Tedd Williams

{{Infobox martial artist

| name = Tedd Williams

| other_names = The American Gladiator

| image =

| image_size = 200px

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|12|19}}

| birth_place = Long Beach, California, United States

| death_date =

| death_place =

| death_cause =

| residence =

| nationality = American

| height = {{height|ft=6|in=1}}

| weight = {{convert|275|lb|kg st|abbr=on}}

| weight_class = Heavyweight

| reach =

| style =

| stance =

| fighting_out_of =

| team = Williams Combat Grappling

| rank = 4th Degree Black Belt in Judo under Gene Lebell{{cite web|url=https://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20140107/NEWS/301079991|title=Tedd Williams trains thousands of 'combat grapplers'|author=Amy Zillner|publisher=vvdailypress.com|date=January 7, 2014}}

| years_active = 1999–2000

| mma_kowin = 1

| mma_subwin = 4

| mma_decwin = 2

| mma_koloss =

| mma_subloss =

| mma_decloss = 1

| mma_draw =

| mma_nc =

| url =

| sherdog = 248

| footnotes =

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| module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes

|allegiance={{flag|United States of America}}

|branch= {{flag|United States Army}}

|serviceyears=1990–1992

|rank=

|commands=

|unit=7th Infantry Division

|battles=

}}

Tedd Williams (born December 19, 1969) is an American former mixed martial arts fighter and promoter, who has promoted Gladiator Challenge since its inception in 2000.

Background

Williams attended Cerritos College, obtaining an associate degree in criminal justice.{{cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedd-williams-36996947|title=Tedd Williams|website=linkedin.com}} During his junior year in Cerritos, Williams was a runner-up in wrestling in the state championships.{{cite web|url=http://thecaliforniawrestler.com/cccaa-final-results/|title=CCCAA Final Results 1959–2017|website=thecaliforniawrestler.com|access-date=July 14, 2020}}

After graduating from the community college, Williams went to the military, stationed in Fort Ord and served as a part of the 7th Infantry Division. He served from 1990 to 1992, but was never deployed to participate in the Gulf War.{{cite web|url=https://www.vvdailypress.com/article/20111110/sports/311109968|title=Honoring MMA veterans|date=November 10, 2011|publisher=vvdailypress.com|author=Mike Phillips}}

Coming out of the military service, Williams moved to Hesperia, California in seek of a combat sport involving grappling. After failing to find one he founded his own school and started offering training in a sport he called combat grappling. Eventually, he competed in what is nowadays known as mixed martial arts, including appearances at UFC 24 and UFC 27. Right after he lost his final fight against Ian Freeman, he started his own promotion, Gladiator Challenge.

Personal life

Williams and his wife Ceci have four sons and a daughter. Besides promoting Gladiator Challenge events, Williams works as a wrestling coach at Excelsior Charter School in Victorville, California.