Robin Black is a

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 ...

combat analyst and sports commentator. He formerly competed 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 ...

, and previously had a career as a

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

musician.Heath Jon McCoy, "Loud and proud in leather and feathers: Intergalactic Rock Stars love glitter and glam". ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'', November 4, 2000. Robin Black has commentated for most major combat sports organizations in the world such as

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

Brave Combat Federation BRAVE Combat Federation is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Bahrain. The organization was established on 23 September 2016 by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. BRAVE Combat Federation features mixed martial artists from more than ...

, Karate Combat,

World Lethwei Championship World Lethwei Championship (also known as WLC) was a Lethwei promotion based in Yangon, Myanmar. The promotion brought the millennia-old Burmese martial of Lethwei to UFC Fight Pass and showcased it to the world. The WLC events combined the hi ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

and ACB in Russia.

Career

Music career

Black grew up in Pinawa,

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

before moving to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

after high school.Allen Taylor, "In the black; From hard-partying glam rocker to MMA fighter to UFC analyst for TSN: The improbable journey of Manitoba's Robin Black". ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...

'', December 16, 2017. In Winnipeg he formed the band Ballroom Zombies in the mid-1990s, before moving to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1998 to form Robin Black and the Intergalactic Rock Stars. According to Black, he went around Toronto confidently boasting that he was going to be a rock star before he even actually had a band, and was forced to hastily assemble a band when his bluffing got him invited to perform at Canadian Music Week in 1999. The original band members included guitarist Stacey Stray, bassist Killer Ky Anto, keyboardist Chris "Starboy" Cunnane and drummer Kevin "K-Tron" Taylor, while Black himself was sometimes billed as Robin Fucking Black. The band released their first recording, the two-song "Time Travel Tonight"/"More Effeminate Than You", as a novelty

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

cut in the shape of a

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

in 2000. The album ''Planet Fame'', produced by Moe Berg and

Garth Richardson Garth "GGGarth" Richardson, (born ), is a Canadian record producer and sound engineer. He is the son of music producer Jack Richardson. He has worked with such musical acts as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crüe, Nickelback, Rage Against ...

, followed on February 14, 2002. It was filled with glam rock tracks, led by the single "So Sick of You", and was supported by a national tour. According to Black, "we've never hidden the fact that we want to be the filthy, beer-drinking, chick-fucking

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

of the 21st century. You've got

Edwin The name Edwin means "wealth-friend". It comes from (wealth, good fortune) and (friend). Thus the Old English form is Ēadwine, a name widely attested in early medieval England. Edwina is the feminine form of the name. Notable people and char ...

on one hand or you have Robin Black & the Intergalactic Rock Stars on the other. This is an easy choice to make. I mean, is Raine Maida really going to make you a better person? I don't think so." Black made an appearance on Showcase's TV series '' KinK'' in 2002. Prior to the release of their second album, the band brought in two new members, Chris "The Kidd" Avolos on drums and John "The Creep" Kerns on bass. The 2005 album was named ''Instant Classic'', and was produced by

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezri ...

along with Garth Richardson.Cam Fuller, "Pushed to the extreme: Robin Black looks for substance to go with style". ''

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. It has been referred to as a "sister newspaper" to the ''Regina Leader-Post, Leader-Post''. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out si ...

'', March 24, 2005. For this release the band's name was shortened to just Robin Black. They toured extensively for this release, including internationally.José Rodriguez, "Rocky road for Black; 'No parties. No beers. A divorce.' Glam rocker back on track with MMA". ''

'', October 10, 2009. In 2006, while touring in UK, Black suffered a drug-induced seizure. For almost two minutes, Black’s body jerked and he was unable to speak. The seizure was attributed to Black's lack of sleep, alcohol and drug use such as

speed In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Intro ...

. Black became a judge on the

Much Music Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

show '' VJ Search''.

Mixed martial arts

In 2007, Black pitched a new reality series to

called ''Fearless or Stupid'', which would have featured Black performing dangerous stunts, highlighting his new training regime, and culminating in his first MMA fight. At the age of 36, Black started competing as a mixed martial artist after attaining a second degree black belt in

Tae Kwon Do Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In a ...

. Although he had been a hobby martial artist throughout his career, he attributed his decision to start actively competing in MMA to the seizure incident forcing him to clean up many aspects of his life and take his health more seriously. In 2009, MuchMusic aired a one-off documentary special ''Robin Black: Cage Fighter'', which featured Black training with mixed martial artists

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 ...

, Sam Stout, Mark Hominick."Glam rocker Robin Black makes MMA debut". '' Dawson Creek Daily News'', July 24, 2008.

