1. Ray Sefo was born on 15 February 1971 and is a New Zealand fight promoter and retired kickboxer, boxer, and mixed martial artist.
25 Facts About Ray Sefo
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Ray Sefo was the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 Runner-up, is a six-time Muay Thai World Champion, and was an eight time K-1 World Grand Prix Finals tournament participant.
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Ray Sefo is the president of MMA promotion Professional Fighters League.
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Ray Sefo is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers to have never won the K-1 World Grand Prix.
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Training in Kung Fu as a youth, Sefo moved to Muay Thai under Thai fighting legend Kiosot, then continued training under Lollo Heimuli at the infamous Balmoral Lee Gar Gym.
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Ray Sefo had an impressive unbeaten record as an amateur and a professional in the Oceania kickboxing league.
7.
In 1996, Ray Sefo fought Andre Mannaart in a kickboxing match and overwhelmed Manaart with devastating speed and elusive footwork, knocking him down on numerous occasions.
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Ray Sefo acted as a sparring partner for fellow New Zealander David Tua, when Tua first returned to New Zealand for a fight after turning pro.
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Ray Sefo made his K-1 debut against future four-time World Grand Prix Champion, Ernesto Hoost.
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Ray Sefo held his own against the much more experienced Hoost but was finally knocked out in the 4th round by a leg kick.
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Ray Sefo gained respect for standing up to such an elite fighter in just his first fight.
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Ray Sefo gained more respect in his third K-1 fight where he knocked out K-1 legend Jerome Lebanner in the 1st round.
14.
In 2002, Ray Sefo defeated Dutch legend Peter Aerts in the quarter-finals but lost again to his nemesis Hoost in the semi-finals.
15.
In 2007, Ray Sefo was thought to be a legitimate challenger to dethrone four-time World Grand Prix Champion Semmy Schilt for the new Super Heavyweight title.
16.
Ray Sefo went on to lose five more fights and would not find the winners circle again until he beat Choi Hong-man, Yosuke Nishijima, and Ionut Iftimoaie, all by decision.
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Ray Sefo was then asked to fight at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 in Seoul Final 16 on ten days notice against Tyrone Spong.
18.
Ray Sefo put up a decent fight on short preparation but was beaten by decision.
19.
Ray Sefo fought Valentijn Overeem, brother of Alistair Overeem, the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix champion.
20.
Ray Sefo's striking on the feet looked average, and as an inexperienced grappler, he lost early on by neck crank.
21.
On 12 June 2013, Ray Sefo announced that he would return to fighting.
22.
At WSOF 3, Ray Sefo announced that he would be facing Dave Huckaba.
23.
Ray Sefo is the current president of MMA promotion Professional Fighters League.
24.
Ray Sefo was named president when the promotion was still known as World Series of Fighting.
25.
Ray Sefo helped the promotion ink a deal with NBC Sports to air 8 to 10 events on its network.