Vernon White (fighter)
Vernon Verdell White (born December 3, 1971) is an American retired professional mixed martial arts fighter who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Pride Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, King of the Cage, Pancrase, the World Fighting Alliance, and the Nevada Lions of the IFL. He is the former King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Championship, and King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Superfight Championship. MMA career. White debuted at 21 years of age in the Pancrase organization in Japan after being recruited by Ken Shamrock. Thrown right into the fire from the beginning, a very inexperienced White  would go 8-17-1 in Pancrase to start his career. However, White would turn his career around in a big way towards the latter part of the decade. He turned in an impressive showing against MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba at PRIDE 2, landing a hard punch in the opening seconds to stagger Sakuraba and fighting very competitively, showcasing excellent submission defense and escapes throughout the fight until he was finally caught in an armbar late in round 3. From 1998 to 2002, White found great success in mixed martial arts competition, compiling a record of 9-1 and winning  the King of the Cage Middleweight Championship. White defended the title four times before losing a decision to MMA pioneer Jeremy Horn. This was especially impressive because at the time, King of the Cage was an upper echelon MMA promotion. He evolved into one of the more talented and well known mixed martial arts fighters in the world and developed excellent striking to go along with a solid submission wrestling base. White also had impressive showings in the UFC, fighting to a draw with Ian Freeman in a fight that he took on short notice, and also turning in a  competitive, hard fought loss to former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 49 in 2004. Professional wrestling career. White appeared on the April 7, 1997 airing of the World Wrestling Federation program "Raw Is War", losing a worked 'shoot fight' to his Lion’s Den mentor Ken Shamrock. Personal life. Vernon and his wife Melissa Kline were married on April 30, 2007. The couple had their first child, a son, on May 31, 2008.