Ray Sefo

Ray Sefo
Born (1971-02-15) February 15, 1971
Auckland, New Zealand
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
last updated on: 11 May 2011

"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

MMA accomplishments

Hero's

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
Boxing Record

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Mixed martial arts record

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

References

  1. ↑ "WSOF Boss Ray Sefo". MMAJunkie.com. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Kickboxing: Fighting among friends". The New Zealand Herald. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  3. ↑ Jessup, Peter (8 October 2005). "Kickboxing: Sefo makes his presence felt". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "Kickboxer Sefo battles bankruptcy". Sunday News. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  5. ↑ "WSOF President Ray Sefo". MMAJunkie.com. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "WSOF Pres. Ray Sefo Fighting on Aug. 10th Card". mmafrenzy.com.
  7. ↑ "Company President Ray Sefo Set to Fight at World Series of Fighting 4 in August". mmaweekly.com.
  8. ↑ "WSOF Boss Ray Sefo". MMAJunkie.com. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "WSOF President Ray Sefo". MMAJunkie.com. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Ray Sefo Recalls Fight With Mark Hunt". Stuff.co.nz. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.

External links

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