Carl Seumanutafa

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Carl Seumanutafa
BornCarl Taulauniu Seumanutafa
(1983-06-15) June 15, 1983 (age 40)
Savaiʻi, Western Samoa
Other namesBadwater
NationalitySamoan
American
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st)
DivisionHeavyweight
Reach81 in (206 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofSan Francisco, California, United States
TeamSkrap Pack
Empower Gym
El Nino Training Center
TrainerGilbert Melendez
RankBrown belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Years active2007–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total29
Wins14
By knockout11
By submission1
By decision2
Losses15
By knockout6
By decision9
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Carl Taulauniu Seumanutafa (born June 15, 1983) is a Samoan mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer who competes in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2007, he has competed for Bellator, Strikeforce, ShoXC, EliteXC, Tachi Palace Fights, King of the Cage, M-1 Global, and the PFL.

Background[edit]

Born and raised in Samoa, Seumanutafa moved with his family to San Francisco at the age of 12, living in Bayview-Hunters Point. He attended J. Eugene McAteer High School where he competed in wrestling.

Mixed martial arts career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Seumanutafa made his professional debut in March 2007, winning his first three bouts all via TKO before being signed by EliteXC.

EliteXC and Strikeforce[edit]

Seumanutafa made his promotional debut at EliteXC: Unfinished Business on July 26, 2008, against Mike Cook. Seumanutafa won via first-round knockout with a slam.

He returned two months later for the Elite Challenger series, facing Shane del Rosario. Seumanutafa was handed his first loss via TKO in the second round. In February 2009, Seumanutafa fought at M-1 Challenge 12: USA against Edson Franca. Seumanutafa lost via split decision after two rounds.

After the closing EliteXC and its absorption by Strikeforce, Semanutafa returned to the promotion three months later at the inaugural Strikeforce: Challengers event on May 15, 2009. Seumanutafa faced Lavar Johnson. During a takedown attempt, Seumanutafa was knocked out with an uppercut just 18 seconds into the first round.

Independent promotions[edit]

Seumanutafa snapped his three-fight losing streak with three straight TKO wins from 2010 to 2012. In October 2012, Seumanutafa faced Dave Huckaba and was knocked out in the first round.

He then fought Javy Ayala February 2013, winning via first-round TKO.

Bellator MMA[edit]

Semanutafa made his Bellator debut at Bellator 148 against Javy Ayala on January 29, 2016. Seumanutafa won again via ground and pound TKO, this time in the second round. Seumanutafa then faced Matt Mitrione at Bellator 157. Despite scoring an early knockdown, he was defeated via KO at 3:22 of the first round.

Seumanutafa returned to the Bellator cage in 2017 at Bellator 181, losing a unanimous decision to Valentin Moldavsky.

Professional Fighters League[edit]

After his loss to Moldavsky, Seumanutafa went 2-1 in independent promotions before signing with the Professional Fighters League.

Seumanutafa made his promotional debut on the preliminary card of PFL 3, facing Croatian Ante Delija. Seumanutafa was defeated via unanimous decision.

Seumanutafa then faced Ali Isaev at PFL 6 on August 8, 2019. He lost again via unanimous decision.

Seumanutafa, as a replacement for Stuart Austin, faced Renan Ferreira on June 25, 2021, at PFL 6.[1] He lost the bout via unanimous decision.[2][3]

Seumanutafa faced Muhammed DeReese on August 19, 2021, at PFL 8.[4] He lost the bout via unanimous decision.[5]

Gamebred FC[edit]

Seumanutafa faced Jamahl Tatum at Gamebred FC 4 in a bare-knuckle MMA bout on May 5, 2023,[6] winning the bout via unanimous decision.[7]

Seumanutafa faced Chase Sherman at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 6 on October 28, 2023.[8] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.[9]

Personal life[edit]

Ayala is married and has two children; an eight-year old son named Tamatoa and seven-year old daughter; Eliza-Andra.[10] Aside from fighting, Seumanutafa has worked as a personal trainer and is an assistant coach to NFL offseason player development for the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, and his own favorite NFL team, the San Francisco 49ers.

Mixed martial arts record[edit]

Professional record breakdown
29 matches 14 wins 15 losses
By knockout 11 6
By submission 1 0
By decision 2 9
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 14–15 Chase Sherman KO (elbow and punches) Gamebred Fighting Championship 6 November 10, 2023 1 2:34 Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Bare knuckle MMA.
Win 14–14 Derrick Williams Submission (guillotine choke) High Desert Brawl 16 September 9, 2023 1 0:37 Susanville, California, United States
Win 13–14 Jamahl Tatum Decision (unanimous) Gamebred Fighting Championship 4 May 5, 2023 3 5:00 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States Bare Knuckle MMA.
Loss 12–14 Muhammed DeReese Decision (unanimous) PFL 8: 2021 Playoffs August 19, 2021 3 5:00 Hollywood, Florida, United States
Loss 12–13 Renan Ferreira Decision (unanimous) PFL 6: 2021 Regular Season June 25, 2021 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 12–12 Dustin Joynson Decision (unanimous) Cage Fury Fighting Championships 87 October 30, 2020 3 5:00 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Loss 12–11 Ali Isaev Decision (unanimous) PFL 6: 2019 Regular Season August 8, 2019 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Loss 12–10 Ante Delija Decision (unanimous) PFL 3: 2019 Regular Season June 6, 2019 3 5:00 Long Island, New York, United States
Win 12–9 Nick Rossborough TKO (injury) Fierce FC: Fitcon Fights April 12, 2019 2 0:47 Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Loss 11–9 Shelton Graves Decision (unanimous) Final Fight Championship 32 October 19, 2018 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States For the vacant FFC Heavyweight Championship.
Win 11–8 Bill Widler TKO (punches) KOTC: No Escape April 14, 2018 1 2:05 Oroville, California, United States
Loss 10–8 Valentin Moldavsky Decision (unanimous) Bellator 181 June 14, 2017 3 5:00 Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States
Loss 10–7 Matt Mitrione KO (punch) Bellator 157 June 24, 2016 1 3:22 St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Win 10–6 Javy Ayala TKO (punches) Bellator 148 January 29, 2016 2 3:46 Fresno, California, United States
Loss 9–6 DJ Linderman Decision (unanimous) KOTC: Total Elimination October 3, 2015 3 5:00 Oroville, California, United States
Win 9–5 Josh Appelt Decision (unanimous) West Coast FC 12 November 15, 2014 3 5:00 Sacramento, California, United States
Loss 8–5 Jack May TKO (head kick and punches) TPF 18: Martinez vs. Culley February 6, 2014 1 2:57 Lemoore, California, United States
Win 8–4 Javy Ayala TKO (punches) Dragon House 13 February 2, 2013 1 3:00 Oakland, California, United States
Loss 7–4 Dave Huckaba KO (punch) Cage Combat Fighting Championships October 20, 2012 1 4:35 Santa Rosa, California, United States
Win 7–3 Ruben Villareal TKO (elbows) Gladiator Challenge: World Class June 23, 2012 3 2:57 Lincoln, California, United States
Win 6–3 CJ Leveque TKO (punches) Impact MMA 1: Recognition December 10, 2011 1 2:20 Pleasanton, California, United States
Win 5–3 Derrick Williams TKO (punches) Global Knockout: Fall Brawl September 18, 2010 3 1:05 Jackson, California, United States
Loss 4–3 Lavar Johnson KO (punch) Strikforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Aina May 15, 2009 1 0:18 Fresno, California, United States
Loss 4–2 Edson Franca Decision (split) M-1 Challenge 12: USA February 21, 2009 2 5:00 Tacoma, Washington, United States
Loss 4–1 Shane del Rosario TKO (punches) ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series September 26, 2008 2 1:07 Santa Ynez, California, United States
Win 4–0 Mike Cook KO (slam) EliteXC: Unfinished Business July 26, 2008 1 1:21 Stockton, California, United States
Win 3–0 Chris Bostick TKO (punches) Global Knockout 4 November 29, 2007 1 N/A Jackson, California, United States
Win 2–0 Pete Werve TKO (punches) Global Knockout 2 March 22, 2007 2 2:52 Jackson, California, United States
Win 1–0 Chris Garrison TKO (punches) Global Knockout 2 March 22, 2007 1 0:32 Jackson, California, United States

References[edit]

  1. ^ @BigMarcel24 (June 23, 2021). "Austin out, Carl Seumanutafa in" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "PFL 6: Kayla Harrison playoff-bound after submission win; Anthony Pettis, Lance Palmer fall short". ESPN.com. 2021-06-26. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  3. ^ Sherdog.com. "PFL 6 2021 Play-by-Play, Results & Round Scoring". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  4. ^ Newswire, MMA Fighting (2021-08-03). "PFL announces full card for second playoff event headlined by Kayla Harrison vs. Genah Fabian on Aug. 19". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  5. ^ "Kayla Harrison and Bruno Cappelozza dominate in semifinal wins, qualify for $1M PFL championship". ESPN.com. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  6. ^ Heck, Mike (2023-04-21). "Roy Nelson vs. Dillon Cleckler headlines Jorge Masvidal's Gamebred Bareknuckle event on May 5". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  7. ^ "Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA live stream, results: Roy Nelson vs. Dillon Cleckler". MMA Junkie.
  8. ^ "12 former UFC fighters added to Jorge Masvidal's Gambred Bareknuckle MMA event". MMA Junkie. 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  9. ^ Sherdog.com. "Alan Belcher Notches Split-Decision Victory Against Roy Nelson at Gamebred FC 6". Sherdog. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  10. ^ "Bay Area MMA fighter goes from homeless shelter to TV bout". 24 June 2016.

External links[edit]