Bio

Gabe Ruediger began his Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) career with Ralph Gracie and his phenomenal team of Brazilian jiu-jitsu(BJJ) practitioners in San Francisco. Gabe previously trained in traditional Martial arts but craved the more practical and realistic style of fighting which he found in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Spending two months at the Mecca of BJJ, Rio De Janeiro helped ground his passion in the art. After a slew of tournament wins, with and without the gi, Gabe developed a thirst for a different style of combat. This lead him to Muay Thai kickboxing, and just like his jiu jitsu training, Gabe searched out the best schools possible. It was found with San Francisco FAIRTEX.

With an excellent foundation in jiu-jitsu, and newly developed stand-up skills, the obvious progression was to Mixed Martial Arts. A month long trip to Japan to get more acquainted with the origin of fighting opened Gabe’s mind even more . Immediately on returning to the states Gabe was signed for his first professional bout Gabe left San Francisco after six months of training and with two MMA fights under his belt.

He sought a more serious MMA oriented environment and found his then home at Millennia Jiu jitsu. Immersed in a complete fight lifestyle, Gabe also began as head instructor of the martial arts programs at the Claremont Colleges as well as assistant instructor at Millennia. At this stage Gabe thrived and amassed seven more wins.

Included in those victories was a fight for the WEC Lightweight Championship of the World, one of the most coveted titles in MMA. A defeat of the tough and intense Olaf Alfonso, in an explosive three minute bout, earned Gabe the WEC title and left Olaf unconscious for the fans and onlookers.

Two more successful title defenses brought Gabe to the number one promotion in the world, the UFC. A good first round where Ruediger had his opponents back I the closing moments was stopped with the ending of the round. The second round was unfortunately a less than successful debut in the UFC.

Gabes next foray was in reality TV for the UFC TV show, The Ultimate Fighter Season 5. Getting caught up in the TV aspect of the show and not enough on the UFC aspect, his season and bid for winning the show was cut short after the 5th episode.

Upset with his performance on the big stage, Gabe went and started to train and then becoming a member of the world renowned Team Quest. Having trained with the team on a number of occasions and feeling the need to become serious again, it was a perfect fit. With the troubles with the UFC behind him, Gabe fought a successful return bout with a first round finish.

With many things on the horizon, a new hunger to be back on top, a world class team, Gabe Ruediger is back!