Randy Blake

Randy “Boom Boom” Blake (born November 25, 1986) is an American kickboxer who competes in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Known for his speed and kicking ability, he began his martial arts training in karate at the age of seven before turning to kickboxing. He initially gained recognition fighting in the World Combat League, then went on the win and dominate the Xtreme Fighting League's Light heavyweight Kickboxing Championship with numerous title defenses. Blake won the ISKA World Heavyweight Muay Thai title in 2012 before going on to compete in K-1 and Glory.

Randy Blake
Born (1986-11-25) November 25, 1986
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Other namesBoom Boom
NationalityAmerican
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight95.1 kg (210 lb; 14.98 st)
DivisionCruiserweight
Heavyweight
Reach78.2 in (199 cm)
StyleKarate  Kickboxing
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofTulsa, Oklahoma, United States
TeamApollo's Martial Arts
TrainerDale Cook
Rank4th degree black belt in Karate Purple Belt in Jiu Jitsu
Years active2007–present
Professional boxing record
Total2
Wins2
By knockout2
Losses0
Kickboxing record
Total43
Wins39
By knockout24
Losses4
By knockout1
Draws0
Mixed martial arts record
Total1
Wins1
Losses0
Draws0
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: November 7, 2014

Early life

Randy Blake moved from Cleveland, Ohio to Owasso, Oklahoma with his family at an early age. Inspired by the film Bloodsport, he began training in karate aged seven and received his black belt from former world kickboxing champion Dale Cook in 2003 at 16. He is currently a fourth degree black belt.[1] He also played basketball for Tulsa Community College.

Career

Early career (2007–2012)

Blake began fighting as an amateur kickboxer in 2007 and first gained recognition while competing for the Oklahoma Destroyers during the 2007–08 season of the World Combat League. Fighting in the -88 kg/195 lb division, he debuted against the Texas Dragons' Freddie Espiricueta and stopped his opponent with two successive spinning back kicks to the body, earning him the nickname "Boom Boom".[2]

After amassing a 2–1 record in the WCL, Blake went on to become a mainstay in the Oklahoma-based Xtreme Fighting League promotion, where he won the XFL Light heavyweight (-93 kg/205 lb) Kickboxing Championship. Going undefeated as a professional at 20–0, he earned himself a shot at the vacant ISKA World Heavyweight (-96.4 kg/212 lb) Muay Thai Championship on June 21, 2012 in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma against Mike Sheppard, the man who previously defeated him in the WCL.[3] During the fight, Blake repeatedly controlled Sheppard's head in the clinch and scored with knees which opened a cut on his opponents face. This caused the fight to be stopped in the fifth round, and Randy Blake was crowned the new champion.[4]

K-1 (2012)

Following this world title win, Blake was recruited by K-1, historically the world's premier kickboxing organization.[5] In his promotional debut, he headlined the card at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Los Angeles on September 8, 2012 against veteran Dewey Cooper with a place at the 2012 K-1 World Grand Prix at stake.[6][7] He outpointed Cooper over three rounds, winning by unanimous decision and advancing to the K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 in Tokyo Final 16 on October 14, 2012,[8][9][10][11] where he was drawn against eventual champion Mirko Cro Cop.[12][13] Blake was given a standing eight count in the second round despite claiming a low blow from a Cro Cop front kick, but scored a controversial knockdown of his own in round three. Cro Cop attempted an uppercut on Blake after a slip but when trying to apologize, Blake sucker punched him to the canvas. Despite this, he simply did not have the power to hurt the Croatian and was outfought to a majority decision loss, the first of his career.[14][15][16]

He rebounded from his first defeat less than a month later, knocking out fellow K-1 veteran Deutsch Pu'u with a third round high kick at Xtreme Fight Night 10 in Tulsa on November 16, 2012.[17][18][19]

Glory (2013–2014)

Blake fought in an eight-man -95 kg/209 lb tournament as part of the "Road to Glory" series, qualifiers for the Glory promotion, at Xtreme Fight Night 11 in Tulsa on February 1, 2013.[20][21] Despite entering the tournament as the favourite, he was upset at the quarter-final stage by Dustin Jacoby, a mixed martial artist and late entrant to the competition. In round three, he was caught with a punch while lunging in which hurt him and allowed Jacoby to capitalize and force the referee to call a halt to the bout.[22][23] He was scheduled to face Manuel Quezada at Xtreme Fight Night 12 in Tulsa on April 12, 2013. However, Quezada was replaced by the lesser-known Jason Broom who Blake feat via technical knockout in the second.[24]

Despite losing out in the "Road to Glory" tournament, Blake was still given his chance in the promotion and debuted at Glory 9: New York in New York City, New York on June 22, 2013 against Koichi in a reserve match for the -95 kg/209 lb tournament.[25][26][27] He spent the six weeks leading up to the fight training at Golden Glory Breda in Breda, Netherlands[28] and defeated his Japanese opponent by unanimous decision.[29][30][31] In his sophomore Glory appearance, Blake lost to Brian Collette by unanimous decision at Glory 10: Los Angeles in Ontario, California on September 28, 2013.[32][33][34]

Following this, Blake returned to the XFL promotion in Oklahoma where he scored three consecutive wins over Roy Boughton, Wayman Carter and Joe Yager, respectively, between November 2013 and January 2014. In his return to Glory, Blake replaced the injured Brian Collette to face Mourad Bouzidi at Glory 15: Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey on April 12, 2014.[35] He again spent time at a different camp in the lead up to the fight, training with the Blackzilians in Boca Raton, Florida where his sparring partners included Anthony Johnson, Thiago Silva and Tyrone Spong.[36] Blake lost to Bouzidi via a lopsided unanimous decision and was docked two points in the match for excessive clinching.[37][38]

Blake defeated Warren Thompson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30–26, 30-26) at Glory 18: Oklahoma on November 7, 2014.[39]

Subsequent career (2015–)

Blake defended his XFL title against Lucas Overcast, Brian McVea, Tony Lopez, Aundre Groce, Zach Gerullis, Demoreo Dennis and Evan Nedd.

