Nick Ring (born February 10, 1979) is a

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

and

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 is best known for competing in the

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 ...

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 MMA competitor from 2002 to 2015, Ring fought in various promotions. Ring was a competitor on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

's '' The Ultimate Fighter 11''.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ring's early background in fighting was as a kickboxer, where he compiled around 30 fights. His transition to MMA was quoted as being because "eventually what I liked about MMA versus kickboxing – and I love kickboxing – was just the whole ground aspect. I like the purity of an MMA fight." Ring was also a professional boxer (during his hiatus from MMA through injury) with a record of 4–1, with 2 victories coming by knockout. Ring started his MMA career in 2002 in local promotions in his home region of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada against Bill Mahood. Ring was able to win via verbal submission just 22 seconds into the first round. A year later, Ring made his second professional MMA appearance against Wyatt Lewis. Ring was again victorious, this time via decision after 2 rounds. Just two weeks later, Ring fought again. Against Alex Gasson, Ring won another decision and followed this up with a submission (strikes) victory over Kevin Dolan. Two years later, Ring made his return to mixed martial arts against Kimo Woelfel, winning via first round rear naked choke. Ring next fought Mike Malone and won via first round TKO; his first TKO of his career. Ring later won a unanimous decision over Ryuichi Murata.

Injury and return at Bellator

Ring suffered a knee injury which forced him out of competition for over three years. During this time, Ring took up a professional boxing career, compiling a record of 4–1, with three knockouts. He eventually made his return to MMA when he signed with Bellator. At Bellator 9, Ring fought Isidro Gonzalez and was able to submit him in 39 seconds with a guillotine choke. Ring then won his next two fights against Chester Post and Yannick Galipeau, both in the first round. It was rumored that Ring was offered a place in Bellator at the same time as ''The Ultimate Fighter''.

The Ultimate Fighter

In March 2010, Ring was announced as part of the eleventh season of ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

''. In a dominant first performance, to gain entry into the TUF house, Ring defeated Woody Wetherby via TKO due to punches in round 1. Ring earned praise from

Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz () is an American politican and retired mixed martial artist and Submission grappling, submission grappler. Ortiz is best known for his career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC ...

, who expressed his interest in selecting Ring as the first member of Team Punishment. This was indeed to be the case as Ortiz selected him as his number one pick, making Ring the first overall pick of the competition. For his second bout, Ring fought

Court McGee Court McGee (born December 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, McGee mostly fought in local pr ...

, winning via majority decision (20–18, 19–19, 20–18). Later on in the competition, McGee was reinstated and the two were set to have a rematch in the quarter-finals. However, after visiting the doctor, Ring discovered that he faced a third ACL reconstruction surgery and faced a choice; fight on injured and risk tearing his meniscus, or withdraw from competition and have surgery immediately. James Hammortree was named as Ring's replacement. Due to his knee injury and surgery, Ring was not able to compete at the TUF 11 Finale. Ring's surgery took place on April 8, 2010, and afterwards, Ring faced a long period of recovery time, getting cleared to train in September. After his recovery, Ring trained for his debut at UFC 127 at his home club, BDB Martial Arts in Calgary AB, and at Tristar Gym in Montreal QC, with the likes of

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981), also known by his initials GSP, is a Canadian former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-divi ...

and Rory MacDonald.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ring beat promotional newcomer and DEEP middleweight champion, Riki Fukuda on February 27, 2011, at UFC 127 via controversial unanimous decision. All three judges gave Ring the first two rounds despite Fukuda controlling all three rounds with takedowns. Literally all major MMA media news organizations scored the fight as a decision win for Fukuda. Regardless of Ring's win on the scorecards, UFC 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 ...

