Jason Tan (born 1982) is a retired English

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 ...

and currently a head coach of MMA academy Liverpool. He formerly competed in the

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 ...

division.

Biography

Tan started out in kickboxing at the age of 15 before studying Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA. It is said in previous interviews that Tan's inspiration to study Jiu Jitsu and MMA was through watching

Rickson Gracie Rickson Gracie (; born November 21, 1959) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Gracie, and half-brother to Rolker, Royce, Robin ...

's ''Choke'' documentary. Tan has travelled extensively to pursue training in mixed martial arts. He has trained with Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and Pride Veteran Chris Brennan at the original Next Generation Fighting Academy, California. On his return to the United Kingdom, Tan co-created Next Generation MMA UK in Liverpool. Tan currently teaches and trains at The MMA Academy Liverpool with Thai Boxing Champion Peter Davies. On 5 December 2012, Tan was awarded his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from SBGi Vice President and BJJ Black Belt Karl Tanswell of SBG Mainline, Manchester.

Mixed martial arts career

Tan began his career on the local show in Liverpool, known as Cage Fighting Championships & Cage Gladiators, defeating opponents such as Joey Van Wanrooy and Leslee Ojugbana. At this time Tan was not a prominent figure on the British MMA scene as he was only fighting in local shows. However this changed when he agreed to fight London's Alex Reid at the Manchester Evening News Arena on the ''"WCFC: No Guts, No Glory" event''. Tan took the fight on two hours notice and some interviews state that he was actually in the middle of a McDonald's feast when he received the call. Tan dominated the fight both standing and on the ground earning a decision victory. Tan's first defeat came against

Jim Wallhead Jim Wallhead (born 14 March 1984) is an English former professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division. He has competed for BAMMA, Bellator MMA, Bellator, and M-1 Challenge and ...

who hails from Leicester and is a part of Team Rough House in Nottingham. Over a tough three round battle the judges scored a split decision victory for Wallhead. Tan had to take time off after the Wallhead fight due to a knee injury and was not able to compete until mid-2007. Tan signed with the UFC in 2007. In his debut he fought at UFC 72 against former pro boxer Marcus Davis. Tan came out with sharp Muay Thai skills landing leg kicks and high kicks on Davis. However a brief exchange from the pair saw Tan get dropped by a right hook which prompted Davis to land further shots before referee Yves Lavigne stopped the bout at 1:15 of the first round. Tan came back stronger defeating Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Alexandre Izidro. Izidro was a recognized fighter in the UK and the former Cage Warriors Lightweight Champion. Tan dominated the fight outstriking Izidro on the feet and landing effective ground and pound from the top on the ground, where he had him in an armbar. Tan took a unanimous decision. Tan returned to the UFC in 2008, facing undefeated Korean fighter Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 84. He lost via TKO (elbows) in the third round. He then gave up his fighting career after just three years, deciding it wasn’t worth the physical injury.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 5–3 , Dong Hyun Kim , KO (elbows) , UFC 84 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:25 ,

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Alexandre Izidro , Decision (unanimous) , CG 4 – Cage Gladiators 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 , Marcus Davis , KO (punch) , UFC 72 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 ,

, Decision (split) , CG II – The Next Generation , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Joey Van Wanrooij , Submission (triangle choke) , CG 1 – Cage Gladiators 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:46 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Alex Reid , Decision (split) , WCFC – No Guts No Glory , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Leslee Ojugbana , Submission (triangle choke) , CFC 4 – Cage Carnage , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:56 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Brian Moore , TKO (punches) , CFC 3 – Cage Carnage , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, England ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Jason Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English male mixed martial artists English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Liverpool Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu