Mark Robinson (martial artist)

Mark Robinson (born 18 March 1963) is a South African martial artist and powerlifter. He is considered to be one of South Africa's most accomplished athletes due to his accomplishments in several wrestling styles (freestyle, Greco-Roman, sumo) and powerlifting.

Background
Robinson was born to a family of martial artists. His father, Norman Robinson, was one of the first practitioners of Shotokan Karate in South Africa and helped instigate the establishment of the South African branch of the Japan Karate Association. His grandfather, Jack Robinson, was a pioneer of judo in South Africa and set up an establishment that would later become Judo South Africa.

Grappling career
Robinson's earliest sporting achievement was in 1982, when he became the South African judo champion in the heavyweight division.

Robinson later started pursuing various forms of amateur wrestling including both Greco-Roman and freestyle. From 1994 to 1996, he won multiple medals in wrestling at the African Wrestling Championship and African Games. His strong performance at the 1996 Acropolis Wrestling Grand Prix qualified him for a spot at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling. However, he was unable to compete due to budget restrictions.

Robinson competed in the 1996 Sumo World Championship with only a few months of training. In the finals, he defeated Emmanuel Yarbrough to become champion of the openweight class.

Robinson competed at the 2001 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship in the +99 kg category against several strong candidates. He defeated Valeriy Yureskul, Vitor Belfort and Ricco Rodriguez to reach the final, where he defeated Jeff Monson to become champion.

Powerlifting career
Around the same time he started his grappling career, Robinson also participated in powerlifting.

He is a multiple time medalist at WPC World Championships including winner of the 1990 World Championship at the +140 kg category.

Personal Bests

 * Squat – 496/936.9 lb (Raw/Single)
 * Bench press – 297.6/595.2 lb (Raw/Single)
 * Deadlift – 545.6/821.2 lb (Raw/Single
 * Total – 1289.7/2353.4 lb (Raw/Single)

Mixed martial arts career
Robinson had a brief career in mixed martial arts.

On 26 August 2000, he fought for the promotion, World Extreme Fighting at the event WEF – New Blood Conflict. He faced Joe Leyva and won by submission in less than 30 seconds.

On 23 February 2001, he fought for the promotion, Ultimate Fighting Championship at the event UFC 30. He faced Bobby Hoffman and was knocked out in the first round by a standing elbow strike. However Hoffman failed a drug test afterwards and the decision was changed to a no-contest.

Personal life
Robinson lives in Johannesburg with his wife Deirdre and daughter.

Robinson set up a martial arts academy in 2001 in South Africa.