Bret Bergmark - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bret Bergmark is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

. He is a Cesar Gracie

Cesar Gracie

Cesar Gracie is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who trains a number of top fighters in Pleasant Hill, California. Gracie is a member of the Gracie family, the son of Sonja Gracie-Gronning and not to be confused with his cousin also named Cesar Gracie who is the son of Reylson Gracie.- Biography...

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

brown belt and an amateur Sanshou and Muay Thai

Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...

kickboxer. He has competed in many MMA

Mixed martial arts

promotions, including Strikeforce

Strikeforce

Strikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...

, World Extreme Cagefighting

World Extreme Cagefighting

World Extreme Cagefighting was an American mixed martial arts promotion. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135, 145 and 155 lbs. To accommodate the smaller...

(WEC

World Extreme Cagefighting

), Pancrase

Pancrase

Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...

, Ultimate Athlete, Warriors Quest and the Iroquois MMA Championships. He is a 2X WEC Superfight Winner and has a professional MMA

Mixed martial arts

record of 6 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw.

Biography

Bret was born in Novato, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, the son of a San Francisco police officer. He attended and graduated from San Marin High School

San Marin High School

San Marin High School is a high school located in Novato, California, in the United States. Novato is in Marin County.The current enrollment is 1039. The staff includes 62 certificated members including three counselors, one librarian and three administrators...

, where he wrestled for four years. After high school Bret took up rodeo

Rodeo

Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...

bull riding

Bull riding

Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....

, until a wrist injury forced him to retire. It was at this time that Bret turned his energy toward training in Gracie Jiu Jitsu, joining the Ralph Gracie

Ralph Gracie

Ralph Gracie is a Brazilian martial artist. Like other members of the Gracie family, he competed in mixed martial arts. He is the son of Robson Gracie and brother to Charles Gracie, Renzo Gracie and the late Ryan Gracie, both of whom have competed in various fighting events...

academy in 1999. After gaining his blue belt he left the Ralph Gracie

Ralph Gracie

academy to train at the Cesar Gracie

Cesar Gracie

academy in Pleasant Hill, California

Pleasant Hill, California

Pleasant Hill is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 33,152 at the 2010 census. It was incorporated in 1961...

, in 2002. It was at the Cesar Gracie

Cesar Gracie

academy that Bret earned his purple belt and started fighting in professional MMA

Mixed martial arts

matches. Bret currently trains and teaches out of the Cesar Gracie

Cesar Gracie

academy in Pleasant Hill, California

Pleasant Hill, California

Pleasant Hill is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 33,152 at the 2010 census. It was incorporated in 1961...

. He also occasionally trains at the respective academies of Jake Shields

Jake Shields

Jake Shields is an American mixed martial artist who is currently fighting in the welterweight division of the UFC. He is the last Rumble on the Rock 175 lb champion. He is the first and last Elite XC Welterweight Champion. He is also the former Shooto Middleweight Champion and is the former...

(Graciefighter Berkeley), Nick Diaz

Nick Díaz

Nicholas Robert Diaz is an American mixed martial artist. He is the former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, WEC and IFC Welterweight Champion. He has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pride Fighting Championships and Elite Xtreme Combat. Diaz was promoted to black belt in Brazilian...

and Nate Diaz (Graciefighter Lodi), Gilbert Melendez

Gilbert Melendez

Gilbert Melendez is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent. Currently fighting out of San Francisco, California, he formerly competed in the lightweight division of PRIDE Fighting Championships and now competes in Strikeforce...

(El Nino Training Center), Jon Santos (Team Santos Jiu Jitsu) and Dave Terrell (Nor Cal Fighting Alliance).

Mixed martial arts career

Bergmark had his first professional MMA

Mixed martial arts

fight on August 3, 2002, shortly after joining the Cesar Gracie

Cesar Gracie

academy. He fought Paul Ano in Warriors Quest 6 - The Best of the Best. After a brutal fight, which saw each fighter give and receive punishment, Bergmark locked up an armbar at 4:45 of the second round forcing the ref to stop the action and giving Bret the victory.

Bret next fought in a superfight for the Ultimate Athlete 4 - King of the Mountain tournament on September 28, 2002. He was matched up against seasoned veteran and American Kickboxing Academy

American Kickboxing Academy

The American Kickboxing Academy is a martial arts gym located in San Jose, California. It is one of the pioneering schools of mixed martial arts...

member Brian Ebersole. The fight would go the distance, with both fighters landing punches and takedowns. Bergmark would earn a close victory by split decision.

Bret's third fight was against Brodie Farber

Brodie Farber

Brodie Kyle Farber is an American mixed martial artist.-MMA Career:His most notable fight to date was a submission loss to eventual UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk. His last win was at MMAX 18 – MMA Xtreme 18 against Eduardo Gonzalez on January 26, 2008. Farber made his UFC debut against...

at WEC

World Extreme Cagefighting

6: Return of a Legend on March 27, 2003. After some early ground fighting that saw Bret taking his opponent down and several sweeps and reversals, Bret finally achieved mount and forced the referee to stop the match at 3:57 of the first round due to strikes, giving Bret the victory.

For his fourth fight Bret moved to the legendary Pancrase

Pancrase

organization in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, taking on UFC and Pancrase

Pancrase

veteran Keiichiro Yamamiya at Pancrase

Pancrase

Hybrid - 11 on December 21, 2003. After going all three rounds without either fighter able to finish the bout, the fight went to the judges scorecards and was ruled a draw.

