David Douglas (fighter)

David Douglas is an American professional mixed martial artist. Douglas is currently signed with Bellator MMA in the Welterweight division, and was formerly signed with Strikeforce, but has also competed for EliteXC and other independent organizations.

Background

Douglas was born and raised in the heart of a rough neighborhood in Antioch, California, along with his twin brother Damion, by their parents who worked for steel mills. The Douglas brothers got into many fights while growing up, beating up schoolyard bullies that were bigger and older than themselves. Both of them began learning the martial arts from a young age and were taught at home by their father, Danny, who was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Mixed martial arts career

Following two wins via TKO in 2004, Douglas made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2005 against veteran Jeff Curran. He has fought for EliteXC, the IFC and the Cage Combat Fighting Championships. He has defeated the likes of Chute Boxe Academy prospect Marlon Mathias and Muay Thai superstar Malaipet during his undefeated streak in EliteXC.

Strikeforce

Douglas made his debut for Strikeforce in August 2009 on the preliminary card of Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, losing to Justin Wilcox via submission.

He returned to the organization in 2010 on their ShoMMA Strikeforce Challengers series. He defeated Dominic Clark via TKO in October 2010 and Nick Gonzalez via submission in February 2011.

He next fought Caros Fodor at Strikeforce Challengers: Wilcox vs. Damm and lost in the third round by TKO.

Personal life

David got his nickname "Tarzan" from Cesar Gracie while training together, due to his long hair and lanky build. David's twin brother Damion, is also a mixed martial artist who competed for Strikeforce. David has two children, while Damion has three.

Mixed martial arts record