Bret Bergmark
| Bret Bergmark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 24, 1973 Novato, California |
| Other names | The Angry Hick |
| Nationality |  American |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai |
| Fighting out of | Pleasant Hill, California |
| Team | Gym 445 / Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 8 |
| Wins | 6 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
Bret Bergmark (born November 24, 1973) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He is a Cesar Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt and an amateur San Shou and Muay Thai kick boxer. He has competed in many MMA promotions, including Strikeforce, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), Pancrase, Ultimate Athlete, Warriors Quest and the Iroquois MMA Championships. He is a 2X WEC Superfight Winner and has a professional MMA record of 6 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw.
Biography
Bret was born in Novato, California, the son of a San Francisco police officer. He attended and graduated from San Marin High School, where he wrestled for four years. After high school Bret took up rodeo bull riding, 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 academy in 1999. After gaining his blue belt he left the Ralph Gracie academy to train at the Cesar Gracie academy in Pleasant Hill, California, in 2002. It was at the Cesar Gracie academy that Bret earned his purple belt and started fighting in professional MMA matches. Bret currently trains and teaches at the Cesar Gracie academy in Pleasant Hill, California and Gym 445 in San Francisco, California. He also occasionally trains at the respective academies of Jake Shields (Graciefighter Berkeley), Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz (Graciefighter Lodi), Gilbert Melendez (El Nino Training Center) and Dave Terrell (Nor Cal Fighting Alliance).
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Bergmark had his first professional MMA fight on August 3, 2002, shortly after joining the 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 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 at WEC 6: Return of a Legend on March 27, 2003. Bret wouldn't let this one go the distance. 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 organization in Japan, taking on UFC and Pancrase veteran Keiichiro Yamamiya at 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 at WEC 10: Bragging Rights on May 21, 2004. Again Bret was matched up against a seasoned 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 at WEC 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 debut on June 26 in San Jose California as he fought Vagner Rocha in the prelims. Bret earned his first victory for the company by unanimous decision.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Bergmark is currently a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt under the world renown Cesar Gracie, with whom he has been training since 2002. Bret teaches Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Gym 445 in San Francisco.
Muay Thai
Bret also trains in Muay Thai kickboxing, starting his training with World Team USA in San Francisco, CA. He currently trains Muay Thai kickboxing at Gym 445 in San Francisco, CA, under the guidance of Kru Edge Brown.
MMA Record
External links
- Official Website
- Bret's Myspace Page
- Gym 445 Instructor Biography
- Graciefighter Biography
- Professional MMA record for Bret Bergmark from Sherdog
- Pancrase Profile
- Subfighter.com Profile
- MMAUniverse.com Profile
Video
- Bret Bergmark and Nick Diaz BJJ Part 1
- Bret Bergmark and Nick Diaz BJJ Part 2
- Bret Bergmark vs Brodie Farber MMA
- Bret Bergmark vs Brian Ebersole MMA Round 1
- Bret Bergmark vs Brian Ebersole MMA Round 2
- Bret Bergmark vs Brian Ebersole MMA Round 3
- Bret Bergmark Demonstrating an Armbar Video
- Bret Bergmark in Amateur Muay Thai Fight Video
- Bret Bergmark in Amateur San Shou Fight Video