Bret's next fight was back in the WEC

World Extreme Cagefighting

at WEC 10: Bragging Rights on May 21, 2004. Again Bret was matched up against a seasoned Pancrase

Pancrase

veteran in Daisuke Ishii. In an exciting back and forth fight that saw action both on the ground and on the feet, Bret finally secured the mount and forced the referee to stop the fight at 4:49 of the first round due to strikes, earning him his fourth victory.

On October 14, 2005 Bret took on Mike Pyle

Mike Pyle (fighter)

Michael Wayne Pyle is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He held the WEC Welterweight Championship in 2005/6 before joining the IFL and UFC competitions. He holds notable victories over Jon Fitch, John Hathaway and Ricardo Almeida-Early life:Mike Pyle grew up in Dresden, Tennessee. At age...

at WEC

World Extreme Cagefighting

17: Halloween Fury 4. The fight quickly went to the ground, where after several reversals of position Mike Pyle locked in a triangle choke from guard, forcing Bret to tap at 3:36 of the first round and giving Bret his first loss.

After a two year layoff, Bret dropped to the 170 pound weight class to fight Jesse Juarez on April 26, 2008, in the Iroquois MMA championships. After 3 rounds of action Bret earned a unanimous decision.

Bret made his Strikeforce

Strikeforce

Strikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...

debut on June 26, 2010 in San Jose California as he fought Vagner Rocha

Vagner Rocha

Vagner Rocha is a Brazilian-American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and professional mixed-martial artist, currently competing as a lightweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Mixed martial arts career:...

in the prelims. Bret earned his first victory for the company by unanimous decision.

Bret was scheduled to fight October 9, 2010 at Strikeforce: Noons vs. Diaz II against Cung Le

Cung Le

Cung Le is a Vietnamese-American Sanshou kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and actor from Saigon, Vietnam currently competing in the UFC. He is the former IKF Light Heavyweight San Shou World Champion and has a professional San Shou record of 16-0 before moving to mixed martial arts...

product James Terry

James Terry

James Terry was an Irish officer of arms who remained faithful to the Jacobite kings of Britain after their escape to the European continent.-Biography:After the defeat of James II of England, the court went into exile in St Germain, France...

, but had to pull out due to an injury sustained while training for the fight.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Bergmark is currently a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt under the world renown Cesar Gracie

Cesar Gracie

, with whom he has been training since 2002.

Muay Thai

Bret also trains in Muay Thai

Muay Thai

kickboxing, starting his training with World Team USA and then continuing at Gym 445 in San Francisco, California. He currently trains Muay Thai

Muay Thai

at Fairtex Gym

Fairtex Gym

Fairtex Gym is the name given to a number of Muay Thai gyms around the world. The original Fairtex Gym was founded in Bangkok, Thailand in 1975.-History:...

in San Francisco.

Mixed martial arts record

|-
| Win
|align=center|6-1-1
| Vagner Rocha

Vagner Rocha

|Decision (unanimous)
|Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum

Strikeforce / M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce on June 26, 2010 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.-Background:...

|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|
|
|-
| Win
|align=center|5-1-1
| Jesse Juarez
|Decision
|Iroquois Mixed Martial Arts Championships III
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center|4-1-1
| Mike Pyle

Mike Pyle (fighter)

|Submission (triangle choke)
|WEC 17

WEC 17

WEC 17: Halloween Fury 4 was a mixed martial arts event promoted by World Extreme Cagefighting on October 14, 2005 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California...

|
|align=center|1
|align=center|3.36
|
|WEC Welterweight Championship
|-
| Win
|align=center|4-0-1
| Daisuke Ishii
|TKO (strikes)
|WEC 10

WEC 10

WEC 10: Bragging Rights was a mixed martial arts event promoted by World Extreme Cagefighting on May 21, 2004 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. This event saw the fourth appearance of future Superstar Gilbert Melendez who took on Olaf Alfonso. This event also saw two of the...

|
|align=center|1
|align=center|4:49
|
|
|-
| Draw
|align=center|3-0-1
| Keiichiro Yamamiya

Keiichiro Yamamiya

Keiichiro Yamamiya is a Japanese mixed martial artists. After regularly competing in the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions, Yamamiya now competes in the welterweight division...

|Decision
|Pancrase

Pancrase

Hybrid - 11
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|
|
|-
| Win
|align=center|3-0
| Brodie Farber

Brodie Farber

|TKO (strikes)
|WEC 6

WEC 6

WEC 6: Return of a Legend was a mixed martial arts event promoted by World Extreme Cagefighting on March 27, 2003 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. The event was centered around the return of MMA superstar Frank Shamrock taking on Bryan Pardoe. Shamrock had been retired and...

|
|align=center|1
|align=center|3:57
|
|
|-
| Win
|align=center|2-0
| Brian Ebersole

Brian Ebersole

Brian Ebersole is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently fighting under the Ultimate Fighting Championship as of February 2011. Ebersole is a veteran of the mixed martial arts world with a total of 64 professional fights. He has been known to have an iron chin, never being knocked out...

|Decision (split)
|Ultimate Athlete 4: King of the Mountain
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|
|
|-
| Win
|align=center|1-0
| Paul Ano
|Submission (armbar)
|Warrior's Quest 6: Best of the Best
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|4:45
|
|

External links

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