Mark David Robinson (born 18 March 1963) is a South African

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

and

powerlifter Powerlifting is a competitive strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight singl ...

. He is considered to be one of South Africa's most accomplished athletes due to his accomplishments in several

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

styles ( freestyle,

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

) and

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

Background

Robinson was born to a family of martial artists. His father, Norman Robinson, was one of the first practitioners of

Shotokan Karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" thr ...

in South Africa and helped instigate the establishment of the South African branch of the

Japan Karate Association The Japan Karate Association (日本空手協会; ''Nihon Karate Kyokai''; JKA; sometimes referred to simply as ''Kyokai'' 協会 in Japan) is one of the oldest global Shotokan karate organizations in the world. Origins Gichin Funakoshi played ...

. His grandfather, Jack Robinson, was a pioneer of

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 ...

in South Africa and set up an establishment that would later become Judo South Africa.

Grappling career

Robinson's earliest sporting achievement was in 1982, when he became the South African judo champion in the heavyweight division. Robinson later started pursuing various forms of

amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced at Olympic Games, Olympic, Collegiate wrestling, collegiate, Scholastic wrestling, scholastic, and other levels. There are two international wrestling styles performed at the Olympic Games, fr ...

including both

and freestyle. From 1994 to 1996, he won multiple medals in wrestling at the African Wrestling Championship and

African Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

. His strong performance at the 1996 Acropolis Wrestling Grand Prix qualified him for a spot at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Greco-Roman wrestling. However, he was unable to compete due to budget restrictions. Robinson competed in the 1996 Sumo World Championship with only a few months of training. In the finals, he defeated Emmanuel Yarbrough to become champion of the openweight class. Robinson competed at the 2001

ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship is an international submission wrestling, submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). ADCC is considered one of the most prestigious No-Gi submission grappling tou ...

in the +99 kg category against several strong candidates. He defeated Valeriy Yureskul,

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian professional boxer and retired mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, and Middleweight d ...

and

Ricco Rodriguez Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight (MMA), heavyweight division. A professional competitor from 1999 to 2019, he competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, ...

to reach the final, where he defeated

Jeff Monson Oregon State Beavers Jeffrey William Monson (born January 18, 1971) is an American-born Russian mixed martial artist, boxer, and submission grappler who competes primarily in the heavyweight division. A professional com ...

to become champion.

Powerlifting career

Around the same time he started his grappling career, Robinson also participated in powerlifting. He is a multiple time medalist at WPC World Championships including winner of the 1990 World Championship at the +140 kg category.

Personal Bests

* Squat – 496/936.9 lb (Raw/Single) *

Bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

– 297.6/595.2 lb (Raw/Single) *

Deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

– 545.6/821.2 lb (Raw/Single * Total – 1289.7/2353.4 lb (Raw/Single)

Mixed martial arts career

Robinson had a brief career in

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 ...

. On 26 August 2000, he fought for the promotion, World Extreme Fighting at the event WEF – New Blood Conflict. He faced Joe Leyva and won by submission in less than 30 seconds. On 23 February 2001, he fought for the promotion,

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 ( ...

at the event

UFC 30 ''UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal (now the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City) in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 23, 2001. UFC 30 was th ...

. He faced

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 ...

and was knocked out in the first round by a standing elbow strike. However Hoffman failed a drug test afterwards and the decision was changed to a no-contest.

Personal life

Robinson lives in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

with his wife Deirdre and daughter. Robinson set up a martial arts academy in 2001 in South Africa.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , NC , align=center, 1–0 (1) ,

, NC (overturned) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:27 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Joe Leyva , Submission (neck crank) , WEF: New Blood Conflict , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:22 , N/A ,

Submission wrestling record

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Mark Living people 1963 births ADCC Submission Fighting World Champions (men) Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Sumo Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling South African male mixed martial artists South African male sport wrestlers South African powerlifters South African submission wrestlers South African strength athletes Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Medalists at the 1995 All-Africa Games African Games silver medalists in wrestling African Games silver medalists for South Africa 20th-century South African sportsmen Place of birth missing (living people)