, as well as many spectators, felt Fukuda won the bout. Dana stated on his Twitter account that Fukuda would be paid his win bonus. For his sophomore UFC bout, Ring faced promotional newcomer James Head on June 11, 2011, at UFC 131. He won the fight via submission in the third round. In his third UFC fight, Ring faced Tim Boetsch on September 24, 2011, at UFC 135. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, the first loss of his professional MMA career. Ring then fought

in a rematch from their time on

on July 21, 2012, at UFC 149. Ring won via unanimous decision. For the second time in a bout against McGee, the win was regarded as controversial by many media sources. Stats after the fight showed that McGee outstruck Ring 32–25 in the second round and 53–16 in the final round. After the fight, McGee said "I felt like I had cage control, was more aggressive, out-struck him and attempted a submission in the third round. I should not have left it in the hands of the judges and finished the fight." Ring was expected to face Costas Philippou on November 17, 2012, at UFC 154 but the fight was cancelled due to Ring's illness on the day of the weigh ins. Ring faced Chris Camozzi on March 16, 2013, at UFC 158. He lost the fight via split decision. Ring was expected to meet

Uriah Hall Uriah Alexander Hall (born July 31, 1984) is a Jamaican-American former professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Kickboxing, kickboxer, and current Professional boxing, boxer. He competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight divi ...

at UFC Fight Night 26. However, Ring was pulled from the bout and initially replaced by Josh Samman, who was ultimately pulled and replaced by UFC returnee

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

. Ring faced Caio Magalhães on December 7, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 33. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Post UFC career

Nick was released from the UFC. In his first post-UFC bout, he defeated Jason Zentgraf via unanimous decision at Hard Knocks Fighting Championship 43 on May 22, 2015, in Calgary, Alberta.

Personal life

Nick Ring and both of his parents were born in the United States of America. On June 6, 2012, Ring was leaving a Starbucks at Macleod Trail and 94th Avenue in Calgary when he saw a group of about 6–10 people across the street beating up a couple to steal a young woman's backpack. One girl had another girl by her hair and was kneeing her in the face while her boyfriend was trying to protect her but was being held down. Ring got out of his car, checked on the victims, and along with another bystander who saw the fight in progress started to chase what he called the "wannabe gangsters" who ran when they saw them. As he chased the suspects, who appeared to be about 17 or 18 years old, Ring called police on his cellphone and the pair were able to catch one suspect. Ring says police caught another five or six suspects. Calgary Police have advised citizens to avoid participating in this type of heroics.

Professional boxing record

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%" , - ! !Result !Record !Opponent !Method !Round, time !Date !Location !Notes , - , 6 , Win , 5–1 , align=left, Elvis Vukaj , UD , 6 , April 3, 2015 , align=left, , , - , 5 , Win , 4–1 , align=left, Willard Lewis , TKO , 4 (8), 3:00 , April 25, 2009 , align=left, , , - , 4 , Loss , 3–1 , align=left, Kevin Reynolds , UD , 8 , December 27, 2008 , align=left, , , - , 3 , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Kombo Mohamed , TKO , 1 (4), 2:24 , March 15, 2008 , align=left, , , - , 2 , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Chris Ladouceur , MD , 4 , November 22, 2007 , align=left, , , - , 1 , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Paul Tryl , UD , 4 , September 27, 2007 , align=left, ,

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–4 , Cory Devela , Decision (unanimous) , Hard Knocks 44 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Jason Zentgraf , Decision (unanimous) , Hard Knocks 43 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 , Caio Magalhães , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Queensland, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 , Chris Camozzi , Decision (split) , UFC 158 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Quebec, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 149 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–1 , Tim Boetsch , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 135 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Colorado, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 , James Head , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC 131 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:33 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Riki Fukuda , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 127 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Yannick Galipeau , Submission (armbar) , AMMA 1: First Blood , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Chester Post , TKO (punches) , Rumble in the Cage 36 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:24 ,

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Isidro Gonzalez , Submission (guillotine choke) , Bellator 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:39 ,

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the parish seat and largest city of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropolitan statistical ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Ryuichi Murata , Decision (unanimous) , Deep: 23 Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Mike Malone , TKO (punches) , Icon Sport – Opposites Attract , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:04 , Hawaii, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Kimo Woelfel , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Superbrawl – Icon , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ,

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, Hawaii, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Kevin Dolan , Submission (punches) , WFF 4 – Civil War , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:20 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Alex Gasson , Decision (unanimous) , Calgary Max , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Wyatt Lewis , Decision (unanimous) , Roadhouse Rumble 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Bill Mahood , Submission (verbal) , Roadhouse Rumble 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:22 ,

, Canada ,

References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, Nick 1979 births Living people Canadian male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Canadian male kickboxers Canadian male boxers Cruiserweight boxers Canadian male Muay Thai practitioners Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century Canadian sportsmen