Ed West (fighter)

Early life

West was born in Olongapo, Philippines where both his mother and father served in the US Navy. He attended kindergarten, first grade and his first Tae kwon do classes there and then moved to the States with his parents when he was 7 years old.

A few years after arriving in America, Ed became re-involved in martial arts when he was 9 years old. He was inspired by watching Jean-Claude Van Damme movies and practiced styles like karate, taekwondo, and kung fu. At 16, Ed met a man who told him he was a cage fighter, which led West to travel down the road of Mixed Martial Arts. West's first cage fight was in March 2003 fighting in the Rage in the Cage organization.

West also attended Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona where he studied nutrition and sports medicine.

Mixed martial arts career

West currently trains at Apex MMA in Tucson, Arizona. Since 2003, West has fought in many MMA organizations in the United States, where he finished 9 of his 17 victories with a submission (particularly armbars) as a professional fighter. He made his debut in the Rage in the Cage tournaments and piled up a successful winning record.

International Fight League

In 2006-2007, West competed in the team-based International Fight League as a member of Ken Yasuda's Tokyo Sabres. Despite his three losses in the IFL, West proved himself by moving up two weight classes and fighting against bigger fighters in the lightweight division. Although West's first IFL match was a loss to his opponent, Chris Horodecki, after having to be decided by the judges, the pair put on a tough battle that was awarded "Fight of the Night" honors.

Desert Rage Full Contact Fighting

In 2010, West won Arizona's Desert Rage Full Contact Fighting bantamweight championship when he defeated Tyler Bialecki. West then defended his belt against Sam Rodriguez the following year.

Bellator Fighting Championships

West quickly became a fan favorite when he entered the Bellator Fighting Championships bantamweight tournament in 2010. At Bellator 32, West fought Zach Makovsky in the finals for the chance to become the Bellator bantamweight champion. Despite a noble effort, fighting a war for five rounds, Makovsky received the unanimous decision.

West took on Luis Nogueira at Bellator 51 in the opening round of the season 5 tournament. He won by unanimous decision. West would then take Eduardo Dantas in the semi-finals at Bellator 55. He lost by Split Decision.

West took on Marcos Galvão at Bellator 65 in the season six quarter-finals match up. He lost via unanimous decision.

At Bellator 91 West would take on Josh Montoya. He won via Knockout, which happens to be his first win by knockout.

After his win over Montoya, West was granted his release from Bellator MMA and became a free agent.

Independent promotions

After parting ways with Bellator, West returned almost a year later and faced Antonio Duarte at MF - Mexico Fighter 5 on February 15, 2014. West lost the bout via anaconda choke submission in the first round, the first submission loss of his career.

Return to Bellator

On May 29, 2014, it was announced that West re-signed with Bellator.

West faced Mike Richman on September 26, 2014 at Bellator 126. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

World Series of Fighting

West signed with World Series of Fighting and faced Russian fightier Timur Valiev in his debut on March 28, 2015. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Mixed martial arts