Sean McCorkle

McCorkle has a daughter and a son, whose portraits are tattooed on his arms. He became engaged in July of 2019. McCorkle attended college for a year and a half, but dropped out to start his own business.

On September 29, 2014, Sean McCorkle officially announced his retirement at the age of 38 during a light-hearted interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. He also admitted he had been suffering from "miserable" back injuries for some time. McCorkle said he is currently focused on managing other fighters.

The two met at KSW 23 on June 8, 2013. When the fight began, Pudzianowski came out swinging and took it straight to McCorkle. The two struggled fiercely, with Pudzianowski controlling the tempo of the match until he stepped into a hard jab from McCorkle which subsequently dropped Pudzianowski. McCorkle was able to quickly capitalize and locked in a kimura, submitting Pudzianowski.

The unexpected outcome of the fight made news immediately, and the notoriety of the bout led both men to agree to a rematch. McCorkle and Pudzianowski met again at KSW 24 on September 28, 2013. According to sports writer Chuck Mindenhall, "The two met like titanic slabs in the middle of the ring." Pudzianowski was able to quickly take the fight to the ground, where he remained on top as the two grappled for the entire first round. The scene repeated itself in the second round, but midway through McCorkle went for a kimura and was able to reverse Pudzianowski and end up on top. The fight was only scheduled for two rounds, and Pudzianowski took the decision victory.

After his release from the UFC, McCorkle won his next five fights with various promotions. He then signed to Bellator Fighting Championships, and on March 9, 2012 at Bellator 60 he made his debut in a catchweight fight against Richard White, winning via first round submission.

Sean McCorkle also made appearances for Freedom Pro Wrestling, a promotion based in Wisconsin. On April 20, 2012, McCorkle won his debut match against C.J. O'Doyle, the promotion's current heavyweight champion. McCorkle was called "a smack-talking jobber."

McCorkle next fought Christian Morecraft on March 26, 2011 at UFC Fight Night 24. After a closely contested first round, Morecraft came out and dominated the first four minutes of the second round. The referee briefly stopped the fight for two minutes after Morecraft delivered an illegal low blow to McCorkle's groin. When the action resumed, McCorkle dove in for a takedown but Morecraft was able to leverage this attempt into a standing guillotine choke that left McCorkle unconscious.

In the spring of 2011, the UFC released McCorkle from his contract following back-to-back losses against Struve and Morecraft. On October 17, 2011, ESPN announced that Sean McCorkle would be a featured heavyweight in the video game UFC Undisputed 3. The game was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on February 14, 2012. The game went on to sell over one million copies.

McCorkle signed a four-fight contract with the UFC in July 2010. After agreeing to sign with the UFC, his debut opponent was announced as the K-1 and Pride Fighting Championships veteran Mark Hunt at UFC 119 in McCorkle's hometown of Indianapolis. In order to make weight for the fight, McCorkle had to cut down to 265 lbs - a weight he had not hit since the age of 18. McCorkle won the fight in just 67 seconds, after locking in a straight armbar from his back. It was later revealed that McCorkle's armlock had caused significant damage to Hunt.

After winning his first four fights, McCorkle faced Jeremy Norton on New Year's Eve 2006. During the bout, McCorkle dislocated his shoulder and broke his arm, but was able to continue and took a split decision victory. Due to the injury, he was out of action for fourteen months of physical therapy before he could return to MMA.

On October 7, 2006 McCorkle fought Robert Hogan at King Of The Cage: Meltdown, winning via TKO (punches) in the opening round.

McCorkle is from Indianapolis, Indiana. He excelled at basketball, playing in high school and then in junior college. In 2005, McCorkle began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and later met local UFC veterans Chris Lytle and Jake O'Brien before transitioning into mixed martial arts.

Sean McCorkle (born July 17, 1976) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Super Heavyweight division. A professional from 2005 until 2014, he competed for the UFC, Bellator, KSW, and King of the Cage.