Daniel Puder (/ˈpjuːdər/ PYOO-dər; born October 9, 1981) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist.

As a mixed martial artist, Puder trained at the American Kickboxing Academy, in San Jose, California.

In high school at Monta Vista High School, in Cupertino, California, he finished first place in his weight division in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Central Coast Section, in amateur wrestling,[4] while wrestling with a broken hand.

[6] Puder entered the fourth Tough Enough competition that was conducted as part of WWE SmackDown between October and December 2004.

[8] On November 4, 2004, episode of SmackDown!, taped in St. Louis, Missouri, during an unscripted segment of Tough Enough, Kurt Angle, a former American amateur wrestler and 1996 Olympic gold medalist, challenged the finalists through a squat thrust competition.

― Dave Meltzer[10][12]As you would expect, Kurt Angle was less than happy backstage at Smackdown after almost being forced to tap out to Tough Enough contestant Daniel Puder.

― Dave Scherer[10]On December 12, 2004, Puder competed in his first WWE pay-per-view event, Armageddon, defeating Mike Mizanin in a Dixie Dog Fight.

[14] On January 30, 2005, Puder competed in his second WWE pay-per-view event, being entered in the Royal Rumble match.

Puder, however, was shortly eliminated after being chopped by Chris Benoit, Hardcore Holly, and Eddie Guerrero.

[15] In January 2005, Puder participated in the WWE's developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).

[20] On December 29, 2007, at the Manhattan Center, in New York City, Puder made his debut in ROH,[21] at Rising Above, attacking Claudio Castagnoli and aligning himself with Sweet and Sour Inc., led by Larry Sweeney.

On June 19, 2010, Puder made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling at Dominion 6.19, losing to former three–time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.

[24] On October 25 Puder picked up his first victory in New Japan, defeating Tomoaki Honma via submission in a singles match.

[25] After two wins and three losses in the group stage of the G1 Tag League, Puder and Nakamura finished fourth in their block and did not advance to the semifinals.

[27] While training at the American Kickboxing Academy, in San Jose, California, Puder sought the tutelage of Javier Mendez, Bob Cook, Frank Shamrock, Brian Johnston and Danny Chaid.

To end the year, on December 8 at Strikeforce: Triple Threat in San Jose, California, Puder defeated Mike Cook by submission due to a rear naked choke.

On February 18, 2007, at BodogFight Series III in Costa Rica, Puder defeated Michael Alden by knockout in forty-five seconds.

On May 16, 2009, at Call to Arms I, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena, in Ontario, California, Puder defeated Jeff Ford by knockout.

Puder was scheduled to compete against Tank Abbott, an American mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler.

[2] In 2018, Puder provided mixed martial arts instruction using the private coaching service, CoachUp.

[5] After leaving professional wrestling, Puder founded and is the CEO of My Life My Power (MLMP), founded in 2010,[30] working with police departments, schools, parents and youth to help strengthen communities and to provide organizations and youth with effective programs to help combat bullying through various avenues such as self esteem, self empowerment and body image.