Championships and awards

Kickboxing

  • International Sport Karate Association
    • ISKA World Heavyweight (-96.4 kg/212 lb) Muay Thai Championship
  • Xtreme Fighting League
    • XFL Heavyweight Kickboxing Championship
    • XFL Light heavyweight (-93 kg/205 lb) Kickboxing Championship

Kickboxing record

Professional kickboxing record
Amateur kickboxing record

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

Professional boxing record

2 Wins (2 knockouts, 0 decisions), 0 Losses, 0 Draws
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Win 2-0 Arthur Parker TKO 2 (4) 2016-01-14 Chevrolet Event Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Win 1-0 Chester Burton RTD 1 (4), 3:00 2015-04-23 River Spirit Casino, Tulsa, Oklahoma Professional debut.

Mixed martial arts record

1 win, 0 losses
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record
2008-08-16WinRudy Sylvester LindseyXtreme Fighting LeagueMiami, Oklahoma, USDecision (unanimous)33:001-0

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

References

  1. https://archive.is/20121223131330/http://randyboomboomblake.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/randy-boom-boom-blakes-story.html. Archived from the original on December 23, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. https://archive.is/20130205072205/http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:25273. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. "Sheppard eyes another world kickboxing crown". newsandsentinel.com.
  4. Full Cream Milk. "News § International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) UK". iska.org.uk.
  5. Dave Walsh. "K-1 Announces Lineup For Sept. 8 in Los Angeles". liverkick.com.
  6. Dave Walsh. "K-1 Releases Fight Card for September 8th Los Angeles Event". liverkick.com.
  7. "Cooper vs. Blake Announced as Main Event of K1 US Grand Prix". BoxingInsider.com. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  8. "K-1 U.S. Grand Prix in Los Angeles – results". prommanow.com.
  9. Dave Walsh. "K-1 US Grand Prix Live Results". liverkick.com.
  10. Fraser Coffeen. "K-1 Results: K-1 Delivers With Great Night Of Fights In Los Angeles". Bloody Elbow.
  11. Dave Walsh. "LiverKick Talks with K-1's Randy Blake". liverkick.com.
  12. Matthew Roth. "A Conversation with Randy Blake: The Great American Kickboxing Hope". Bleacher Report.
  13. Dave Walsh. "K-1 Final 16 Matches Unveiled". liverkick.com.
  14. Dave Walsh. "K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16 Live Results". liverkick.com.
  15. Fraser Coffeen. "Weekly Kicks: K-1 Grand Prix Final 16 results, Ghita signs with Glory". Bloody Elbow.
  16. "Results and Recap: K-1 Heavyweight Final 16 - Muay Thai Authority". muaythaiauthority.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-25.
  17. "XFL Xtreme Fight Night 10 Results". MMAmadhouse MMA News. Archived from the original on 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  18. Dave Walsh. "Road to GLORY USA Events Coming Together". liverkick.com.
  19. Dave Walsh. "Road to GLORY USA 95kg Tournament Official Lineup - Feb. 1". liverkick.com.
  20. Dave Walsh. "Dustin Jacoby Wins First Road to GLORY USA Tournament". liverkick.com.
  21. "Dustin Jacoby wins "Road to Glory" light heavyweight tournament - Muay Thai Authority". muaythaiauthority.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-17.
  22. "Randy Blake pokonuje Jasona Quezade na gali w Tulsie". kickboxing24.pl. Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  23. Dave Walsh. "Full GLORY 9 New York Poster, More Participants Revealed". liverkick.com.
  24. Dave Walsh. "GLORY 9 New York Gets Ghita vs. Guidon, Valtellini vs. Ambang". liverkick.com.
  25. Dave Walsh. "GLORY 9 New York LHW Tournament Reserve Fights". liverkick.com.
  26. "Glory 9 Results and Recap: Tyrone Spong Wins Light heavyweight Tournament - Muay Thai Authority". muaythaiauthority.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-27.
  27. https://web.archive.org/web/20130812053510/http://fightsportasia.com/2013/06/23/glory-9-results-and-review-tyrone-spong-wins-light-heavyweight-tournament-ghita-dominates-guidon/. Archived from the original on August 12, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. Dave Walsh. "GLORY 9 New York Live Results and Updates". liverkick.com.
  29. Dave Walsh. "More Super Fights Announced for GLORY 10 Los Angeles". liverkick.com.
  30. Dave Walsh. "GLORY 10 Live Results and Updates". liverkick.com.
  31. Steve Borchardt. "GLORY 10 results, LIVE online fight coverage stream for 'Los Angeles'". MMAmania.com.
  32. "News - Blake steps up to represent USA at GLORY 15". gloryworldseries.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-08. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
  33. Michael Stets (2014-04-12). "GLORY 15: Randy 'Boom Boom' Blake talks Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, training with Tyrone Spong, and more!". MMAmania.com.
  34. "Glory 15 Results and Recap - Muay Thai Authority". muaythaiauthority.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-14.
  35. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413160704/http://fightsportasia.com/2014/04/13/glory-15-resultspictures-saki-wins-title-spong-suffers-horrific-leg-injury/. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  36. GLORY 18: Return to GLORY Results
  37. Randy Blake shines at Xtreme Fight Night 29
  38. "XTREME FIGHT NIGHT 27 Results Sponsored By Scrap Soldier Clothing". Archived from the original on 2016-03-27. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
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