Guy Mezger (born January 1, 1968) is an American martial artist, who competed in professional combat sports including sport karate (he is in sport karate museum hall of fame), full contact karate, kickboxing, and boxing, but is most recognized as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Mezger was a champion in mixed martial arts in two different promotions, the UFC and Pancrase. Mezger retired from professional competition on January 25, 2005.
For over 25 years Guy Mezger has been involved in martial arts along with the fields of health, fitness, physical performance. He has worked with children, adults, professional and amateur athletes, civil and federal law enforcement agencies along with various Special Forces units of the United States military.
Before taking on the role of full time instructor and health professional, Guy Mezger was a professional combat athlete winning 5 world titles in 4 separate full contact sports. Guy Mezger is the managing partner and holistic health practitioner at Optimal Health Specialists.
Guy Mezger was the President of Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights
Raised in Texas, Mezger came from a difficult background. He grew up poor with an often-abusive father. "We weren't originally that bad off, but my mom finally divorced my father, and he didn't pay child support, so we became poor," he said. "I was 11 and already getting into a lot of fights when my mother moved us to a better neighborhood. His saving grace was a talent for sports.
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Preferring individual over team competition, he gravitated toward wrestling and the martial arts. After getting kicked out of college for not attending class, Mezger realized that his best option was to become a professional fighter. "You know your life is pretty bad when being a pro fighter is a step up for you," he said.
Training and Associations
Mezger has trained with many great martial arts competitors and trainer/instructors; his main trainers have been Vince Tamura (judo), Willie Thompson (wrestling), Billy "Jack" Jackson (kickboxing), and Ken Shamrock (shootfighting). He is associated with Lion's Den and runs their school in Dallas.
Early UFC Career
Mezger began his mixed martial arts career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC 4 in an alternate match against Jason Fairn. Before the fight, Mezger had asked Fairn to make a 'gentlemen's agreement' not to pull hair due to the fact both men had long hair.
Mezger won the bout by TKO after landing a multitude of strikes from full mount. Mezger next fought at UFC 5 in an alternate match against John Dowdy, defeating him by TKO in little over two minutes by mounted strikes.
Pancrase
In his second match at the Pancrase 1995 Anniversary Show, Mezger faced Pancrase co-founder and Shamrock's trainer Masakatsu Funaki. In December 1995, Mezger was involved in a controversial match against the other Pancrase co-founder, lauded wrestler Minoru Suzuki.
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Mezger controlled the match, but he landed an accidental kick to the groin at 7:15 in the first round and was disqualified by the referee. His corner protested and defended the accidental nature of the strike, but the result was not changed.
Return to UFC
Mezger would not return to the UFC until UFC 13 where he competed in the Lightweight Tournament (200 lbs & under). In his first bout, Mezger fought top ranked judo fighter, Christophe Leininger. Leininger was able to score a takedown and gain mount at one point, but he was otherwise soundly beaten as Mezger battled his way to a decision victory.
The championship round Mezger faced future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz. Ortiz was able to counter Mezger's takedown attempt and landed several knees to Mezger's head. To some it appeared that Mezger had tapped, but referee John McCarthy ruled Mezger was blocking the knees and his hand went down as Ortiz shifted his weight.
The bout was then stopped to check Mezger's cut. The announcers, as well as Ortiz, thought that the bout was over, but the fight was instead restarted on the feet. Ortiz shot in for a takedown, but Mezger secured a guillotine choke, forcing Ortiz to submit.
Mezger then forfeited his King of Pancrase title to fight in the UFC again. Mezger's final bout in the UFC was a rematch with Tito Ortiz at UFC 19: Young Guns. Mezger was sick before the fight but fought anyway, a decision that he regretted after the fight.
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This resulted in Ortiz handling Mezger and won the bout at the 9:55 mark by referee stoppage. The stoppage was somewhat controversial because both Mezger and his cornerman Ken Shamrock felt that Ortiz's strikes were not doing enough damage to warrant a stoppage.
Ortiz then donned a shirt that was insulting to Mezger which provoked an immediate reaction from Ken Shamrock, Mezger's trainer. Mezger would occasionally seek a rematch with Ortiz over the next few years. In 2004 he was finally granted a chance to face Tito Ortiz at UFC 50.
Pride FC
The former UFC champion made his Pride FC debut in 1999 at Pride 6 against the popular Akira Shoji. The two fighters passed most of the first round in the clinch, where Mezger landed strikes and tried unsuccessfully to take down Shoji.
At the second, Akira scored a takedown and performed ground and pound, which Mezger retaliated by controlling the striking again when they returned to their feet; however, the Japanese took Mezger's back on the ground towards the end of the round and scored punches while Guy attempted to escape.
At the third and final round, the two traded strikes again and Shoji repeated his back siege before the fight ended. Pride officials then signed Mezger to fight Kazushi Sakuraba, who at the time was considered to be one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world.
The fight took place at the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round. Mezger took the fight on two weeks notice and had a broken foot going into the fight. The contract that Mezger signed stipulated that the fight would be one 15-minute round with no overtime, in contrast to the other fights which were to have an extra round in the case of a draw.
