Heath Herring

Herring was married when he was 18 years old and has a daughter, but the marriage ended in divorce. In August 2014 he remarried, to TV presenter Sarah Grant. They had a daughter in 2019. Herring's brother also competed in MMA, holding an undefeated 5-0 record before attending Baylor University to play football as an offensive tackle. Herring currently lives in Las Vegas. Before becoming a professional fighter, he worked as a computer programmer.

In September 2011, responding to a question asked via Twitter, UFC President Dana White commented that Herring "...retired after the Lesnar fight".

Herring stated in November 2010 that he wants to fight as soon as possible. He was still under contract with the UFC and was expected to make his return.

Heath Herring starred in Never Surrender, released by Lions Gate Entertainment in 2009 as well as Circle of Pain. He has also appeared in Hell's Chain, Unrivaled, Beatdown, and Division III: Football's Finest.

On Saturday, April 7, 2007, at UFC 69 Heath faced off against The Ultimate Fighter 2 Heavyweight finalist Brad Imes. Herring won the match by unanimous decision after 3 rounds.

On December 31, 2005, Herring was involved in a memorable MMA moment during K-1's Dynamite 2005 show. During the pre-fight staredown, his opponent, Yoshihiro Nakao, leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Herring reacted, delivering a right hook to the jaw of Nakao, knocking him down. Herring was immediately disqualified and Nakao was carried from the ring. Shortly thereafter, Nakao's cornermen attacked Herring and a brief fight ensued. Herring's trainers, Ricardo Pires and Sergio Penha fought with Nakao's trainers until security stopped the fight. The fight result has since been changed by K-1 from a disqualification loss for Herring to a no contest, as K-1 judges ruled that Nakao's kiss and Herring's subsequent knockout punch were both fouls.

Herring took part in the first PRIDE Heavyweight Championship fight against Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira where he lost by unanimous decision. Despite his earlier championship loss to Nogueira, he was widely considered the number one contender until his first round loss to Fedor Emelianenko. After the loss to Emelianenko, Herring fought Mirko Cro Cop at PRIDE 26 and was defeated in the first round via TKO. Herring then bounced back, winning his next four consecutive fights before facing Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira in a rematch at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004. Herring lost the rematch via anaconda choke submission in the second round. Herring would make his last appearance for the promotion at PRIDE 28 on October 31, 2004 against Hirotaka Yokoi and won via first-round TKO in under two minutes.

Herring parted ways with PRIDE in late 2004 because of management disputes.

Herring made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 1997 and compiled a record of 13-5 before being signed by PRIDE. After reaching the final of the World Vale Tudo Championship 8 tournament held in Aruba in July 1999, Herring was invited to learn kickboxing in the Netherlands by the show's Dutch promoter Bas Boone and he trained under Cor Hemmers at Golden Glory for a number of years.

Heath Herring (born March 2, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Rizin. While perhaps best known for competing in PRIDE, he has also formerly competed for the UFC and K-1.