Rory Michael Singer (born May 28, 1976) is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. Although Rory had made a name for himself as a 185-pound prospect; his big break came after meeting the producers of TUF. They were filming Forrest Griffin at The HardCore Gym for his fight against Stephan Bonnar in the finals of season 1. Forrest went on to win Season 1 and Rory was approached soon after to appear on Season 3.

Mixed martial arts career

Singer has a background in many different styles of fighting, being involved in

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

since he was 11 years old. He was taught

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

by his brother and then added

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

Taekwondo 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 ad ...

, and other traditional

. He wrestled in high school, and is a former local

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves of America is an organization that promotes annual competitions of amateur boxing in the United States, in which winners are awarded a belt and a ring, and the title of national champion. The organization currently owns 30 fr ...

and

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

champion. Singer is also a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is the co-owner of the noted MMA Gym SBG Athens along with his brother and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Adam Singer. The HardCore Gym had produced such fighters as Forrest Griffin and Brian Bowles. Singer's MMA career includes fighting for several local organizations as well as the AFC, KOTC,

PRIDE Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

and the UFC. He gained fame from his appearance on Spike TV's series '' The Ultimate Fighter 3'', making it to the semi-finals where he would lose to Ed Herman. After a 5-year break from MMA, Singer was scheduled to fight Lodune Sincaid on September 26, 2014. However, Sincaid was pulled from the fight due to suspension by the California State Athletic Commission. Singer currently resides in Athens, Georgia, where he coaches BJJ, MMA, and Youth Martial Arts for people of all walks of life.

Personal life

Singer married in August 2008. Singer is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

where he earned a degree in biological engineering.

Championships and accomplishments

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 ( ...

**UFC.com Awards ***2006: Ranked #9 Submission of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–9 , Bryan Baker , TKO (punches) , MFC 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:56 ,

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, 11–8 , Chilo Gonzalez , Submission (kneebar) , AFL: Erupption , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–7 , Jason MacDonald , TKO (punches and elbows) , UFC 72 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:18 ,

Belfast, Northern Ireland Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 11–6 , Matt Masterson , Decision (unanimous) , Wild Bill's Fight Night 8 ( ISKA) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–6 , Yushin Okami , TKO (submission to punches) , UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:03 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–5 , Josh Haynes , Decision (unanimous) , Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–5 , Ross Pointon , Submission (triangle choke) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Ortiz vs. Team Shamrock Finale , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–5 , Josh Tamsen , Submission (triangle choke) , Full Throttle 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, U.S. , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–5 , Dennis Hallman , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Absolute Fighting Champions 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–4 , Jason Hathaway , Submission (rear-naked choke) , ISCF: Domination at the DAC , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–4 , Diego Vitosky , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Absolute Fighting Championships 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:58 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–4 , Wilson Gouveia , KO (knee) , KOTC 32: Bringing Heat , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:55 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–4 , James Wakefield , Submission (armbar) , ISCF: Anarchy in August , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–4 , Ted Govola , Decision (split) , Hardcore Fighting Championships 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–3 , Daijiro Matsui , Decision (unanimous) , Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–2 , Dustin Denes , Submission (armlock) , WEFC 1: Bring It On , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:42 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Kelly Williams , TKO (submission to strikes) , ISCF: Battle at the Brewery , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Scott Shipman , Decision (unanimous) , RSF 7: Animal Instinct , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Butch Bacon , Decision (unanimous) , RSF 6: Mayhem in Myers , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , Fort Myers, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Ludwig Strydom , Submission (triangle choke) , Pride and Honor , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:16 , South Africa ,

References