Duane Ludwig

Kickboxing career

Duane started practicing Muay Thai when he was 15 years old. He would have a successful amateur career winning twelve of his fourteen bouts and picking up three IKF International Kickboxing Federation Muay Thai national and regional titles. He turned professional in 2000 when he defeated Terrance Jones at a Ring of Fire event, in what was a rematch from their amateur days. At the end of the year Duane won his first pro title by winning the W.K.A. US national title, which he followed with the I.M.T.C. title the next year. He had his first real challenge in 2001 when he faced world champion Alex Gong for his I.S.K.A. belt at a K-1 event in Las Vegas. The title went the distance with the young Ludwig being handing his first professional defeat. There was some controversy about the decision as some thought that despite a shaky start Ludwig had shaded it.

In 2002 Duane dropped down in weight to 70 kg to take part in a qualifying tournament for the first ever K-1 MAX world final. He won the four man tournament, defeating no. 1 ranked I.K.F. fighter Ole Laursen in the final to book his place to Tokyo. At the finals Ludwig was drawn against home favourite Masato, and despite his best efforts was unable to make the semi finals, being outclassed by the local fighter over three rounds to lose by unanimous decision. He would get another shot at K-1 MAX glory the following year in Saitama, Japan and went one better, reaching the semi finals where he lost to 2002 K-1 MAX champion Albert Kraus. In 2004 he won his last Muay Thai title where he finally got his hands on a world title, defeating Thai superstar Malaipet by decision after five rounds to win the I.S.K.A. world title, something Ludwig considers one of his proudest ever moments. The title fight was also notable as the belt had previously been held by Alex Gong - a rematch between him and Ludwig had been on the card since their bout in 2001 but Gong died in 2003. After this victory Duane would become increasingly involved in MMA at the expense of his kickboxing career, although he would have a number of K-1 fights up until 2006, finishing with a 4-7-1 record with the organization.

Mixed martial arts career

Ludwig was trained by Bas Rutten during his early career. Although not an official title match, Ludwig nonetheless beat Jens Pulver, who was at the time ranked as the #1 Lightweight mixed martial artist in the world by many outlets, by first round K.O. Regardless of Pulver's official ranking in the division at the time, he did, in fact, hold the Lineal Lightweight MMA Championship going into his match against Ludwig. Thus, upon his victory over Pulver, Ludwig etched his name in the record books as Lineal Lightweight Champion, thereby adding yet another championship to his resume. He would defend his title with a split-decision victory against Genki Sudo at UFC 42 prior to moving up to Welterweight to face reigning Lineal Welterweight Champion, BJ Penn at K-1 MMA Romanex in Saitama, Japan. Although he vacated his Lineal belt by leaving the Lightweight division the move was not in vain as Ludwig became one of only two fighters in Mixed Martial Arts history to fight for both the Lightweight and Welterweight Lineal titles, the other being, coincidentally, BJ Penn. Despite coming up short against Penn for the Linear Welterweight Title, Ludwig remains the only fighter in MMA history to compete for a Lineal Title at Welterweight while still simultaneously holding the Lightweight Lineal title. This however, remains a contentious point among MMA historians as some hold the view that Ludwig immediately vacated the Lightweight Lineal Title as soon as he moved up to challenge B.J. Penn for the Welterweight strap, while others argue that he would have still held the belt until his period of inactivity had expired, thereby necessitating a default vacancy of the Lineal title at that time, but not certainly not before his fight with Penn which ultimately would mean he was still the Reigning Lightweight Lineal Title holder while challenging for the Lineal Welterweight belt and still could have moved back down to Lightweight to defend the Lineal title if he had chosen this option.

