Michael Wayne Pyle (born September 18, 1975) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 1999, Pyle is a former WEC Welterweight Champion, and has also competed in Strikeforce, Elite XC, Affliction, M-1 Global, and for the Los Angeles Anacondas of the IFL.
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Background
Pyle was born and raised in Dresden, Tennessee until the age of 17 when he moved to Birmingham, Alabama. It was there that he began studying Taekwondo. One of his training partners told him, "Man you gotta check out this cage fighter stuff they got going on. There's this guy who lays on the ground and breaks peoples arms ..." The cage fighting they were talking about was the UFC. The man they were talking about was Royce Gracie, the masterful practitioner of the martial arts discipline known as Brazilian jiu-jitsu who won the tournaments at UFC 1, UFC 2 and UFC 4. Pyle created a gym in a 13 x 15-foot shed behind his mother's home in Dresden, searching for any instructional videos for Brazilian jiu-jitsu he could get his hands on as well attending seminars put together by the Gracie family, whenever they were close enough for him to make the drive. Despite having no formal Brazilian jiu-jitsu training, Pyle would go on to be a successful submission grappler in mixed martial arts, the large majority of his wins coming by submission.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Pyle's first sanctioned amateur MMA fight was in 1999 against future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson. The bout was on ISCF MMA & IKF Kickboxing Promoter Jeff Mullen's November 13 event at the New Daisey Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee, (Jackson's hometown). Pyle and Jackson were to be the Main Event and was supposed to be for the ISCF Amateur Mid-South Regional Middleweight Title. However, Jackson weighed in 25 lbs heavy (200 lb.) for the title so technically, Pyle (175 lb.) won by forfeit. But this could not keep these two from going for it in the ring. The young Pyle, who tried various different submissions during the fight, was thrown and slammed several times, at one point being actually throw out of the ring by the future PRIDE veteran. In the end, Jackson won by unanimous decision but Pyle, who had also fought with two broken fingers, felt that he had won and was quick to ask for a rematch. From this fight, Pyle learned that "just jiu-jitsu wasn't going to be able to cut it."
World Extreme Cagefighting
On October 14, 2005, Pyle became the WEC Welterweight Champion by defeating Bret Bergmark. He successfully defended the title against veteran Shonie Carter on January 13, 2006. He defeated Carter by triangle choke submission in the first round.
Pyle then left the WEC for the IFL and was stripped of the title in December 2006.
The IFL and Affliction
Pyle fought three times in the IFL fights as a member of Bas Rutten’s Los Angeles Anacondas. He also fought for Elite XC, Strikeforce, and he was featured on the preliminary card of the first event co-promoted by Affliction Clothing and Adrenaline MMA: Affliction: Banned.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Pyle then signed with the UFC as a replacement for Chris Wilson, fighting Brock Larson at UFC 98. Pyle took the fight on just one week's notice. Pyle lost in the first round via arm-triangle choke.
Next, he fought and defeated Wilson at UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard by submission due to a guillotine choke in the third round.
Pyle was defeated by Jake Ellenberger via second round TKO on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108.
Pyle defeated Jesse Lennox at UFC 115 on June 12, 2010. Pyle largely controlled the bout and won via technical submission, when his opponent passed out in a triangle choke late in the third round.
Pyle gave John Hathaway his first professional MMA loss via unanimous decision on October 16, 2010 at UFC 120, replacing an injured Dong Hyun Kim. He controlled the fight for all three rounds, out-striking and out-grappling Hathaway, even going as far as putting Hathaway in a modified crucifix-triangle choke hold and raining down unanswered strikes.
Pyle faced Ricardo Almeida on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128. Pyle won the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Pyle next faced Rory MacDonald on August 6, 2011 at UFC 133. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
Pyle was expected to face Paulo Thiago on January 14, 2012 at UFC 142. However, Thiago was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Ricardo Funch. Pyle won the bout via TKO in the first round.
Pyle faced Josh Neer on June 8, 2012 at UFC on FX 3. Pyle defeated Neer via first round KO, earning Knockout of the Night honors.
Pyle was then matched up against James Head on December 15, 2012 at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.
Personal life
Pyle and his girlfriend were married in October 2009.
Pyle played the role of Capt. Kevin Burke in the movie Universal Soldier: Regeneration starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and fellow MMA fighter Andrei Arlovski.
Pyle played a small part in the 2012 blockbuster Men In Black III starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
After the retirement from competition, Pyle has been working as an assistant coach at his long-time team Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas.
Championships and accomplishments
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Fight of the Night (One time)
Knockout of the Night (One time)
UFC.com Awards
2010: Ranked #7 Upset of the Year vs. John Hathaway
2012: Ranked #8 Fighter of the Year & Ranked #9 Knockout of the Year vs. Josh Neer
World Extreme Cagefighting
WEC Welterweight Championship (One time)
One successful title defense
Viking Fight
Viking Fight Middleweight Championship (One time)