Mark Weir

Background

Weir began his martial arts training with judo and boxing, but later switched to Tae Kwon Do because his mother did not want him to box full-time^[1]. He gained his Tae Kwon Do black belt in 1988 from Hee Il Cho, then 3 months later went on to win two World Titles and, at the age of 20, became the youngest fighter to ever win a World Championship. Proving his consistency Weir went on to win another two world titles in 1991. Weir not only went undefeated in Tae Kwon Do competitions, but also held an undefeated record in kickboxing.

Early career

Weir made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 1996, however he continued to practice both the traditional art and MMA. This was until 2000 when Weir made the decision to solely concentrate on his MMA fighting career.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Weir made his UFC debut at UFC 38 on 13 July 2002 against Eugene Jackson. This was the UFC's inaugural appearance in the United Kingdom, and Weir won via knockout due to a punch only 10 seconds into the fight.

Weir made his next appearance for the promotion at UFC 40, in 'the fight of the year' against Phillip Miller and was defeated in the second round via rear-naked choke submission. Weir then fought at UFC 42 against David Loiseau and was defeated via knockout in the first round. Loiseau continued on his winning streak to gain a title shot, against Richard Franklin.

Cage Rage and WEC

Weir then signed with Cage Rage in his home country of England and made his promotional debut at Cage Rage 4 and won via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Weir would go 3-2 in his next five fights before making his debut in the WEC. Weir made his debut at WEC 12 and won in the first round via guillotine choke submission.

Weir returned to Cage Rage with mixed fortune, however it wasn't long until Weir was back on winning form. At Cage Rage 12, Weir defeated Sol Gilbert via TKO at the end of the second round to become the inaugural Cage Rage British Middleweight Champion. Weir went on to defend his title against Akri Shoji, winning by KOREA in 16 secs.

PRIDE

After the win over Shoji, Weir had to make a huge decision whether to return to UFC or make his name in Japan. Weir decided on Japan and made his PRIDE debut at Pride Bushido 10 on 2 April 2006 against Denis Kang who was on a 16 fight winning streak. Weir lost after he submitted due to knee strikes at the end of the first round.

UCMMA

On his return to the UK, Weir captured the UCMMA Middleweight Championship at UCMMA 11: Adrenaline Rush on 27 March 2010, defeating Jack Mason at the end of the second round via knockout. Weir then lost his first title defense at UCMMA 21: Stand Your Ground when he was knocked out by Denniston Sutherland. Weir made his most recent appearance at SFC: Supremacy Fight Challenge 9 on 17 February 2013 and won via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. This was to be Weir's final appearance in MMA before he announced his retirement in 2014.

Kickboxing career

In 2010, Weir won the vacant UCMMA Kickboxing Championship by defeating Mark Epstein. Weir also won the Middleweight Championship by defeating Jack Mason via knockout. Weir then successfully defended his title at Unbelievable 16 on 23 October 2010 against Luke Sines.

Weir then lost his Middleweight Championship, being defeated via knockout by Louis King.

Personal life

Weir lives in Hempsted, England with his wife and four children. He runs a successful MMA Academy and is enjoying being recognised as one of the pioneers of UK MMA and continues to accept numerous awards for his dedication to the sport.

Championships and accomplishments