Eric John Schafer (born September 20, 1977) is a retired 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 ...

. A professional from 1997 until 2016, he competed for 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 ...

Background

Schafer attended the

University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh or UWO) is a public university in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs to around 13,0 ...

. Schafer is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Pedro Sauer.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Schafer compiled an amateur record of 2–1 before making his professional MMA debut in 1998. He then amassed a record of 6-1-2 before being signed by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship

He made his UFC debut at '' UFC 62'', defeating Rob MacDonald by arm-triangle choke, rendering him unconscious at the 2:26 mark of round one. Schafer then lost his next 2 bouts consecutively via TKO to

Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English former mixed martial artist, sports commentator, analyst, and actor. He competed in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ...

at '' UFC 66'' and Stephan Bonnar at ''

UFC 77 ''UFC 77: Hostile Territory'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The event took place on Saturday, October 20, 2007, at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. Background The main event featured An ...

''. Schafer next defeated

Houston Alexander Houston Alexander (born March 22, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who last competed in 2017. A professional competitor since 2001, he has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bell ...

by arm-triangle choke in the first round on September 17, 2008, at UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs Neer. Schafer won via TKO over Antonio Mendes at

UFC 93 ''UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 17, 2009 at The O2, Dublin in Dublin, Ireland. Background The main event featured a Light Heavyweight bout between fo ...

on January 7, 2009. He lost to

Ryan Bader Ryan Bader ( ; born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of RIZIN. He previously competed for Bellator MMA where he was the Bellator Heavyweight Champion, and still holds the record for th ...

by unanimous decision (30–27, 29–26, and 30–27) on October 24, 2009, on the undercard of UFC 104. Schafer was defeated by Jason Brilz via unanimous decision on March 21, 2010, at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones. After this bout he was released from the promotion.

Post UFC

In his first fight since being released from the

and his first fight at

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

Schafer defeated Chris Albandia via submission (triangle choke) in the first round at XFO 41 - Outdoor War 7 on September 3, 2011.

Return to the UFC

Schafer returned to the UFC in a Middleweight bout against Aaron Simpson at UFC 136 on October 8, 2011, and lost a unanimous decision. Schafer next faced Jorge Rivera on January 20, 2012, at

UFC on FX 1 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 ( ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. He was released from the promotion for the third time following this loss.

Independent promotions

After being released from the UFC, Schafer faced John Poppie at Madtown Throwdown 29: Unstoppable on January 5, 2013. He won via second round TKO. He then fought Eric Hammerich for Chosen Few FC 6, in Madison Wisconsin on 09/19/15. He would win by choke in 2:38 of the first round. His next fight would be his retirement fight against James Austen Heidlage for Choose Few FC 8, in Madison Wisconsin on 04/16/16. Eric would lose by referee stoppage at 3:01 of the second round.

Championships and accomplishments

*Gladiators Fighting Series **GFS Light Heavyweight Championship (One time) *Xtreme Fighting Organization **XFO Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer, Eric American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people Martial artists from Milwaukee 1977 births Mixed martial artists from Wisconsin Sportspeople from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu