Ben Edwards (kickboxer)

Ben "The Guvner" Edwards (born 17 February 1985) is an Australian heavyweight kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He is the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Canberra tournament champion.[1] Edwards won the tournament by three 1st-round KO's the fastest win in K-1 history in total time of 3 minutes and 28 seconds breaking the previous record held by Jerome Le Banner of 4 minutes and 4 seconds in K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Osaka. Fighting out of Bulldog Gym, Canberra, Australia, he has competed in the K-1, Capital Punishment, Kings of Kombat, SUPERKOMBAT and It's Showtime promotions and is currently signed to GLORY.

Ben Edwards
BornBenjamin Edwards
(1985-02-17) 17 February 1985 (age 39)
Sydney, Australia
Other namesThe Guvner, Bangin'
NationalityAustralian
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight121.5 kg (268 lb; 19.13 st)
DivisionHeavyweight
Reach76 in (190 cm)
StyleKickboxing
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofCanberra, Australia
TeamBulldog Gym Canberra
TrainerJohn Verran (2003–2009)
Jamie McCuaig (2009–present)
Years active2004–present
Professional boxing record
Total5
Wins4
By knockout4
Losses0
Draws1
Kickboxing record
Total50
Wins38
By knockout33
Losses10
By knockout6
Draws2
Mixed martial arts record
Total6
Wins5
By knockout5
Losses1
By decision1
Other information
UniversityDickson College
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: 3 May 2014

Biography and career

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Ben Edwards was born in Sydney and has been living in Canberra since he was 4, currently residing in Queanbeyan. Edwards played Rugby league until he was 19. He represented the Canberra Raiders sides in both Harold Matthews Cup and SG Ball sides.[citation needed] He went to Dickson College where he played first grade for the Queanbeyan Blues.[citation needed]

Ben Edwards started kickboxing in 2003 at the Bulldog Gym under late John Verran his coach and mentor.[citation needed]

After winning multiple ISKA kickboxing titles he made his K-1 debut at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Canberra. He knocked out all three of his opponents in the first round, including tournament favourite, Paul Slowinski, whom he had lost to twice in his career. He still maintains the record for the fastest kickboxing tournament in K-1 history, at 3 minutes and 28 seconds. At the K-1 Final 16, in the main event he lost to the eventual World Grand Prix champion Alistair Overeem in the first round.

Following the loss he decisioned Carter Williams and knocked out Mighty Mo in 2011. He finished the year with a loss against Roman Kleibl in the semi-finals of the SUPERKOMBAT Fight Club tournament. After being dropped by Daniel Sam in the quarter-finals he finished off his opponent in the second round. Despite dropping Kleibl in the second round he was TKOed in the final round after running out of energy.

He started out 2012 with a decision win against Ricardo van den Bos. He is now scheduled to face Rico Verhoeven on March, 17 in Australia.[2]

He faced Raul Cătinaş at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Tokyo final 16 on 14 October 2012[3][4] and won via TKO in round two.[5]

Edwards was drawn against Zabit Samedov in the quarter-finals of the K-1 World Grand Prix FINAL in Zagreb, held on 15 March 2013 in Zagreb, Croatia.[6] However, he decided not to compete[7] as he was already booked to fight Paul Slowinski for the fourth time on 23 March 2013 in Canberra, Australia at Capital Punishment 7.[8] He defeated Slowinski by decision.[9]

He joined Glory in July 2013.[10]

He won the vacant Kings of Kombat Heavyweight Championship with a majority decision win over Cătălin Moroșanu at Kings of Kombat 10 in Melbourne, Australia on 7 September 2013, relying heavily on low kicks in the fight rather than use his usual brawling style.[11][12][13]

In a slugfest at Glory 12: New York - Lightweight World Championship Tournament in New York City on 23 November 2013, Edwards landed numerous unanswered shots on Jamal Ben Saddik throughout round three before eventually putting him away with a big right hand towards the end.[14][15][16][17]

He was initially set to face Errol Zimmerman in the main event of Glory 15: Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey on 12 April 2014[18] but the match was transferred to the semi-finals of the Glory 16: Denver - Heavyweight Contendership Tournament in Broomfield, Colorado, US on 3 May 2014.[19][20] He lost to Zimmerman via TKO, suffering two knockdowns in the first round.[21][22]

Titles

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Kickboxing

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  • 2013 Kings of Kombat Heavyweight champion
  • 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix in Canberra champion
  • 2009 ISKA Super-heavyweight World champion (2 title def.)
  • 2008 ISKA Super-heavyweight South Pacific title

Mixed Martial Arts

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  • 2013 C8 Heavyweight Champion

Boxing

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Kickboxing record

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Kickboxing record
38 Wins (33 (T)KO's), 11 Losses, 2 Draws
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2015-10-09 Loss   Jahfarr Wilnis Glory 24: Denver – Heavyweight Contender Tournament, Semi-finals Denver, Colorado, USA TKO (2 knockdowns) 2 1:36
2014-05-03 Loss   Errol Zimmerman Glory 16: Denver – Heavyweight Contender Tournament, Semi-finals Broomfield, Colorado, USA TKO (right hook) 1 2:50
2013-11-23 Win   Jamal Ben Saddik Glory 12: New York New York City, USA KO (right hook) 3 2:52
2013-09-07 Win   Cătălin Moroșanu Kings of Kombat 10 Melbourne Decision (majority) 3 3:00
Wins Kings of Kombat Heavyweight title.
2013-03-23 Win   Paul Slowinski Capital Punishment 7 Canberra, Australia Decision 3 3:00
2012-10-14 Win   Raul Cătinaș K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Tokyo final 16, First Round Tokyo, Japan TKO (referee stoppage) 2 2:24
2012-03-17 Loss   Rico Verhoeven Capital Punishment 5 Canberra, Australia Decision 3 3:00
2012-01-28 Win   Ricardo van den Bos It's Showtime 2012 in Leeuwarden Leeuwarden, Netherlands Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2011-11-17 Loss   Roman Kleibl SUPERKOMBAT Fight Club, Semi-finals Oradea, Romania KO (Left Hook) 3 2:38
2011-11-17 Win   Daniel Sam SUPERKOMBAT Fight Club, Quarter-finals Oradea, Romania TKO (Referee Stoppage) 2 2:43
2011-07-30 Win   Mighty Mo Capital Punishment 4 Canberra, Australia KO (Knee) 2 2:18
2011-04-02 Win   Carter Williams Kings of Kombat 3 Keysborough, Australia Decision (Majority) 3 3:00
2010-10-02 Loss   Alistair Overeem K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Seoul Final 16 Seoul, Korea KO (right hook/3 knockdowns) 1 2:08
2010-07-10 Win   Paul Slowinski K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Canberra, final Canberra, Australia TKO (Three knockdowns/punches) 1 1:24
Wins K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 tournament title.
2010-07-10 Win   Tafa Misapati K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Canberra, semi-final Canberra, Australia TKO (Three knockdowns/left uppercut) 1 0:59
2010-07-10 Win   Faisal Zakaria K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Canberra, quarter final Canberra, Australia KO (Left hook) 1 1:03
2010-04-01 Win   Mick Siebert Marrara International Stadium Darwin, Northern Territory TKO (Referee stoppage/shin injury) 1 0:30
2010-02-20 Win   Thor Hoopman Capital Punishment Canberra, Australia TKO (Referee stoppage) 1
Defended his ISKA Super Heavyweight(+95kg) World title.
2009-10-09 Loss   Paul Slowinski Evolution 18 Melbourne TKO (Low kicks) 3
Fight was for International Kickboxer Super Heavyweight(+95kg) title.
2009-08-29 Win   Andrew Peck World Domination II, Rydges Lakeside Hotel Canberra, Australia TKO (Referee stoppage) 1 2:24
Defended his ISKA Super Heavyweight(+95kg) World title.
2009-04-04 Win   Rick Cheek World Domination Canberra, Australia KO (Right cross) 1 1:39
Wins ISKA Super Heavyweight(+95kg) World title.
2008–11 Win   Mick Siebert Australia KO (Left hook) 2 1:03
Wins ISKA Super Heavyweight(+95kg) South Pacific title.
2008-04-20 Loss   Nobu Hayashi Titans Tokyo, Japan Decision (Split) 3 3:00
2008-03-29 Win   Ramazan Ramazanov Xplosion 18 Super Fights Sydney KO (Left hook) 2
2007–12 Win   Duško Basrak Serbia KO 2
2007-03-03 Loss   Jason Suttie Philip Lam Promotions Auckland, New Zealand Decision (Split) 3 3:00
2006-11-11 Win   Erik Nosa N&J promotion presents "Men at War" Canberra, Australia KO 2
Wins Super Heavyweight(+95kg) Australian title.
2006-08-04 Draw   Erik Nosa War on the North Shore III Brookvale, New South Wales Decision draw 3 3:00
2006-06-24 Loss   Peter Sampson K-1 Kings of Oceania 2006 Round 1 Auckland, New Zealand Decision 3 3:00
