Guy Mezger

Mezger faced two time ADCC champion Ricardo Arona at Pride 16. Mezger entered the ring with an American flag draped across his shoulders out of respect for the World Trade Center attacks in New York. He also wore trunks with an American flag design. Arona and Mezger circled each other for a few moments, before moving in and exchanging strikes. Mezger ended the round one with two takedowns and side mount position but couldn't capitalize on it. The second round was much of the same until Mezger landed a stunning kick to Arona's face. The third round took a different turn with three minutes left in the round, Arona scored his only takedown of the fight. The third round continued like this, with Arona laying on Mezger, using his ground and pound style for the last three minutes of the bout. Although Mezger controlled the first two rounds (1st round being 10 minutes and the second and third rounds were 5 minutes each), the judges awarded a controversial split decision victory to Arona, causing many to feel that Mezger was robbed of the win.

Nonetheless, Mezger accumulated a Pancrase 16–7–2 record and become the 7th ever King of Pancrase world champion with a win over Masakatsu Funaki.

Mixed Martial Arts: 30–14–2 (12 KO's) Kickboxing: 22–3 (19 KO's) Full-Contact Karate record: 42–1 (40 KO's)

In December 2011, Mezger was involved in an altercation in Dallas in front of a sporting goods store where a man was physically abusing a woman. He stepped in to assist the woman by fighting the man, who attacked Mezger with a knife. The attacker was on parole and afterwards needed medical attention for multiple facial bone and arm bone fractures. Mezger's hand was cut in the fight. It was surgically repaired and he was expected to fully recover.

On January 25, 2005, Guy Mezger retired from professional fighting after experiencing stroke-like symptoms prior to his scheduled bout with Tito Ortiz. Mezger trains students in boxing, kickboxing and the Lion's Den Mixed Martial Arts system at his gym, Guy Mezger's Combat Sports Club, in Dallas. He also has a consulting company, CS Consulting, that works with both Federal and State law enforcement agencies on re-vamping their defensive tactics training. Mezger is a part owner in a movie/TV production company that is making "reality TV" shows and action and documentary movies. In 2011, he finished up his studies in holistic medicine (receiving his PhD in Holistic Health) and formed a partnership with a doctor's group called Optimal Health Specialists.

Mezger then forfeited his King of Pancrase title to fight in the UFC again. Mezger's final bout in the UFC was a rematch with Tito Ortiz at UFC 19: Young Guns. Mezger was sick before the fight but fought anyway, a decision that he regretted after the fight. This resulted in Ortiz handling Mezger and won the bout at the 9:55 mark by referee stoppage. The stoppage was somewhat controversial because both Mezger and his cornerman Ken Shamrock felt that Ortiz's strikes were not doing enough damage to warrant a stoppage. Ortiz then donned a shirt that was insulting to Mezger which provoked an immediate reaction from Ken Shamrock, Mezger's trainer. Mezger would occasionally seek a rematch with Ortiz over the next few years. In 2004 he was finally granted a chance to face Tito Ortiz at UFC 50. Unfortunately, the week of the fight, Mezger was taken to the hospital due to stroke like symptoms, and was taken off the fight card.

In December 2001, Mezger was proposed the idea of fighting at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye while wearing Tiger Mask's attire and mask, but he didn't accept. Thus, Mezger returned to competition at Pride 22 after a year long lay-off, easily winning a decision over Norihisa Yamamoto. Mezger then battled Antônio Rogério Nogueira at Pride 24. Mezger had several good striking exchanges and showcased his submission and takedown defense, but again lost the fight by a controversial split decision.

Pride officials then signed Mezger to fight Kazushi Sakuraba, who at the time was considered to be one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. The fight took place at the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round. Mezger took the fight on two weeks notice and had a broken foot going into the fight. The contract that Mezger signed stipulated that the fight would be one 15-minute round with no overtime. The other fights on the card had the same stipulation. The fight mostly consisted of Mezger controlling the fight by stopping Sakuraba's takedown attempts while landing strikes from the outside. The round ended and Mezger expected the fight to go to the judges, but Pride officials wanted the fight to go to overtime. This resulted in one of the largest and most publicized controversies in MMA history.

The former UFC champion made his Pride FC debut in 1999 at Pride 6 against the popular Akira Shoji. The two fighters passed most of the first round in the clinch, where Mezger landed strikes and tried unsuccessfully to take down Shoji. At the second, Akira scored a takedown and performed ground and pound, which Mezger retaliated by controlling the striking again when they returned to their feet; however, the Japanese took Mezger's back on the ground towards the end of the round and scored punches while Guy attempted to escape. At the third and final round, the two traded strikes again and Shoji repeated his back siege before the fight ended. The judges decreed a split decision and it was given to Shoji.

Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Dallas, Texas, Mezger wrestled in high school and also practiced karate, in which he holds a 6th degree black belt. As a professional kickboxer, he won the U.S. Heavyweight Title before subsequently winning the WKC World Heavyweight Championship in June 1995; a title that he would defend once before retiring from the sport to compete in Pancrase.

In his second match, at Pancrase 1995 Anniversary Show, Mezger faced Pancrase co-founder and Shamrock's trainer Masakatsu Funaki. The American fighter performed well, scoring high kicks and forcing Funaki to pull guard and work from the bottom, but he was eventually caught in a leglock exchange from his own trip and submitted with an Achilles lock.

On December 1995, Mezger was involved in a controversial match against the other Pancrase co-founder, laured wrestler Minoru Suzuki. Mezger controlled the match, but he landed an accidental kick to the groin at 7:15 in the first round and was disqualified by the referee. His corner protested and defended the accidental nature of the strike, but the result was not changed. Guy's personal record shows it as a no contest.

Guy Mezger (born January 1, 1968) is an American martial artist, who competed in professional combat sports including full contact karate, kickboxing, and boxing, but is most recognized as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Mezger retired from professional competition on January 25, 2005. He is associated with Lion's Den and runs their school in Dallas. Mezger was a champion in mixed martial arts in two different promotions, the UFC and Pancrase. He holds wins over Tito Ortiz, Masakatsu Funaki, Yuki Kondo, Semmy Schilt, and Minoru Suzuki.