Zane Troy Frazier (born July 16, 1966) is an American former

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 ...

ka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competed in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division. After a successful career in karate during the 1980s in which he won numerous international accolades, Frazier then turned his hand to kickboxing and became a United States and North American Champion. After taking part at the inaugural

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 ( ...

event in 1993, he would continue his career in MMA until officially retiring in 2010.

Early life

The son of Floyd and Bertha Frazier, he grew up in a

Crips The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips ...

infested neighborhood in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and began training in martial arts in 1972 after seeing the film '' Fist of Fury''. Frazier graduated from Fairfax High School in 1980, and was recruited to play college basketball at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

under head coach Don Monson. He saw action as a true freshman in

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in and finished his bachelor's degree in 1986. In addition to his martial arts career, he later tried out for the New Jersey Jets. Although his birth year is often given as 1966, this is age fabrication; he is four to five years older

Career

Frazier attained the rank of fourth degree black belt in American Kenpo

and was the winner of the California, United States and North American karate championships in 1984 before becoming the international karate champion in 1987 and again in 1990. After making the transition to

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 ...

, he won the World Kickboxing Federation (WKF) United States super heavyweight title in 1993. On November 12, 1993, Frazier competed at '' UFC 1'', a no-holds-barred fighting tournament and the very first

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 ...

event held by the

. He reportedly earned his place in the tournament by beating up Frank Dux in a street fight which was witnessed by UFC founders Rorion Gracie and Art Davie. Gracie and Davie had come to Los Angeles to scout the U.S. karate championships for potential fighters but saw Frazier and Dux's brawl beforehand. Frazier claims that he had been teaching classes for Dux and that Dux hadn't paid him; Dux disputes that account and says that Frazier

sucker punch A sucker punch (American English), also known as a cheap shot, coward punch, one-punch attack, or king-hit (Australian English), is a punch thrown at the recipient unprovoked and without warning, allowing no time for preparation or defense on t ...

ed him while wearing

brass knuckles Brass knuckles (also referred to as brass knucks, knuckledusters, iron fist and paperweight, among other names) are a melee weapon used primarily in Hand to hand combat, hand-to-hand combat. They are fitted and designed to be worn around the kn ...

. In the ''UFC 1'' tournament quarterfinals, Frazier faced fellow kickboxer Kevin Rosier. The match lasted 4 minutes and 20 seconds, ending with Rosier clubbing Frazier to the floor with a series of blows to the back of the head, then stomping on him before Frazier's corner threw in the towel. Frazier suffered respiratory failure and was rushed to hospital after the bout. He returned to kickboxing the following year to win the WKF North American Super Heavyweight Championship but took his second MMA bout in September 1995 when he fought at '' Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception'' in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, knocking out

Kendo Nagasaki Kendo Nagasaki is a professional wrestling stage name, used as a Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick of that of a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and even supernatural powers of hypnosis. The name derives from ...

thirty-six seconds into the fight. Having amassed a 17–0 kickboxing record in the United States, Frazier made his

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

debut at '' K-1 Hercules'' in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan on December 9, 1995 against Takeru and suffered his first defeat at the hands of the Seido karate stylist as he succumbed to a barrage of

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

s and punches in round two. Frazier then made his way back to the UFC in May 1996 at '' UFC 9'' and was defeated via

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

by Cal Worsham three minutes into the fight. In his second and last outing in K-1, he went up against

Nobuaki Kakuda is a retired karateka and kickboxer and former K-1 Head referee. Early life After attending university, Kakuda opened a karate dojo in Kobe but was forced to shut it down after two years. He subsequently worked as a dishwasher, ramen chef, and ...

at ''

K-1 Revenge '96 This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a Japanese kickboxing promotion. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993, at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Since its inception, K-1 events were organized by the F ...

'' in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan on September 1, 1996. Despite having a massive size advantage, Frazier was knocked down with a

low kick A low kick (also known as a leg kick) is a kick in which the attacker strikes the opponent's lower body (thigh or calf) with the shinbone or foot. Under different names, such kicks are utilized in numerous martial arts, including as karate, taek ...

in round four and lost by

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...

. Following this, Frazier continued his career in MMA and in his next fight against Sidney "Mestre Hulk" Gonçalves Freitas in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, he was knocked out after falling from the ring and hitting his head on the floor. After this, he continued to fight throughout the 1990s and 2000s and recorded mostly losses. His final fight came in January 2008 and he was knocked out by Richard Blake.

Championships and awards

Karate

*California Karate Championships **California Karate Championship (1991) **California Karate Championship (1992) *International Karate Championships **International Karate Championship (1987) **International Karate Championship (1990) *North American Karate Championships **North American Heavyweight Karate Championship (1984) *North Western Karate Championships **North Western Karate Championship (1984) *USA Karate Championships **USA Heavyweight Karate Championship (1984)

Kickboxing

*World Kickboxing Federation **WKF United States Super Heavyweight Championship **WKF North American Super Heavyweight Championship

Mixed martial arts

*Worldwide Fighting Championship **WFC Heavyweight Championship

Kickboxing record

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Mixed martial arts record

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United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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Aaron Brink Aaron Franklin Brink (November 12, 1974 – May 26, 2023), also known by his stage name Dick Delaware, was an American professional mixed martial artist and pornographic film actor who competed in the Light Heavyweight division. He competed for ...

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Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 252 ...

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Cabazon, California Cabazon (Spanish: ''Cabazón'') is an unincorporated community in Riverside County, California, United States. Cabazon is on the Pacific Crest Trail. In the 21st century, the area has become a tourist stop, due to the Morongo Casino, Resort & S ...

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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 ...

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Dick Vrij Dick Vrij is a retired Dutch professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1995 until 2003, he competed in the Heavyweight division for RINGS and It's Showtime. Professional wrestling career A former bodybuild ...

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Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

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Hogansburg, New York Hogansburg () is a hamlet, in the Town of Bombay, in Franklin County, New York, United States. It lies on NY 37 near the Canadian-US border at the confluence of the St. Regis River with the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Hogansburg borders the St. Reg ...

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References

External links

*
K-1Sport profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frazier, Zane Living people 1966 births American male kickboxers Kickboxers from California Heavyweight kickboxers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Heavyweight mixed martial artists African-American mixed martial artists American male karateka Mixed martial artists utilizing American Kenpo Mixed martial artists utilizing shootfighting Idaho Vandals men's basketball players Martial artists from Los Angeles People from Hollywood, Los Angeles American men's basketball players Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen