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Name: Mac Danzig
Professional MMA Record: 18-6-1, Winner of 'The Ultimate Fighter 6'
Biography: Mac Danzig was born in Cleveland, Ohio and is 29 years old. Danzig grew up in Pittsburgh along with a brief stint in Virginia Beach. Danzig's dedication to the sport of MMA was such that he packed up all of his necessary possessions into his car and drove cross country to Los Angeles, California in order to give it a go in the world of MMA.
The reason for packing up and heading west?
To train with Tito Ortiz and Team Punishment. This did not happen and he ended up with RAW, which is now known as the R-1 fight team. However, he set his goals high in leaving everything behind and as such has put everything he has into his MMA career.
Danzig has had a very successful career up until this point in time and along the way has won such titles as 2001 Extreme Trials Eastern Regional Champion, 2001 Extreme Trials National Champion, IFC Lightweight Tournament Champion, Gladiator Challenge Lightweight Champion, King of the Cage Lightweight Champion and most famously was the winner of season six of 'The Ultimate Fighter' which was for a welterweight contract with the UFC.
It was by way of 'The Ultimate Fighter' that Mac Danzig was introduced to most fans, although as a fighter he had been around for some time and achieved much in the sport. This merely proves the power of the television series on Spike TV as well as further emphasizes the fact that, for a majority of fans, if you aren't in the UFC, you do not exist. Obviously not all fans subscribe to such thinking but most had no clue who Danzig was until his time on 'TUF.'
Danzig made his professional MMA debut in October of 2001 at the Extreme Challenge Trials and was successful in scoring a split decision victory over Cedric Stewart. He would go on to win his next two bouts before going up against future UFC lightweight Kurt Pellegrino and losing by way of unanimous decision at WEC 4 in August of 2002. Following this loss, Danzig went on to meet and defeat Tripstin Kersiano at Gladiator Challenge 14 before suffering the second loss of his career at the hands of LaVerne Clark on the Extreme Challenge 54 card.
Danzig was now 4-2 at this point and would go on quite the winning streak as he went 12-0-1 before losing a split decision to Clay French at King of the Cage: Hard Knocks. Mac would then get the chance to not only fight for the vaunted PRIDE promotion at PRIDE 33: The Second Coming, but on this card he was set to face Hayato Sakurai. Danzig would suffer the only KO loss of his career when he was stopped at 4:01 of the second round.
Danzig has fought for such promotions as the aforementioned Extreme Challenge and WEC along with Gladiator Challenge, International Fighting Championship, Reto Maximo, King of the Cage, PRIDE and would take the first step towards adding the UFC to his resume as he was selected to appear on 'The Ultimate Fighter 6' in 2007.
Mac Danzig was, without a doubt, the strongest competitor and the one with the most professional experience when he entered the house for season six. He was also the crankiest of them all as he seemed to look down on everyone else for being there with a particular strain of venom reserved for Blake Bowman and Richie Hightower in particular. For the most part, this was a season of more drama than anything else as the coaches were Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, and this was the season of War Machine. In fact, most remember this season for the "upper decker" incident rather than anything else at all, but Mac Danzig did showcase his skills and do what was necessary to make it all the way to the finals against Tommy Speer.
To hear some speak at the time, it appeared that not only were most pulling for Tommy Speer but that the unheralded and grossly inexperienced Speer was indeed the favorite against Danzig. It was as if all reason were thrown out of the window and Speer with his magical strength which can only be had by way of the farm would stomp a hole in Danzig and show that brawn could defeat skill in the finals.
This, of course, did not happen, and Mac Danzig cruised to a win as he slapped the rear naked choke on Speer in the first round and forced the tough but unrefined fighter to tap out at the 2:01 mark of the first round. Danzig had won 'The Ultimate Fighter,' but he had done so against marginal talent and was clearly the biggest fish in a small but very colorful pond. 'The Ultimate Fighter 6' was like a big Koi pond with a floater courtesy of Troy Mandaloniz and Richie Hightower, with Mac Danzig swimming amongst the vibrant fish as a big and angry Red Oscar. Danzig was painted as pissed off from day one of the competition and would be branded as such ever since. However, it was now time for him to step up and face real UFC competition.
Mac Danzig made his non-TUF debut at UFC 83, and it was a successful one as he again won by way of the rear naked choke when he forced the durable Mark Bocek to submit at the 3:48 mark of the 3rd round. Danzig appeared well on his way and would be asked to step up against a much higher class of opponent in his next outing as he was scheduled to face Clay Guida in September of 2008.
Danzig would drop the unanimous decision to Guida in their bout on the 'UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Neer' card, but he definitely gave "The Carpenter" a sturdy challenge throughout their fight. Danzig won this fight on the feet but was taken down and controlled by Guida, which is precisely why he lost the fight. Guida didn't exactly do much to win this bout but he completely snuffed out the offense of Danzig; and by scoring the takedowns and remaining on top was able to come out on top and take the victory.
Mac Danzig would then take on Josh Neer at 'UFC Fight Night 17' and drop his second in a row as he was forced to tap out to a triangle choke at 3:36 of round number two. This was a fairly fun bout, and both fighters had their moments while standing with Danzig slightly doing more damage. It even appeared at one point that Danzig was beginning to come close to doing enough damage that it wasn't entirely out of reach for him to score the TKO victory. It was not to be for Danzig as he was given fits by Neer's guard and got caught by way of triangle after scoring the takedown.
This was not a bout in which Danzig was dominated and he was caught by Neer, which quite frankly could have happened to anyone. The problem was that for the second fight in a row it was as if Danzig were a C level fighter who just could not get the job done against the better B class fighters in the division. Being 1-2 following his 'TUF' win wasn't exactly the best place to be in either, as Danzig had never captivated any of the fans by way of his personality and very much needed to win his fights in hopes of remaining with the promotion. He will be facing Jim Miller on the undercard of UFC 100 and needs a win desperately in a bout which features two lightweights on the cusp of success and at a similar level of ability.
Mac Danzig currently fights out of Las Vegas, Nevada and represents Xtreme Couture. He has been known primarily as a grappler with excellent submission ability but has been training extensively at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California under Justin Fortune who is Freddie Roach’s assistant. Danzig's striking should be improved immensely from this experience and it may be the wrinkle in his game which needed some tweaking. Danzig has shown some power but it was as if something was missing or he just was unsure of when or how to pull the trigger on his shots.
If he can improve on his striking and maintain his abilities on the ground, it is likely that he could be well on his way to becoming the fighter he has always dreamed of, and become known for more than his 'TUF' win and remain in the UFC for some time to come.
Mac Danzig is an animal rights advocate and has lived as a vegan for the past five years. He is also an avid photographer who sells his prints online through a website dedicated solely to his hobby. There are many more layers to Danzig then were shown on 'The Ultimate Fighter,' and he is also a father now after his long time girlfriend gave birth to their daughter in November of last year.
Danzig is an athlete who has his priorities in order, but for now one of those must be defeating Jim Miller if he wishes to remain in the UFC and not be the first winner of 'The Ultimate Fighter' to be bounced from the organization.
Mac Danzig needs to win against Jim Miller at UFC 100, and while this fight may not make air, it is a lock to be one of the best bouts on the undercard of this epic event.
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