Frank Trigg- Professional MMA Fighter

Frank Trigg Biography

Dewey Franklin Trigg III was born May 7, 1972.

He is usually known as Frank Trigg and nicknamed “Twinkle Toes”, is an American Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, former color commentator for PRIDE Fighting Championships, former co-host of MMAWeekly.com’s radio show, and former co-host of the new TAGG radio show, which airs live online and made its debut on April 11 2007.

As a fighter Trigg is a veteran of such promotions as Ultimate Fighting Championship,PRIDE Fighting Championships, Rumble on the Rock, Icon Sport and World Fighting Alliance. The son of an African-American father and Native-American-Jewish mother, he grew up in a household where he had seven brothers, where he developed a natural competitive nature.

He attended several High Schools including Kendall High school in Kendall, NY, McQuaid High School in Brighton New York, Monroe High School in Rochester, New York and finally East Ridge High School in East Irondequoit, New York. From there, he attended the University of Oklahoma, and graduated in 1997 with a major in Public Affairs and Administration. While at Oklahoma, Trigg became a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity (Xi Delta Chapter). He stayed on as a coach at Oklahoma from 1997 until 2000.

Trigg was a 2000 Olympic trials wrestling finalist. He also is a second degree black belt in judo under Sensi Patrick Burris.

In 2005, Trigg appeared as a contestant on the VH1 reality television program Kept trying to win the affections of former supermodel Jerry Hall (Mick Jagger’s ex) and to become Jerry’s kept man. Trigg was eliminated in 10th place out of 12 contestants.

Commentator

Trigg commentates for HDNET covering the Sungoku Raiden Championships (SRC) and Dream Fighting Championships in Japan.Trigg was also a successful American commentator for Pride, gaining much respect from fans for his knowledge of MMA. A rumor across some Internet discussion forums claim that Dana White fired Trigg along with the American Broadcasting team at a press conference. However no sources have yet been found to prove this true.

Frank Trigg’s Mixed martial arts career

Fighting in Japan

Trigg got his start in 1997, fighting in a handful of upstart promotions, and in 1999 got his big break and fought in PRIDE at PRIDE 8, defeating Fabiano Iha via TKO due to strikes. He challenged Shooto champion Hayato Sakurai for his title in December of 2000. While Trigg initially controlled the bout, Sakurai would stage a comeback and score a KO via knees in the second round, handing Trigg his first MMA loss.

WFA

Trigg fought in the World Fighting Alliance from 2001-2002, where he held the WFA Welterweight Title.

Frank Trigg in the UFC

Trigg then went on to fight in the UFC, making a run at the Welterweight championship, but came up short, losing to Matt Hughes twice in two separate title fights, both via rear naked choke. His last fight in the UFC was another loss via rear naked choke, to then top welterweight contender, one time Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre.

Rumble on the Rock

He then went on to participate in Rumble on the Rock’s welterweight (175 lb) tournament in 2006, where he won his first round fight against Ronald “Machine Gun” Jhun, but was upset in the second round by Carlos Condit.

Icon Sport

Trigg remained inactive since that loss, focusing on his broadcasting job with PRIDE until returning on December 1, 2006. Trigg returned to fight Jason “Mayhem” Miller, defending a rear naked choke attempt and going on to win with punches, stomps and soccer kicks in the second round, and so winning the Icon Sport middleweight title.

On March 31st, 2007, Frank Trigg defended his Icon Sport Middleweight Title against Robbie Lawler for the first time, losing in the fourth round via KO.

GFC

He was scheduled to fight Ivan “Batman” Jorge at the Gracie Fighting Championships second card at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida on January 20th 2007. This event was postponed.

PRIDE FC

His next fight was on at PRIDE 33 on February 24, 2007 against Middleweight Grand Prix champion Kazuo Misaki. Trigg was able to out wrestle Misaki and maintain control on the ground, winning by a 30-27 unanimous decision.

Personal Life

Trigg is married to Nicole (Nici) Amsden and has three children, Frankie, Kiara and Stone. Nici and Frank are expecting their second child, Frank’s fourth, in early October. Frank also appeared on an episode of The King Of Queens. Frank appeared on VH1s reality show Kept

He is always noted for his resemblance to pro-wrestler and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle.