Eric Pele (born October 21, 1969) is a retired

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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 ...

Samoan Samoan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean ** Something of, from, or related to Samoa, a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands ** Something of, from, ...

descent and former King of the Cage Super Heavyweight Champion. Pele is also an accomplished

tattoo artist A tattoo artist (also tattooer or tattooist) is an individual who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in an established business called a "tattoo shop", "tattoo studio" or "tattoo parlour". Tattoo artists usually learn their craft via an ...

who has appeared on the

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shows "Inked" and "Tattoo Nightmare", with the latter appearing on

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, using the nickname 'Big E'. He has competed in various

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 ...

organizations including RINGS, MFC, and

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 ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Pele made his professional debut in 2000 at the RINGS USA Heavyweight Tournament, defeating

Wesley Correira Wesley John Correira Jr. (born November 11, 1978), nicknamed Cabbage, is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions. An iron chinned brawler, Correira began his career in 2000 and came to pro ...

(also making his pro debut) via submission. In the semifinal bout, Pele defeated Roger Neff via decision. In the final, Pele faced then 20-3

Bobby Hoffman Bobby "The Truth" Hoffman (born October 28, 1966) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the heavyweight division. He is the former King of the Cage super heavyweight champion as well as the former King of the Cage heavyweig ...

. Pele was handed his first professional loss via decision.

King of the Cage

After three more wins, Pele faced

Dan Bobish Daniel Emerson Bobish ( ; born January 26, 1970) is a retired American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He was competing in the Super Heavyweight (no limit) division. He is a former King of the Cage Super Heavyweight Champion ...

in the main event at KOTC: Cold Blood for the Super Heavyweight title. Pele was defeated after his corner stopped the fight in the second round. In 2003, Pele fought again for the title against

Dan Christison Daniel Bernard "The Sandman" Christison (born April 26, 1972) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2001 until 2010, he fought for the San Jose Razorclaws of the International Fight League, the Ultimate Fighting Champi ...

. Pele won the King of the Cage Super Heavyweight title via first-round TKO. In his first title defense, Pele defeated

Travis Fulton Travis Fulton (May 29, 1977 – July 10, 2021) was an American mixed martial artist and a professional boxer in the heavyweight division of both sports. Known as a longtime veteran in mixed martial arts, he competed in over 300 sanctioned bou ...

via first-round submission. In 2005, Pele returned to defend his title in a rematch with Bobby Hoffman. Pele avenged his first career loss and title via second-round TKO. Pele was later stripped of the title due to inactivity, and fought Vince Lucero in October 2006, winning via decision.

BodogFIGHT

Pele was signed by Bodog and slated to face Antonio Silva for BodogFIGHT on December 2, 2006. Pele handed the future

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 ...

title challenger his first professional loss via TKO. After his win over Silva, Pele next faced

Alexander Emelianenko Alexander Vladimirovich Emelianenko (or Yemelianenko; rus, Александр Владимирович Емельяненко, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Emel'janenko, ɐlʲɪkˈsandr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjæ ...

on April 14, 2007. Pele was defeated via first-round stoppage. After a win in the regional circuit, Pele returned to Bodog, losing via decision to Akhmed Sultanov.

Maximum Fighting Championship

Pele last competed professionally in May 2008 against

Chase Gormley Chase Gormley (born August 11, 1983) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxing, bare-knuckle boxer, currently competing in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division of the Bare Knuckle Fightin ...

. Pele was defeated via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

** KOTC Super Heavyweight Championship (Two times) ***One successful title defense * Fighting Network RINGS **2000 Rising Stars Heavyweight Tournament Runner-up

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , MFC 16: Anger Management , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , N/A , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–4 , Akhmet Sultanov , Decision (unanimous) , BodogFIGHT: USA vs. Russia , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Antoine Hayes , TKO , IFO: Kimmons vs Yunker , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 , N/A , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, KO (punch) , BodogFIGHT: Clash of the Nations , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:07 , N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Antônio Silva , TKO (punches and elbows) , BodogFIGHT: USA vs Russia , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:40 , N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Vince Lucero , Decision (unanimous) , Extreme Wars 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 ,

, TKO , KOTC: Mortal Sins , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:55 , N/A , Won the vacant KOTC Super Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 ,

, Submission (verbal) , KOTC 32: Bringing Heat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 , N/A , Defended the KOTC Super Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 ,

, TKO , KOTC 23: Sin City , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:50 , N/A , Won the vacant KOTC Super Heavyweight Championship. , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 ,

, TKO (corner stoppage) , KOTC 12: Cold Blood , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:10 , N/A , For the vacant KOTC Super Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Kauai Kupihea , TKO (submission to strikes) , KOTC 11: Domination , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 , N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Sean Alvarez , KO , KOTC 9: Showtime , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:27 , N/A , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Ernest Henderson , TKO (submission to punches) , GC 1: Gladiator Challenge 1 , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A , N/A , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , RINGS USA: Rising Stars Final , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , N/A , RINGS Heavyweight Tournament Final. , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Roger Neff , Decision (unanimous) , RINGS: King of Kings 2000 Block B , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , N/A , RINGS Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal. , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 ,

, Submission (armbar) , RINGS: King of Kings 2000 Block B , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:30 , N/A , RINGS Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pele, Eric 1969 births American male mixed martial artists Samoan male mixed martial artists Living people Martial artists from Las Vegas Super heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Samoan practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American tattoo artists American male tattoo artists 20th-century American sportsmen