Unofficial fastest knockout in the UFC

At UFC Fight Night 3, Ludwig faced Jonathan Goulet. Ludwig won the fight via quick knockout, though many fans disagreed with the timekeeping of the finish, which was 11 seconds despite the referee pulling Ludwig away from Goulet at around the 6 second mark. Following multiple online campaigns to overturn the timekeeping error, on Christmas Eve 2011, UFC President Dana White informed Ludwig that he was being given the official fastest knockout time. Two days later, Keith Kizer and the Nevada State Athletic Commission denied that Ludwig would be given the record, with Kizer stating: "There's no legal avenue to overturn it" before going on to say "I timed it myself with a stopwatch. It was eight seconds. Officially, it's got to stay at 11 seconds, but unofficially, it could be at eight." Two days later, Dana White, along with his production crew posted a video to YouTube showing the times of UFC fights that hold the "Fastest Knockout" tag. Ludwig's knockout was timed at 6.06 seconds, compared to Chan Sung Jung's knockout at 6.26 seconds and Todd Duffee's knockout at 7.56 seconds. As of December 2011, the official Athletic Commission record of Ludwig's fight is 11 seconds but the UFC regards Ludwig's fight as the fastest knockout.

Return To UFC

On December 17, it was announced that Ludwig was set to return to the UFC at UFC 108, facing Jim Miller, replacing an injured Sean Sherk. He lost to Miller via armbar in the first round.

Ludwig was scheduled to face Spencer Fisher on March 21, 2010, at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones, but Fisher was forced off the card with an injury. Ludwig instead faced UFC newcomer Darren Elkins. Ludwig lost via TKO after he suffered a serious ankle injury during the first round.

Ludwig moved up to the Welterweight Division to face Nick Osipczak on November 13, 2010, at UFC 122. The fight was supposed to be on the preliminary part of the event, but a last minute illness to main card fighter Alessio Sakara moved the bout to the main card. Ludwig scored with strikes, including multiple grazing headkicks in the first round until Osipczak landed a combination, buckling the veteran. The round ended with Osipczak landing ground and pound from the top, bloodying Ludwig. The second round was pretty even with mixed striking exchanges and takedown attempts. The third round saw Ludwig land a big left early on and basically stalk Osipczak the rest of the round, scoring but failing to finish as Osipczak was seemingly out on his feet, walking away from exchanges and covering up. The bout was Ludwig's first since an eight-month recovery from a severe leg injury. Ludwig won by split decision.

Ludwig was expected to face Amir Sadollah on March 26, 2011, at UFC Fight Night 24, but was unable to fight due to a sternum injury. James Wilks took his place in the match instead.

Ludwig vs. Sadollah eventually took place on August 14, 2011, at UFC on Versus 5. Ludwig won the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Ludwig outstruck and rocked Sadollah in both the first and second rounds while also showing greatly improved takedown defense throughout the fight.

Ludwig next faced Josh Neer on January 20, 2012, at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller. Despite hurting Neer on several occasions via punches, Ludwig lost the fight via technical submission in the first round.

Ludwig fought Dan Hardy on May 26, 2012, at UFC 146. Ludwig suffered a knockout loss to Hardy when he was hit by a flush left hook and followed up elbows.

Ludwig faced Che Mills on September 29, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 5. The bout was stopped after Ludwig was unable to continue after tearing a knee ligament while attempting to defend a takedown in the opening round.

After his loss to Mills, Ludwig retired from MMA competition.

From December 2012 to May 2014, Ludwig was the head coach at Team Alpha Male. Ludwig left Team Alpha Male after UFC 173 to focus on growing his own gym, BANG Muay Thai.

Personal life

Ludwig and his wife Jessica have three children; one daughter Jade, a son named Duane Jr., on November 10, 2010, and a son named Carter Bas Ludwig born in 2013. Before becoming a professional fighter, Ludwig used to work as an electrician.

BANG Muay Thai Martial Arts System

Ludwig's BANG Muay Thai system (or BMT) is a muay thai system created by Ludwig. The philosophy draws upon experience from Ludwig's career and coaches such as Bas Rutten and Trevor Wittman. The system is a striking style which includes Muay Thai, Dutch kickboxing, American boxing and traditional martial arts. BMT has a color-based promotion system similar to traditional martial arts. Approximately 40 schools teach BMT. Curriculum for the system is distributed via daily videos. In October 2010, Ludwig opened his own Mixed Martial Arts Academy known as "Ludwig Martial Arts" where he trains fighters such as former UFC Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw and top UFC Flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez as well as Matt Brown(fighter) and several others.

Mixed martial arts

Kickboxing