Zane Troy Frazier (born July 16, 1966) is an American former karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competed in the heavyweight division. After a successful career in karate during the 1980s in which he won numerous international accolades, Frazier then turned his hand to kickboxing and became a United States and North American champion. After taking part at the inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event in 1993, he would continue his career in MMA until retiring in 2008. Early life The son of Floyd and Bertha Frazier, he grew up in a Crips infested neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, and began training in martial arts in 1972 after seeing the film Fist of Fury. Frazier graduated from Fairfax High School in 1980, and was recruited to play college basketball at the University of Idaho in Moscow under head coach Don Monson. He saw action as a true freshman in redshirted in and finished his bachelor's degree in 1986. In addition to his martial arts career, he later tried out for the New Jersey Jets. Although his birth year is often given as 1966, this is age fabrication; he is four to five years older Career Frazier attained the rank of fourth degree black belt in American Kenpo karate and was the winner of the California, United States and North American karate championships in 1984 before becoming the international karate champion in 1987 and again in 1990. After making the transition to kickboxing, he won the World Kickboxing Federation (WKF) United States super heavyweight title in 1993. On November 12, 1993, Frazier competed at UFC 1, a no-holds-barred fighting tournament and the very first mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He reportedly earned his place in the tournament by beating up Frank Dux in a street fight which was witnessed by UFC founders Rorion Gracie and Art Davie. Gracie and Davie had come to Los Angeles to scout the U.S. karate championships for potential fighters but saw Frazier and Dux's brawl beforehand. Frazier claims that he had been teaching classes for Dux and that Dux hadn't paid him; Dux disputes that account and says that Frazier sucker punched him while wearing brass knuckles. In the UFC 1 tournament quarterfinals, he faced fellow kickboxer Kevin Rosier in what turned out to be a sloppy brawl. The match ended with Rosier clubbing Frazier to the floor with a series