Michael Wayne Pyle (born September 18, 1975) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the UFC.
A professional competitor since 1999, Pyle is a former WEC Welterweight Champion, and has also competed in Strikeforce, Elite XC, Affliction, M-1 Global, and for the Los Angeles Anacondas of the IFL.
There's this guy who lays on the ground and breaks peoples arms ..." The cage fighting they were talking about was the UFC.
Pyle created a gym in a 13 x 15-foot shed behind his mother's home in Dresden, searching for any instructional videos for Brazilian jiu-jitsu he could get his hands on as well attending seminars put together by the Gracie family, whenever they were close enough for him to make the drive.
[3] Pyle's first sanctioned amateur MMA fight was in 1999 against future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson.
The bout was on ISCF MMA & IKF Kickboxing Promoter Jeff Mullen's November 13 event at the New Daisey Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee, (Jackson's hometown).
Pyle and Jackson were to be the Main Event and was supposed to be for the ISCF Amateur Mid-South Regional Middleweight Title.
The young Pyle, who tried various different submissions during the fight, was thrown and slammed several times, at one point being actually throw out of the ring by the future PRIDE veteran.
Pyle fought three times in the IFL fights as a member of Bas Rutten’s Los Angeles Anacondas.
Next, he fought and defeated Wilson at UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard by submission due to a guillotine choke in the third round.
[7] Pyle largely controlled the bout and won via technical submission, when his opponent passed out in a triangle choke late in the third round.
[8] Pyle gave John Hathaway his first professional MMA loss via unanimous decision on October 16, 2010 at UFC 120, replacing an injured Dong Hyun Kim.
Kevin Burke in the movie Universal Soldier: Regeneration starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and fellow MMA fighter Andrei Arlovski.
Pyle played a small part in the 2012 blockbuster Men In Black III starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
After the retirement from competition, Pyle has been working as an assistant coach at his long-time team Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas.