Gary Goodridge

Gary Goodridge

Gary Goodridge, born January 17, 1966, is a Trinidadian-Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist who fought out of Barrie, Ontario. Born in Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, he later moved to Canada and became part of the hard, experimental fight scene of the mid-1990s: early UFC tournaments, Brazilian vale tudo, and Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championships.

Before combat sports made him widely known, Goodridge worked as a welder at the Honda factory in Alliston, Ontario. He was also a world champion arm wrestler and one of the top ranked contenders in professional arm wrestling, with wins over Sharon Remez and John Brzenk in 1991 and again in 1994. After only a few months of amateur boxing training under Norm Bell, he won his first seven fights and captured the Canadian National Amateur Boxing Championship at super heavyweight by TKO over Scott McLellan. A loss in his first international match, against American boxer David Bostice, led him to change sports.

Goodridge entered mixed martial arts almost by accident. Friends suggested he apply for the Ultimate Fighting Championship after they watched Remco Pardoel fight Orlando Wiet at UFC 2. Seeking martial arts credentials beyond his boxing title, he began training at a Kuk Sool Won school, then beat the school’s own UFC hopeful in dominant fashion. He was offered a 4th degree black belt and a free dobok if he represented the school, and he arrived at UFC 8 with less than a month of experience in the art.

His UFC debut came in 1996 at UFC 8: David vs. Goliath in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Goodridge opened with a 13-second knockout of amateur wrestler Paul Herrera, catching him in a crucifix position and finishing with elbow strikes. He then knocked out Jerry Bohlander before losing in the final to Don Frye after exhaustion set in. Later UFC appearances brought bouts with Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz, John Campetella, Mark Coleman, and a rematch with Frye at Ultimate Ultimate 1996.

After the UFC, Goodridge competed in Brazil’s vale tudo scene. On July 6, 1997, he took part in the first International Vale Tudo Championship tournament, submitting Augusto Menezes Santos and Cal Worsham before knocking out Pedro Otavio in the final. Later that year he was recruited by PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan, debuting at PRIDE 1 on October 11 against Oleg Taktarov and winning by knockout with a right hook. In early 2012, Goodridge was diagnosed with early onset chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Read against that life in competition, his line, “Worrying about losing is losing before you begin,” carries the plain force of a fighter who knew both risk and resolve.