Heavyweight Champion. A professional competitor in mix ...

on September 26, 2014, at Bellator 126. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

World Series of Fighting

West signed with

World Series of Fighting 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 ...

and faced Russian fighter Timur Valiev in his debut on March 28, 2015. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

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

*Desert Rage Full Contact Fighting **DRFCF Bantamweight Championship (One time; Current) *Rage in the Cage **RITC Lightweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Savant Young Savant Young (born June 19, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1998 until 2013, he competed for the WEC, Bellator, Shooto, Affliction, the Tokyo Sabres of the IFL, King of the Cage, and Tachi ...

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References

External links

*
Ed West bio at Bellator MMA
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Ed 1983 births Sportspeople from Olongapo Living people American male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Shotokan Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing wushu Martial artists from Tucson, Arizona Sportspeople from Pima County, Arizona People from Olongapo American wushu practitioners American male taekwondo practitioners American male karateka Mixed martial artists from Arizona