Matt Wiman

From CageWiki

1 Profile
2 Early Career and UFC Debut
3 The Ultimate Fighter
4 UFC Career
5 Mixed martial arts record
6 Gallery
7 External links

Profile

"Handsome" Matt Wiman (born September 19, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist and a former castmember of The Ultimate Fighter Season 5.

He stands 5 ft. 10 in. (178 cm) tall and fights in the lightweight division (155 lbs.).

Wiman currently competes as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Early Career and UFC Debut

Matt Wiman made his professional mixed martial arts debut as a part of a one night 8-man tournament held by the Extreme Fighting League on August 14, 2004. In the opening round and his MMA debut he defeated Joe Garza via decision.

He moved into the final with a decision win over Greg Bossler before capturing the EFL's middleweight title with a triangle choke submission win over Larry Johns.

Wiman defended his title, three months later when he scored an armbar victory over David Franks.

A 20 second TKO over DJ Randall in February of 2005 was followed with a tight back and forth battle with future UFC competitor, Roger Huerta at an FFC event in September. After three rounds the bout was given to Huerta in what many thought to be a controversial decision.

Wiman defended his EPL title again with a TKO over Thomas Grissom in November before losing the second fight of his career to UFC veteran, Nick Agallar at an MFC event in March of 2006.

At UFC 60, Wiman stepped in on short notice to make his UFC debut against Spencer Fisher as a replacement for Leonard Garcia. The night got off to a bad start when UFC commentator, Mike Goldberg introduced Wiman as "Watt Miman". Things went from bad to worse however as Wiman was stopped in the second round with a spectacular flying knee from Fisher.

The Ultimate Fighter

Following his unsuccessful UFC debut, Wiman was signed as one of the 16 lightweight contestants for The Ultimate Fighter Season 5.

Wiman, as a part of Team Penn, faced Marlon Sims in the round of 16. He choked Sims unconscious after knocking him down with a punch early in the first round.

In the quarter final stage, Wiman faced Armenian, Manny Gamburyan in a fight he was favored to win. Gamburyan used superior wrestling and ground control to grind out a decision over Wiman and thus eliminating him from the competition.

At The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale, Wiman faced off against fellow TUF 5 contestant, Brian Geraghty. Just over two minutes in, Wiman finished Geraghty with punches on the ground.

UFC Career

Three months after defeating Geraghty, Wiman picked up a unanimous decision victory over durable Japanese fighter, Michihiro Omigawa at UFC 76.

Wiman made it three UFC victories in a row when he submitted Justin Buchholz with a rear naked choke on the undercard of UFC Fight Night 12 in January of 2008.

At UFC 85, Wiman was given little chance by many in the MMA community when he faced Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, Thiago Tavares. In a fight that earned "Fight of the Night" honors, both fighters went through rapid transitions on the ground in the first round with Wiman holding his own. In the second, Wiman clocked Tavares with a right hand against the fence which knocked Tavares cold, earning Wiman the KO victory.

Originally scheduled to face Frankie Edgar at UFC: Fight for the Troops, Edgar was replaced with Jim Miller because of injury. In another "Fight of the Night" both fighters went through rapid transistions on the ground and furious exchanges on the feet with Miller always coming out on top in both. At the end of the three rounds, Miller was awarded the unanimous decision win.

Wiman will attempt to bounce back from the loss at UFC 97: Redemption when he battles Xtreme Couture's Sam Stout on the undercard.