Ray Sefo
Ray Sefo | |
---|---|
Born |
Auckland, New Zealand | February 15, 1971
Other names | Sugarfoot |
Nationality | New Zealander |
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
Weight | 115.5 kg (255 lb; 18 st 3 lb) |
Division |
Light Heavyweight Cruiserweight Heavyweight Super Heavyweight |
Reach | 75 in (191 cm) |
Style | Boxing |
Stance | Orthodox |
Fighting out of | Las Vegas, Nevada, US |
Team |
Xtreme Couture Ray Sefo's Fight Academy |
Years active |
1989 - 2012 (Kickboxing) 1989 - 2012 (Muay Thai) 1994 - 2001 (Boxing) 2005 - 2013 (MMA) |
Professional boxing record | |
Total | 6 |
Wins | 5 |
By knockout | 4 |
Losses | 1 |
By knockout | 1 |
Draws | 0 |
Kickboxing record | |
Total | 79 |
Wins | 56 |
By knockout | 38 |
Losses | 22 |
By knockout | 11 |
Draws | 1 |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 4 |
Wins | 2 |
By knockout | 2 |
Losses | 2 |
By knockout | 1 |
By submission | 1 |
Other information | |
Notable relatives |
Rony Sefo, brother Fai Falamoe, cousin |
Boxing record from BoxRec | |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
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"Sugar" Ray Sefo (born February 15, 1971) is a semi-retired[1] New Zealand kickboxer, boxer, mixed martial artist and fight promoter.[2][3] He is a six-time Muay Thai World Champion[4] and eight time K-1 World Grand Prix Finals tournament participant, currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada and training with Xtreme Couture. He is the president of the MMA promotion World Series of Fighting.[5]
Background
Training in Wing Chun as a youth, Sefo moved to Muay Thai under Thai fighting legend Kiosot, then continued training under Lollo Heimuli at the infamous Balmoral Lee Gar Gym.
Career
Sefo had an impressive unbeaten record as an amateur and a professional in the Oceania kickboxing league. Early in his career Sefo trained at Balmoral Lee Gar gym alongside Jason Suttie, Jayson Vemoa, Doug Viney, John Conway and his brother Rony Sefo.
Some would say his fight against Andre Manaart was his first major challenge on the world stage. In this fight he overwhelmed Manaart with devastating speed and elusive footwork, knocking him down on numerous occasions. In the ring after the fight, Manaart took the microphone and said "...you should call him Sugarfist, not Sugarfoot"...
His first major breakthrough was becoming a WKA Cruiserweight Champion, after which he also acted as a sparring partner for fellow New Zealander David Tua when Tua first returned to New Zealand for a fight after turning pro.
Ray made his K-1 debut against future four-time World Grand Prix Champion, Ernesto Hoost. Sefo held his own against the much more experienced Hoost, but was finally knocked out in the 4th round by a leg kick. Sefo gained respect for standing up to such an elite fighter in just his first fight.
Sefo gained more respect in his third K-1 fight where he knocked out K-1 legend Jerome Lebanner in round 1. Sefo's hard right hand was enough to break the Frenchmans jaw in four places.
Sefo had an up down first few years in the K-1, unable to make it past the quarter finals in the K-1 World Grand Prix against the likes of Sam Greco and Andy Hug. In 2000 he made it to the WGP final after knocking out Japanese star Musashi and French kickboxer Cyril Abidi before losing again to Hoost.
In 2002 he defeated Dutch legend Peter Aerts in the quarter finals but lost again to his nemesis Hoost in the semi finals.
In 2007, he was thought to be a legitimate challenger to dethrone four-time World Grand Prix Champion Semmy Schilt for the new Super Heavyweight title. In Round 1, Sefo became only the second man in history to knock Schilt down. However, he would go on to lose by KO in the second round.
He went on to lose five more fights and would not find the winners circle again till he beat Hong Man Choi, Yosuke Nishijima and Ionut Iftimoaie all by decision.
He was then asked to fight at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Seoul Final 16 on ten days notice against Tyrone Spong. Ray put up a decent fight for a short preparation but was beaten by decision. At the moment Ray is unsure about whether he will continue to fight in the K-1, though he is still considered one of the sport's oldest and still entertaining fighters.
