# Ferrid Kheder

Ferrid Kheder (born 3 March 1975) is a French retired Olympic judoka who placed seventh at the Sydney Olympic Games and a former professional mixed martial artist who fought from 2004 to 2013. He holds the sixth Dan in IJF Judo and a BJJ black belt.

## Judo career

Kheder began training judo in 1979 at the age of four. He went on to train with the French Team from 1993 to 2001, and in the Tunisia Team from 2001 to 2004. He won twice the Paris Grand Slam (1999 and 2000) and the Dusseldorf Grand Slam (2000 and 2002). He won the european championship U21 in Spain (1995) and the European championship by Team (1996). He has medaled seven times in the Super World Cup and won many Opens and World Cups, he placed 3rd at the European Championship in 2000 and 7th at the 2000 Olympic Games.

## Mixed martial arts career

In 2004 Kheder started to add Muay Thai and grappling training to his judo background to compete in MMA with Fighting Klub Team (FK TEAM).
In 2005 he moved to Australia to continue his new journey.
In 2007 while fighting in Australia, a manager from the US contacted him and recruited him to join Team Quest in California. He later became contracted under the Bellator organization.
Between September 2008 and June 2011 Kheder won 13 of his 14 fights winning 11 fight by KO or Submission and losing only a decision (28-29) to Daisuke Nakamura at M-1 Global Presents Breakthrough on August 28, 2009.
His interest in BJJ grew through his MMA career during which he had the opportunity to train with some of the worlds best BJJ players.
In 2015 he earned his black belt while living in San Diego.
Today, he teaches Martial Arts.

### Xtreme Vale Todo 5 controversy

There is some question as to if Kheder's alleged victory over Hermes Franca was rigged by a promoter, Lu Dwyer, during the Xtreme Vale Todo event that took place on December 19, 2010. In addition to the fight's announcer, all three judges, and the referee had scored the bout in favor of Franca. Regardless of the judges' scores, Dwyer declared Kheder the victor, and another promoter raised Kheder's hand in victory after the referee refused to do so.
There is a potential conflict of interest due to the fact that Kheder is primarily sponsored by Dwyer and her business J & L Irrigation. Dwyer sponsors "Team FK" by paying his living expenses and taking a percentage of his winnings.
Days after his controversial decision win Kheder posted on his Facebook page that Dwyer overturned the fight result to a "No Contest" and suggested a 5 round rematch, presumably in the same promotion.
The rematch never happened since Hermes Franca found guilty in the sexual abuse of a child under 14 years of age in 2012 and has been sentenced to 42 months in prison.

### Bellator

In 2010 Kheder was supposed to fight in Bellator's Lightweight Tournament but due to a case of appendicitis, he has been forced out of the eight-man field and has been replaced by WEC veteran James Krause.
In 2011 Kheder was 1 kg too heavy and refused to step onto the scale to be weighed and was instead removed from the tournament which allowed Josh Shockley to take Kheder's place.

## Judo achievements

| Year | Tournament | Place | Weight class |
| 2003 | Paris Super World Cup | 3rd | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 2002 | Paris Super World Cup | 3rd | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 2002 | Moscow Super World Cup | 3rd | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 2002 | Dusseldorf Super World Cup | 1st | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | 7th | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 2000 | Paris Super World Cup | 1st | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 2000 | Munich Super World Cup | 1st | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 2000 | European Judo Championships | 3rd | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 1999 | Paris Super World Cup | 1st | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 1998 | World Judo Championships FISU | 3rd | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 1997 | European Judo Cup by Team | 1st | Lightweight (73 kg) |
| 1996 | European Judo Championships by Team | 1st | Lightweight (71 kg) |
| 1995 | European Judo Championships U23 | 1st | Lightweight (71 kg) |

