When people normally picture UFC fighters, they picture a guy with a “six-pack”, 22-inch arms, lack of a sense of humor and the ability to take anyone out at any time.This does not describe UFC fighter Tim Credeur, with the exception of the last part.
Like a lot of MMA fighters, Credeur is just a good guy who loves to fight.
Credeur was born in Lafayette, La. and moved to California when he was 17 years old.
Credeur went to the Gracie Academy in California when he was in high school, where he got his first taste of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
“I did some jiu-jitsu with some of Carlson Gracie’s jiu-jitsu guys, and it blew my mind,” Credeur said.
After high school, Credeur joined the Navy around 1995 and got stationed in San Diego because he knew he would find some places to train there.
Around this time there was no BJJ or MMA in Louisiana. Five years later, Credeur had 15 fights under his belt and a promoter contacted him from Louisiana about putting on a show in his hometown, Lafayette.
This was the first-ever MMA show done in Lafayette and Credeur was in the main event. The year was 2000, before MMA had rules and was basically a bar-brawl.
In fact, this fight actually took place in a bar.
“They set up a boxing ring,” Credeur said. “I show up to fight a kid from the Baylor MMA club named Bone Sayavogna. It was crazy.”
Credeur warmed up for an MMA bout in a card room where people gambled. It didn’t matter how Credeur warmed up, however, because the night belonged to him, no matter how crazy the circumstances were.
“I think gloves were optional,” Credeur said. “It was nuts. People were yelling, like ‘rip his head off, mosh his face, stomp on his throat!’ I hit the guy with a jab, cross and it wobbled him, then I put him in the Thai clinch and kneed him in the face three times causing his jaw to break. I jumped on him and continued to punch him in the face, and the referee just looked at me and said ‘please stop.'”
After his victory, Credeur went on to fight Chael Sonnen, Liam McCarty and Joey Villasenor, among others.
In 2007, Credeur found himself in the first MMA main event ever in the Cajun Dome. Credeur fought Brandon McDowell, who had over 70 fights at that point.
Credeur used his jiu-jitsu and beat him with a triangle choke in the first round.
Less than a year later, Credeur found himself on UFC’s reality show, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7.
“It was terrible,” Credeur said. “You’re trapped on this very small property in this very small house with 15 other guys that want to kill you. Every day you’re fighting with everybody over food, trying to find out who took your stuff, and you can’t sleep.”
Credeur advanced to the semi-finals of the show after beating Erik Charles, Matthew Riddle and Dan Cramer, all by submission.
Credeur then lost to Jesse Taylor by unanimous decision, and after being brought back, he lost again to C.B. Dollaway in the semi-finals.
“It’s just ridiculous,” Credeur said. “I fought six times in six weeks, that’s crazy. If you can handle that type of environment and work to be successful in the face of all that, I think Mixed Martial Arts may be a business for you. To think that that’s what you need to do to be a MMA fighter is just nuts though.”
Credeur’s coach on “The Ultimate Fighter” was the ever-so popular, former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, and the two have developed quite a friendship.