2006-03-05 Loss   Jay Hepi K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Auckland Auckland, New Zealand Decision (Majority) 3 3:00
2005-12-10 Loss   Paul Slowinski K-1 Kings of Oceania 2005 Round 3 Gold Coast, Australia KO 2
2005-10-08 Win   Sidney Asiata K-1 Kings of Oceania 2005 Round 2 Auckland, New Zealand Ext. R Decision 4 3:00
2005-06-17 Win   Martin Opetaia JNI promotion "50th Show" Hurstville, New South Wales
2005-04-29 Win   Jason Boneham JNI "Unfinished Business" Hurstville, New South Wales
2005-02-01 Win   arren Berry Jabout Show @ Penrith Panthers Penrith, New South Wales
2004-08-20 Win   Wesam El Dahabi JNI "Wicked Ways" Hurstville, New South Wales
Boxing record
3 Wins (3 (T)KO's), 0 Losses, 1 Draws
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record
2014-11-15 Win   Tafa Misipati Hellenic Club of Canberra Canberra, Australia KO 1 4–0–1
2011-05-13 Draw   Michael Kirby The Melbourne Pavilion Flemington, Victoria, Australia Decision (Split) 10 3:00 3–0–1
Fight was for vacant Australian heavyweight title.
2011-02-18 Win   Leamy Tato Rydges Lakeside Canberra Hotel Canberra, Australian Capital Territory KO 1 3–0
2009-07-23 Win   Sam Leuii AIS Arena Bruce, Australian Capital Territory TKO 1 2–0
2007-04-13 Win   John Hopoate Erindale Vikings Club Wanniassa, Australian Capital Territory TKO 1 1:29 1–0
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
6 matches 5 wins 1 loss
By knockout 5 0
By decision 0 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 5–1 Francimar Barroso Decision (unanimous) PFL 6 8 August 2019 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 5–0 Wallace To'o TKO MFC 29 16 Feb 2019 2 Canberra, Australia
Win 4–0 Felise Leniu TKO Hex Fight Series 14 30 Jun 2018 1 Melbourne, Australia
Win 3–0 Jeremy Joiner KO MFC 26 11 Dec 2017 1 1:35 Canberra, Australia
Win 2–0 Brandon Sosoli TKO (submission to strikes) MFC 25 17 Jun 2017 1 3:53 Canberra, Australia
Win 1–0 Donnie Lester TKO Combat8:03 29 Aug 2013 1 Sydney MMA debut.
Wins C8 Heavyweight Title.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ben Edwards K-1 profile". k-1.co.jp/en/. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  2. ^ "Emotion charged fight". queanbeyanage.com.au/. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  3. ^ K-1 Final 16 Matches Unveiled
  4. ^ K-1 WGP Final 16, Finalized Fight Card For This Sunday, 14 October
  5. ^ K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16 Live Results
  6. ^ K-1 WGP Final 8 Match-Ups
  7. ^ Badr Hari to Replace Ben Edwards in K-1 World Grand Prix
  8. ^ Capital Punishment 7 in Canberra Line-Up
  9. ^ Weekend Winners: Ben Edwards, Sanny Dahlbeck, Suleiman Magomedov, Errol Koning
  10. ^ Hesdy Gerges and Ben Edwards to Fight for GLORY
  11. ^ Walsh, Dave (4 July 2013). "Ben Edwards vs. Catalin Morosanu on Sept. 7th in Australia". Liver Kick. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Ben Edwards vs Catalin Morosanu in Melbourne". FightMag. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013.
  13. ^ Walsh, Dave (8 September 2013). "Ben Edwards Bests Catalin Morosanu in Australia". Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  14. ^ Ky Hollenbeck vs. Shemsi Beqiri and Jamal Ben Saddik vs. Ben Edwards official for Glory 12 Archived 21 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Glory 12 Results and Recap: Andy Ristie shocks the world with two huge knockouts Archived 3 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ GLORY 12 Live Results and Updates
  17. ^ GLORY 12 results: Upsets galore as Giorgio Petrosyan falls short to tourney winner Andy Ristie Archived 28 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ GLORY Announces GLORY 15 Card
  19. ^ GLORY Announces GLORY 16 Card – Pat Barry's Debut
  20. ^ Glory 16 Denver Fight Card
  21. ^ UFC Veteran Pat Barry Suffers First-Round Knockout Loss to Zack Mwekassa at Glory 16
  22. ^ Glory 16 Results Archived 20 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by
David Levi
Australian heavyweight Championship Succeeded by