In mid February 2011 he had his third MMA fight in a reserve fight for the Strikeforce Heavyweight tournament. He fought Valentijn Overeem, brother of Alistair Overeem, the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix champion. Overeem had 50 MMA fights behind him and beat Sefo by submission in the first round. Sefo's striking on the feet looked good, but as an inexperienced grappler he lost early on by neck crank.
World Series Of Fighting
Sefo is the current president of the World Series of Fighting and has inked a deal with NBC Sports to air 8 to 10 events for the network.
On 15 May 2013, WSOF announced a 4-man tournament to crown an Inaugural Middleweight Champion. One Semi Final fight will take place at WSOF 4 & the other will take place at WSOF 5. The participants announced are as followed: Jesse Taylor, Elvis Mutapcic, David Branch & Danillo Villefort.
On 12 June 2013, WSOF president Ray Sefo announced he will return to fighting at this event.[6] At WSOF 3, Sefo announced that he will be facing Dave Huckaba.[7] The two fought at World Series of Fighting 4 on 10 August 2013. Sefo lost the fight via TKO in the second round.
Titles
- 2000 K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 Runner Up.
- 1997 WKA World Super Heavyweight World champion.
- 1996 WMTF World Heavyweight champion.
- 1996 ISKA World Super Cruiserweight Champion.
- 1995 ISKA World Cruiserweight Champion
- 1994 ISKA World Light Cruiserweight Champion.
- 1992 WMTF World Light Heavyweight Champion.
- 1992 South Pacific Cruiserweight Champion.
- 1991 New Zealand Cruiserweight Champion.
- 1990 New Zealand Heavyweight Champion.
MMA accomplishments
- Superfight winner at K-1 Hero's 2
Retirement, Life Beyond Fighting, and Personal Life
On an interview in April of 2015, Ray Sefo said "I actually made a promise to myself that this year will be my last year. He has not fought since losing a MMA bought against Dave Huckaba in the WSOF cage.[8]
Sefo is the current president of the MMA promotion World Series of Fighting.[9]
He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, and continues to train out of Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts. Most recently he helped prepare fellow New Zealander and UFC contender Mark Hunt in his bout against Brock Lesnar.[10]
Kickboxing record
Kickboxing Record | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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56 Wins (38 (T)KO's, 18 Decisions), 21 Losses, 1 Draw
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Boxing Record | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 Wins (4 (T)KO's, 1 Decision), 1 Loss, 0 Draw
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes |
Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown | ||
4 matches | 2 wins | 2 losses |
By knockout | 2 | 1 |
By submission | 0 | 1 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 2-2 | Dave Huckaba | TKO (punches) | WSOF 4 | August 10, 2013 | 2 | 4:32 | Ontario, California, United States | |
Loss | 2-1 | Valentijn Overeem | Submission (baseball choke) | Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva | February 12, 2011 | 1 | 1:37 | East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States | |
Win | 2-0 | Kevin Jordan | TKO (injury) | Strikeforce Challengers: Kennedy vs. Cummings | September 25, 2009 | 2 | 0:24 | Bixby, Oklahoma, United States | |
Win | 1-0 | Kim Min-soo | KO (head kick) | Hero's 2 | July 6, 2005 | 2 | 0:30 | Tokyo, Japan |
See also
- List of current WSOF fighters
- List of male kickboxers
- List of K-1 events
- Champions of Champions Elite
References
- ↑ "WSOF Boss Ray Sefo". MMAJunkie.com. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ↑ "Kickboxing: Fighting among friends". The New Zealand Herald. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
- ↑ Jessup, Peter (8 October 2005). "Kickboxing: Sefo makes his presence felt". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
- ↑ "Kickboxer Sefo battles bankruptcy". Sunday News. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
- ↑ "WSOF President Ray Sefo". MMAJunkie.com. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ↑ "WSOF Pres. Ray Sefo Fighting on Aug. 10th Card". mmafrenzy.com.
- ↑ "Company President Ray Sefo Set to Fight at World Series of Fighting 4 in August". mmaweekly.com.
- ↑ "WSOF Boss Ray Sefo". MMAJunkie.com. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ↑ "WSOF President Ray Sefo". MMAJunkie.com. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ↑ "Ray Sefo Recalls Fight With Mark Hunt". Stuff.co.nz. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
External links
- Profile at K-1
- Ray Sefo Interview
- Professional MMA record for Ray Sefo from Sherdog
- Professional boxing record for Ray Sefo from BoxRec