Sports commentating

In 2008, Black was guest commentator at an XMMA show in Montreal featuring David Loiseau. This marked the first time that Robin did color commentary for fights. Robin eventually started interviewing fighters between rounds at local and provincial events such as Warrior-1 MMA - Inception, WRECK MMA, CFC and others. In 2009, Black submitted opponent Stephane Poirier to becoming Champion in Canada's ELITE 1 MMA promotion. On November 30, 2012, Robin returned to the cage at the inaugural SLAMM: Tristar Fights event, submitting opponent Derek Charbonneau via Kimura armlock in the 2nd round. "What would be the one thing that, to me, would be more exciting and more thrilling and more authentically who I am as a person than being a rock star? And the answer was, ‘I want to be a UFC commentator in 10 years,’"said Black. In 2018,

signed Black as the lead fight analyst and joined Karate Combat in 2021. Black is known for his signature word ''Bink!''.

Lethwei

On August 2, 2019, Black was invited to be commentator for the

at WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs in

Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...

. The event was streamed on

UFC Fight Pass UFC Fight Pass is an American subscription-based video streaming service owned by the UFC's parent company, TKO Group Holdings, that launched in December 2013. History Fight Pass showcases live and on-demand mixed martial arts, submission grap ...

. He won the Lethwei World ''"Lethwei Analyst of the Year"'' for his performance at WLC 9. The event also won ''Best Sport Program'' at the Asian Academy Awards. On November 7, 2020, Black commentated the rematch between

Dave Leduc Dave Leduc (born 13 December 1991) is a Canadian-Burmese Lethwei fighter. He is a former six-time Lethwei world champion who held the Lethwei Golden Belt#Openweight champions, Openweight Lethwei World Championship and was undefeated under Lethwei ...

and Cyrus Washington held at the Outlaw Saloon in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

Music

*Robin Black - vocals *Peter Arvidsson - lead guitar, backing vocals *Chris "Starboy" Cunnane - guitar, backing vocals *Robby Ruckus (who also plays in Darlings of Chelsea) - bass *Aaron Verdonk - Drums (who also plays in Stereos)

Robin Black and the Intergalactic Rock Stars

(1998-2002) *Robin Black - lead vocals *Stacy Stray - lead guitar, backing vocals *Chris "Starboy" Cunnane - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *jackie Duncan - bass (may-sept. 98) *Killer Ky Anto - bass (sept. 98-May 2002) *Kevin Taylor aka K-Tron - drums (2002-2003) *Robin Black - lead vocals *Killer Ky Anto - lead guitar, backing vocals *Chris "Starboy" Cunnane - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *B.B. McQueen - bass *Kevin Taylor - drums (2003-2006) *Robin Black - lead vocals *Killer Ky Anto - lead guitar, backing vocals *Chris "Starboy" Cunnane - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *John "The Creep" Kerns - bass *Chris "The Kid" Avolos - drums

Discography

Albums

* ''Planet:Fame'' - 2002 * ''Instant Classic'' - 2005

Singles

* "Time Travel Tonight"/"More Effeminate Than You" - 2000 * "So Sick of You" - 2002 * "Some Of You Boys (And Most of You Girls)" - 2002 * "Time Travel Tonight" - 2002 * "Take Myself Away" - 2002 * "Hellraiser" - 2003 * "We See Right Through Ya" - 2005 * ''Why Don't You Love Me?'' - 2005

DVDs

* ''We Came, We Saw...We Came!'' - 2002

Awards and recognition

* Lethwei World ** 2019 Analyst of the year *Spia Asia Awards ** 2019 Best Sport Tourism Destination Campaign of the Year - Bronze * Asian Academy Awards ** 2019 Best Sport Program - National Winner

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 4–5 , Derek Charbonneau , Submission (kimura) , Slamm 1 - Garcia vs. Lamarche , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:34 ,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–5 , Mike Reilly , Submission (armbar) , Wreck MMA - Strong and Proud , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:57 , Casino du Lac-Leamy,

Gatineau, Quebec Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also par ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–4 , Eric Perez , TKO (punches) , CFC - Canadian Fighting Championship 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

Winnipeg Convention Centre The RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg (formerly the Winnipeg Convention Centre) is a major meeting and convention centre located in Downtown Winnipeg, downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It has five levels including indoor parking for 729 vehicles, ...

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

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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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–3 , Corey Lautischer , Submission (guillotine choke) , AMMA 1 - First Blood , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:31 , Edmonton Expo Centre,

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Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because ...

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, Canada ,

References

External links

MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Robin 20th-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Mixed martial arts broadcasters Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Canadian rock singers Canadian male singers Singers from Toronto Singers from Manitoba Living people Participants in Canadian reality television series Canadian male taekwondo practitioners Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Canadian male mixed martial artists Martial artists from Toronto Sportspeople from Manitoba Canadian sports journalists 1969 births 20th-century Canadian sportsmen