Kevin ‘The Monster’ Randleman has passed away, reportedly of a heart attack, at the age of 44.
Kevin Christopher Randleman was born on August 10, 1971 in Sandusky, Ohio. Growing up poor as one of eleven children, he learned early on in life that hard work and focus was essential for him to make something of himself. He was a high-achieving athlete growing up, winning a state championship in wrestling at Sandusky High School, while also excelling in football and track. Randleman then went to Ohio State University, winning the NCAA Wrestling Tournament his Sophomore and Junior years, despite actually having his jaw dislocated his Junior year during the tournament. His unquestionable resilience on the mat earned him the third best winning percentage in Ohio State University history, a school known for its prowess in wrestling. MMA seemed like a perfect fit once Randleman’s college wrestling career was over, and the transition was virtually seamless.
Randleman made his MMA debut on October 22, 1996 at Universal Vale Tudo Fighting 6 in dominating fashion, winning three matches that night to obtain the tournament championship. His wrestling coach at Ohio State and fellow hall of fame member Mark Coleman was convinced this was Randleman’s calling, and so “The Monster” was born. After a successful stint in the newly formed UFC’s Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions, Randleman finally reached the pinnacle of MMA, becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion by defeating Pete Williams at UFC 23. He had another successful title defense against Pedro Rizzo at UFC 26 before losing the belt to another hall of fame member, Randy Couture. A few fights later Randleman would leave the UFC as a Light Heavyweight, with a victory over another UFC champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral at UFC 35. However, Randleman’s MMA career was far from over.
Moving on to Pride FC in September 2002, Randleman came out strong as usual, as “The Monster” unleashed a three fight win streak to put himself into title contention at Middleweight (205 in Pride FC), before losing a tough fight to yet another hall of fame champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Staying in Pride, Randleman entered the Heavyweight tournament at Pride Total Elimination 2004 and had two memorable battles. First he knocked out the heavily favored K-1 KickboxerMirko “Cro Cop” Filipovi? in devastation fashion. Next was his epic fight with who some consider the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, FedorEmelianenko. Randleman brutally souplessedFedor early in the fight, and it appeared Emelianenko was knocked out from the impact. Nevertheless, Fedor recovered quickly and won the bout by submission, therefore eliminating Randleman. “The Monster” would have a tough time after that in Pride, going on a four-fight losing streak before leaving the promotion. Even worse, it was discovered that Randleman had been unknowingly suffering from a fungal lung infection. After surgery and a relapse of the infection, Randleman was forced to pull out of fights due to a shoulder injury and severe cases of staph infection as well as kidney problems. For all intents and purposes, his MMA career would come to an end as he lost 10 of his last 13 fights and decided to retire in May 2011.
Kevin married his longtime girlfriend and publicist, Elizabeth Broglia in 2009, they recently had a baby boy. He also has a son and daughter from previous relationships.
His passing leaves a hole in the fabric and soul of the sport, that no one will ever be able to fill.
