Mark Bocek (; born October 24, 1981) is a Canadian retired

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 ...

who competed 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 of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 ( ...

. A professional competitor for ten years from 2004 to 2014, Bocek has also formerly competed for

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

Background

Bocek holds a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and has been studying the art for two decades. He first studied under Rickson and

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A third generation member of the Gracie family, he is the grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder C ...

and then moved on to Nova Uniao, where he received his black belt through Joao Roque in December 2003, making him the first

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

-born black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Bocek currently trains in BJJ with Marcelo Garcia and also holds a black belt in Kempo Karate.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bocek caught the attention of the UFC when president

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

and UFC owner

Lorenzo Fertitta Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta (born January 3, 1969) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is chairman of Fertitta Capital, director of Red Rock Resorts Inc, and former CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life and ...

began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu under his tutelage. In his UFC debut at UFC 73, Bocek lost to future

UFC Lightweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Frankie Edgar via first round TKO. After rebounding at UFC 79 with a decision win over Doug Evans, Bocek lost to TUF winner Mac Danzig by submission in the third round. He fought against

Alvin Robinson Alvin Leavon Robinson (born July 16, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently fighting as a lightweight for the Bellator Fighting Championships. He is a former Ring of Fire lightweight champion. He holds a professional re ...

UFC 91 ''UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on November 15, 2008, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event featured the return of UFC Heavy ...

on November 16, 2008 and won by submission. His next fight was against

David Bielkheden David Bielkheden (born June 6, 1979) is a retired Swedish mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Shooto, Cage Rage, M-1 G ...

UFC 97 ''UFC 97: Redemption'' (not to be confused with ''UFC 17: Redemption'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on April 18, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background This event broke the UFC attendanc ...

, where he dominated Bielkheden and submitted him by rear naked choke in the first round. He was expected to face Matt Veach on December 5, 2009 at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale until Veach stepped up to fight Frank Edgar as Kurt Pellegrino's replacement. Bocek then fought UFC newcomer Joe Brammer on the same card. He defeated Brammer via first round submission. Bocek lost a unanimous decision in a close fight to Jim Miller on March 27, 2010 at UFC 111. Despite controlling Miller's position throughout most of the contest and taking him down on multiple occasions, all three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Miller. Bocek defeated

Dustin Hazelett Dustin Tyler Hazelett (born April 29, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial artist who had fought as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Hazelett was born in Louisa, Kentucky, USA. Hazelett began training in mar ...

via first round submission on December 11, 2010 at UFC 124. Bocek faced former WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson on April 30, 2011 at UFC 129. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Bocek faced Nik Lentz on December 10, 2011 at UFC 140. He won the fight via unanimous decision after taking down and controlling Lentz all three rounds. Bocek was expected to face

Matt Wiman Matt Wiman (born September 19, 1983) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed as a lightweight. He competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Wiman graduated from Broken Arrow High School in 2002. Mix ...

on April 21, 2012 at UFC 145. However, Wiman was forced from the bout with an injury and was replaced by returning UFC veteran

John Alessio John Paul Alessio (born July 5, 1979) is a Canadian retired professional mixed martial artist. A former competitor in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 1998, Alessio has also formerly competed for the UFC where h ...

. He won via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27). Bocek faced

Rafael dos Anjos Rafael Souza dos Anjos (; born 26 October 1984), also known by his initials RDA, is a Brazilian and American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Champion ...

on November 17, 2012 at UFC 154. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Bocek was expected to fight Michel Prazeres on September 21, 2013 at UFC 165. However, Bocek pulled out due to an injury and was replaced by UFC newcomer Jesse Ronson. Bocek was expected to face Evan Dunham on April 16, 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter: Nations Finale. However, Dunham pulled out of the bout in the week leading up to the event with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Mike De La Torre. Bocek won the fight via split decision. On August 5, 2014, Bocek announced his retirement from mixed martial arts competition via Twitter.

Personal life

Bocek is a big fan of the Czech rapper Marpo and he uses Marpo songs as his entrance music to his UFC fights.

Championships and achievements

** Submission of the Night (Two times) **UFC.com Awards ***2010: Ranked #5 Submission of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

*
Official UFC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bocek, Mark 1981 births Canadian male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing American Kenpo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Living people Martial artists from Toronto Canadian male karateka Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Canadian people of Czech descent 21st-century Canadian sportsmen