Gary H. Goodridge
Gary Henry Goodridge, also known as "Big Daddy", is a retired Trinidadian-Canadian super heavyweight kickboxer, heavyweight mixed martial artist and professional arm wrestler. Gary fought professionally in the Ultimate Fighting Championships and the Pride Fighting Championships. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, Gary won the World Championship of Arm Wrestling. Currently Gary is training and mentoring fighters, making appearances at seminars across North America, volunteering throughout his community, and looking to actively connect with fans new and old.
Goodridge was a world champion in arm wrestling, and was able to defeat the likes of Sharon Remez and John Brzenk in 1991, and again in 1994. Goodridge was also the super heavyweight amateur boxing champion of Canada. In 1996, Goodridge was offered status of 4th degree black belt in kuk sool won, and a free dobak, if he would represent their school at the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He took two classes in kuk sool won before making his MMA debut in the eight-man tournament at UFC 8: David vs. Goliath in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In the quarter-finals, he faced wrestler Paul Herrera and won using a "goose neck." This was the only submission hold he had learned before the event.
Gary Goodridge Seminars & Appearances
A Lifetime of Professional Fighting
In
late 1997, Goodridge was recruited to compete in Japan's PRIDE Fighting
Championships. He made his promotional debut against Russian grappler
Oleg Taktarov at PRIDE1 on October 11, 1997 and knocked his opponent out
almost five minutes into the match. He returned at PRIDE 2 on March 15,
1998, where he lost to Brazilian vale tudo fighter Marco Ruas. He then
recorded a knockout win over Amir Rahnavardi at PRIDE 3, and a KO loss
to Igor Vovchanchyn at PRIDE 4 respectively. Pride Fighting Championships
Gary
Goodridge was in UFC 8: David vs. Goliath in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In
the quarter-finals, he faced wrestler Paul Herrera (whom Goodridge
outweighed by nearly 80 lbs) and won in violent fashion by using a
"goose neck", the only submission hold he had learned before the event.
After Herrera attempted a fireman's carry, Goodridge trapped both of his
arms in a crucifix position and proceeded to deliver multiple elbow
blows to the helpless Herrera's head, ending the bout in 13 seconds. Ultimate Fighting Championships
Goodridge
made his kickboxing debut in 1999 at K-1 Revenge, against Musashi and
lost the fight by disqualification. His first win in K-1 came against
Mike Bernardo by technical knockout at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in
Las Vegas in 2002. Following this, he took part in the opening round of
the 2002 K-1 World Grand Prix against Jérôme Le Banner and was knocked
out 42 seconds into the match. In 2005, Goodridge participated in two
K-1 World GP tournaments held in United States. Professional Kickboxing
In
1986 Gary heard about a contest called the Canadian Over-the-Top Arm
Wrestling Competition. The tournament was being initiated for Sylvester
Stallone’s upcoming movie called Over the Top, about an underdog arm
wrestler. The Canadian Over-the-Top Tournament was held at the
Convention Center in Toronto and featured a field of about 200 of the
nation’s most accomplished pullers. The tournament was structured in a
double-elimination style, which meant that each competitor had to lose
twice in order to be eliminated. Professional Arm WrestlingFans Can Connect With Gary Goodridge
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