The fight mostly consisted of Mezger controlling the fight by stopping Sakuraba's takedown attempts while landing strikes from the outside. The round ended and Mezger expected the fight to go to the judges, but Pride officials wanted the fight to go to overtime.
According to Mezger, Pride did not like the outcome of the fight and changed the agreement/contract on the spot in order to give Sakuraba another chance to win the fight. An argument ensued and Mezger was ordered out of the ring and back to the locker room by his corner man, Ken Shamrock, who was livid at the decision to extend the fight because of Mezger's foot injury and the fact that he took the fight on short notice.
Later that night, the president of Pride FC made a public apology to Mezger at the Tokyo Dome for the miscommunication. Mezger added, "Royce's father came up to me after my fight and said, "You got screwed.
Mezger made his return to the ring at Pride 10 - Return of the Warriors, facing Brazilian superstar and future middleweight kingpin Wanderlei Silva. Mezger gained the upper hand early, cutting Silva with several crisp combinations and outpointing Silva on the feet. However, he was ultimately knocked out at the 3:45 mark.
Shortly before the knockout, Silva was catching the worse end of the punching exchanges and proceeded to throw an intentional, illegal headbutt to Mezger that eventually led to landing the knockout combination. Many people felt as though this was a cheap shot that affected the end result. Some people, including Kazushi Sakuraba, felt the bout should have been changed to a no contest.
Mezger talked about his feelings on the matter in an interview: "I am not going to cry foul, it is the fight game and things like that happen, get used to it. It is no win situation when it comes to answering that question, if I said it did (affect the result) then I would be making excuses.
Mezger found a measure of redemption when he defeated Alexander Otsuka by TKO at Pride 12 - Cold Fury. Otsuka challenged Mezger to another fight, but was soundly beaten by TKO for a second time.
Mezger returned again at Pride 13 - Collision Course to face Egan Inoue. Mezger then met UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell at Pride 14 - Clash of the Titans. Liddell was coming off of a stunning KO over former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Kevin Randleman.
Mezger gained control of the first round, knocking Liddell to the mat with a strike and landing a left kick to Liddell's face a few minutes before the bell sounded ending the first round. Mezger faced two time ADCC champion Ricardo Arona at Pride 16.
Mezger entered the ring with an American flag draped across his shoulders out of respect for the World Trade Center attacks in New York. He also wore trunks with an American flag design. Arona and Mezger circled each other for a few moments, before moving in and exchanging strikes.
Mezger ended the round one with two takedowns and side mount position but couldn't capitalize on it. The second round was much of the same until Mezger landed a stunning kick to Arona's face. The third round took a different turn with three minutes left in the round, Arona scored his only takedown of the fight.
The third round continued like this, with Arona laying on Mezger, using his ground and pound style for the last three minutes of the bout. In December 2001, Mezger was proposed the idea of fighting at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye while wearing Tiger Mask's attire and mask, but he didn't accept.
Thus, Mezger returned to competition at Pride 22 after a year long lay-off, easily winning a decision over Norihisa Yamamoto. Mezger then battled Antônio Rogério Nogueira at Pride 24.
Pride 24
Retirement and Later Career
On January 25, 2005, Guy Mezger retired from professional fighting after experiencing stroke-like symptoms prior to his scheduled bout with Tito Ortiz. Mezger trains students in boxing, kickboxing and the Lion's Den Mixed Martial Arts system at his gym, Guy Mezger's Combat Sports Club, in Dallas.
He also has a consulting company, CS Consulting, that works with both Federal and State law enforcement agencies on re-vamping their defensive tactics training. Mezger is a part owner in a movie/TV production company that is making "reality TV" shows and action and documentary movies.
Mezger was the President of Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights and was responsible for developing new talent and securing promotion partners for HDnet's Friday Night Fights. Mezger and his wife Michelle have two children, Logan and Rachel.
In December 2011, Mezger was involved in an altercation in Dallas in front of a sporting goods store where a man was physically abusing a woman. He stepped in to assist the woman by fighting the man, who attacked Mezger with a knife.
The attacker was on parole and afterwards needed medical attention for multiple facial bone and arm bone fractures. Mezger's hand was cut in the fight.
Awards and Achievements
- Fight of the Night (One time)
- Submission of the Night (One time)
Summary of Mezger's Career:
Chuck Liddell Earns Massive KO Win Over Guy Mezger in Pride Debut | Pride 14, 2001 | On This Day
| Promotion | Notable Fights | Achievements |
|---|---|---|
| UFC | Jason Fairn, John Dowdy, Tito Ortiz | Competed in UFC 4, UFC 5, UFC 13, UFC 19 |
| Pancrase | Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki | King of Pancrase Title |
| Pride FC | Akira Shoji, Kazushi Sakuraba, Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, Ricardo Arona | Competed in Pride 6, Pride Grand Prix 2000, Pride 10, Pride 14, Pride 16 |