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 34 matches | 22 wins | 11 losses |
| By knockout | 8 | 5 |
| By submission | 11 | 0 |
| By decision | 3 | 6 |
| No contests | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 22–11 (1) | Vincent del Guerra | TKO (punch) | PFC 5 – Clash of the Titans | April 27, 2013 | 2 | 2:12 | Marseille, France | |
| Win | 22–10 (1) | Adrian Rodrigues | Submission (neck crank) | Shidokan Costa Rica – Live Super Fights | March 23, 2013 | 1 | 4:50 | San Jose, Costa Rica | |
| Loss | 21–10 (1) | Ronys Torres | TKO (punches) | Amazon Forest Combat 2 | April 1, 2012 | 1 | 0:22 | Amazonas, Brazil | Originally a 160 lb catchweight fight, Kheder weighed in 12 lbs over-weight. |
| Loss | 21–9 (1) | Lim Hyun-Gyu | TKO (punches) | PXC – Pacific Xtreme Combat 27 | October 29, 2011 | 1 | N/A | Mangilao, Guam | |
| Loss | 21–8 (1) | Aloisio Barros | TKO (doctor stoppage) | FF – Fight Fever 4 | October 1, 2011 | 3 | 1:27 | Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | |
| Loss | 21–7 (1) | Yoshiyuki Yoshida | TKO (punches) | Fighting Marcou Arena 2 | July 17, 2011 | 1 | N/A | Palavas-les-Flots, Herault, France | |
| Loss | 21–6 (1) | Zorobabel Moreira | Decision (unanimous) | Dare Championship 1/11 | June 25, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Bangkok, Thailand | Return to Welterweight |
| NC | 21–5 (1) | Hermes França | NC (decision overturned by promoter) | Xtreme Vale Todo 5 | December 19, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Cartago, Costa Rica | Originally a win, the fight was turned to a "No Contest" after controversy following the bout, as all three judges scored the bout for França. Dropped to Lightweight. |
| Win | 21–5 | Steve Berger | TKO (punches) | MFL 3 – Mixed Fight League | September 25, 2010 | 2 | 1:16 | Laval, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 20–5 | Randall Jimenez | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Saint-Tropez Promotions – Xtreme Vale Todo 4 | June 26, 2010 | 2 | 2:50 | Tamarindo, Costa Rica | |
| Win | 19–5 | Rudier Fuentes | Submission (armbar) | Vale Tudo Montecarlo | December 26, 2009 | 2 | 4:20 | Guanacaste, Costa Rica | |
| Win | 18–5 | Rogelio Zuniga | Submission (armbar) | Vale Tudo Montecarlo | December 26, 2009 | 1 | 2:12 | Guanacaste, Costa Rica | |
| Win | 17–5 | Randall Jimenez | TKO (retirement) | Saint-Tropez Promotions – Extreme Valetodo Tamarindo | November 28, 2009 | 1 | 5:00 | Tamarindo, Costa Rica | |
| Loss | 16–5 | Daisuke Nakamura | Decision (unanimous) | M-1 Global: Breakthrough | August 28, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | 159 lb Catchweight bout |
| Win | 16–4 | Jeffry Lopez | Decision (unanimous) | Fite Nite – Guerreros en la Torre | April 4, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Costa Rica | |
| Win | 15–4 | Graydon Tannas | KO (punches) | UCW 15 – Massacre | March 13, 2009 | 3 | 0:18 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Win | 14–4 | Calvett Huzinger | Submission | C3 Fights – C3 Fights | February 28, 2009 | 1 | 0:55 | Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 13–4 | Drew Fickett | KO (punches) | C3 Fights – Knock-Out Rock-Out Weekend | January 30, 2009 | 3 | 2:02 | Clinton, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 12–4 | Elton Brown | Submission (rear-naked choke) | MMA Costa Rica – Bushido 2008 | December 19, 2008 | 1 | 3:15 | San Pedro, Costa Rica | |
| Win | 11–4 | Alejandro Solano Rodriguez | Decision (unanimous) | FN – Fite Nite | December 5, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Desamparados Canton, Costa Rica | |
| Win | 10–4 | Vince Guzman | Submission (rear naked choke) | AF 2 – Apocalypse Fights 2 | October 9, 2008 | 2 | 2:05 | Palm Springs, California, United States | |
| Win | 9–4 | Douglas Noear | Submission (strikes) | C3 Fights – Clash in Concho | September 19, 2008 | N/A | N/A | Concho, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Loss | 8–4 | Pedro Santos | Decision (unanimous) | Jungle Fight 11 | September 13, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Loss | 8–3 | Paulo Thiago | Decision (unanimous) | Jungle Fight 10 | July 12, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 8–2 | Rory McDonell | Decision (unanimous) | UCW 11 – Hell in the Cage | April 11, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Win | 7–2 | Christos Petroutsos | TKO (punches) | Shooto Belgium – New Batch | March 23, 2008 | 1 | 1:02 | Charleroi, Belgium | |
| Loss | 6–2 | Tommy Truex | Decision (unanimous) | SF 21 – Seasons Beatings | December 22, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Portland, Oregon, United States | |
| Win | 6–1 | Mike Neufeld | TKO (punches) | UCW 10 – X-Factor | November 30, 2007 | 2 | N/A | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Loss | 5–1 | Pono Pananganan | Decision (split) | GPG – Gracie Proving Ground | October 6, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Will Cunningham | KO (punch) | Cage Fighting Championship 1 | July 28, 2007 | 2 | 2:49 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Win | 4–0 | Laurent Poirier | Submission (armbar) | DF – Dumbea Fights | November 19, 2006 | 1 | N/A | Noumea, New Caledonia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Dan Harper | KO (knee) | DF – Dumbea Fights | November 19, 2006 | 2 | N/A | Noumea, New Caledonia | |
| Win | 2–0 | Gavin Murie | Submission (armbar) | XFC 12 – Oktoberfist | October 13, 2006 | 1 | N/A | Australia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Fred Sanchez | Submission (armbar) | DY – Dojo Yaburi | May 14, 2005 | 1 | 3:00 | Carmaux, Franca | |