Michael Kevin Guymon (born September 17, 1974) is a retired American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who formerly competed in

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight b ...

division. He has also competed for the UFC, as an alternate for the Tucson Scorpions in the IFL,

BAMMA BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and I ...

, and King of the Cage. He is the former King of the Cage Welterweight Champion. Michael was featured in the movie documentary "The Hurt Business" that debuted September 29th 2016 playing himself.

Background

Guymon was born in Newport Beach, CA but raised in Irvine, CA. He attended many different schools but graduated from Woodbridge High School and went to Orange Coast College to further his studies. Guymon was trying to live his dream of playing professional baseball but while doing that he stumbled into mixed martial arts and instantly fell in love with the sport. He began training

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

and

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gen ...

soon after finding out about the new combat sport. Once Guymon noticed that to become successful in MMA he would need to start developing a ground game, he started taking classes on

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting ( ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

Mixed martial arts career

In 1999, Guymon had his first professional fight against Zach Turnage with the fight resulting in a draw after fighting in three five-minute rounds and a five-minute overtime. He won two straight before opening the eyes of the matchmaker for the King of the Cage promotion who offered him a fight against up and comer,

Diego Sanchez Diego Sanchez (born December 31, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He competes in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2002, Sanchez is most known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...

. Guymon took the fight and lost by armbar submission with three seconds left in the first round. Guymon's next four fights came inside the King of the Cage promotion all wins and all of them coming by submission in the first round. With the four wins he improved his overall record to 6-1-1 getting him signed to the IFL. He made his debut taking on

Pat Healy Patrick Healy, Pat Healy, Patrick Healey or Pat Healey may refer to: * Felix Healy (Patrick Joseph Healy, born 1955), former Northern Irish football player and manager * Pat Healy (actor) (born 1971), American actor, writer, and director * Pat H ...

losing via a split decision. Guymon then returned to King of the Cage and won five straight fights, the last one being for the King of the Cage Welterweight Championship just three weeks after his suicide attempt.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Four days after defending the King of the Cage Welterweight Championship against Quinn Mulhern, Guymon received a call from the UFC about signing a contract. Guymon accepted and signed onto a four-fight deal. He lost his UFC debut on January 11, 2010 in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. At the 2010 census the p ...

at UFC Fight Night 20 against 20-year-old

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

, Rory MacDonald. The fight stayed standing for the most part but ended when Rory took the fight to the ground and

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

submitted Guymon with an armbar near the end of the first round. Guymon defeated

Yoshiyuki Yoshida (born May 10, 1974) is a Japanese mixed martial artist competing in the welterweight division. A student of former Shooto competitor Noboru Asahi, he has competed in Shooto, Cage Force, and the UFC. On December 1, 2007, he became the first C ...

on May 8, 2010 at UFC 113 by unanimous decision. Guymon faced Daniel Roberts on October 23, 2010 at UFC 121. Guymon would go on to lose the fight after Roberts locked on an anaconda choke, following with a gator roll that tightened the squeeze forcing Guymon to tap. Guymon next faced DaMarques Johnson on January 22, 2011 at UFC Fight Night 23 where he was injured early into the fight. He lost via verbal submission in the first round. After the fight, due to rupturing two discs in his back, Guymon announced his retirement from MMA.

Post-UFC

Guymon came out of retirement on March 16, 2012 dropping down to the

division where he defeated Chris Leyva by TKO due to punches in the second round at BAMMA USA: Badbeat 5. In his second fight at Lightweight in Bamma USA he beat Mike Dizack by split decision. Guymon faced Savant Young at

Bellator 85 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight cha ...

. He suffered the first knockout loss of his career after a left hook from Young put Guymon out cold, just under a minute into the second round. After the fight, Guymon was taken to the hospital, where the doctor noticed he had fracture of the orbital, cheekbone and jaw. The doctor advised Guymon to never compete again in any combat sport. Days after his first Bellator win against Aaron Miller on November 2, 2013, Guymon announced his retirement from MMA for the second time.

Personal life

Mike Guymon is currently married to Nicole Guymon.

Suicide attempt

On August 11, 2009, Guymon attempted to commit suicide after a dispute with his wife about possibly divorcing. Guymon wrote his family a suicide note and had planned to shoot himself with a handgun, but before he could do so, his wife was able to wrestle the gun away. Guymon then got into his truck and drove away but was stopped a few blocks away by the Orange County Sheriffs Department. Guymon tried numerous times to get the deputies to shoot and kill him but all refused. The deputies were able to calm Guymon down and get him some help.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 15–6–1 , Aaron Miller , Submission (triangle choke) , Bellator 106 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:20 ,

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–6–1 , Savant Young , KO (punch) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:48 ,

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5–1 , Mike Dizak , Decision (unanimous) , BAMMA USA: Badbeat 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Commerce, California Commerce is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 12,823 at the 2010 census, up from 12,568 at the 2000 census. It is usually referred to as the City of Commerce to distinguish it from the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5–1 , Cris Leyva , TKO (punches) , BAMMA USA: Badbeat 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:10 , Commerce, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5–1 , DaMarques Johnson , Submission (body triangle) , UFC: Fight for the Troops 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:22 ,

Killeen, Texas Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is the principal city ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4–1 , Daniel Roberts , Submission (anaconda choke) , UFC 121 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:13 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 113 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3–1 , Rory MacDonald , Submission (armbar) , UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:27 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2–1 , Quinn Mulhern , TKO (submission to punch) , KOTC: Distorted , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 4:32 ,

Highland, California Highland (and neighboring "East Highlands") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population of the city was 53,104 as of the 2010 census, up from 44,605 at the 2000 census. The term ''Highland'' also refers to a ge ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2–1 , Kyacey Uscola , TKO (punches) , KOTC: Militia , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:12 , Highland, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2–1 ,

Anthony Lapsley Anthony Lapsley (born February 13, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2006, Lapsley has also forme ...

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , KOTC: Prowler , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 3:37 , Highland, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2–1 , James Fanshier , TKO (punches) , KOTC: Bio Hazard , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 , Highland, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2–1 , Chris Moore , TKO (punch) , KOTC: Fight Nite @ The Shrine , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:52 , Los Angeles, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2–1 ,

, Decision (split) , IFL: Las Vegas , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1–1 , Josh Ramage , Submission (triangle choke) , KOTC: Destroyer , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:52 , San Jacinto, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1–1 , Ken Cadoy , Submission (guillotine choke) , KOTC 63: Final Conflict , , align=center, 1 , align-center, N/A , San Jacinto, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1–1 , Ray Perales , Submission (triangle choke) , KOTC 58: Prime Time , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:02 , San Jacinto, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1–1 , Joe Frainee , TKO (submission to punches) , KOTC 41: Relentless , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:22 , San Jacinto, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1–1 ,

, Submission (armbar) , KOTC 23: Sin City , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:57 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0–1 , Thomas Schulte , Submission (armbar) , Ultimate Athlete 3: Vengeance , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:51 , Denver, Colorado, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0–1 , Eric Duus , TKO (punches) , Ultimate Athlete 2: The Gathering , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:32 , Cabazon, California, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 0–0–1 , Zach Turnage , Draw , Kage Kombat 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:00 , Los Angeles, California, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guymon, Mike American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1974 births Living people Mixed martial artists from California Sportspeople from Newport Beach, California People from Irvine, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American Muay Thai practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu