Rick Cheek

Cheek was the United States Air Force boxing champion[4] and started training in kickboxing and Muay Thai in 2000 at the age of twenty-three. In August 2004, he competed in a four-man tournament held over two days in Orlando, Florida to determine the IKF Amateur North American Super Heavyweight (+106.8 kg/235 lb) Muay Thai Champion. After defeating Bernard Settle, Jr. by technical knockout in round two of their semi-final bout, he outpointed Brian Wells to a unanimous decision in the final to take the crown.[5] He followed this up with the IKF's Amateur California Muay Thai title when he stopped Ben Davis with low kicks in round one in Fairfield, California on March 26, 2005.[6]

After turning professional, Cheek made his K-1 debut on August 13, 2005 in a tournament reserve bout at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas II against Mike Sheppard, knocking him out in the second round.[7] He was absent from both K-1 Las Vegas events in 2006 due to a torn ACL and MCL he sustained in February 2006.[4]

After a year out of the ring, Cheek returned on August 11, 2007 for the K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Las Vegas tournament. He stopped Imani Lee with a barrage of unanswered punches in round three in the quarter-finals but was unable to continue in the tournament due to a leg injury and was replaced by Doug Viney, who eventually went on to win the title.[8][9]

In early 2008, Cheek fought for the Miami Force in the World Combat League and, on June 20, 2008, faced Patrice Quarteron for the vacant IKF World Super Heavyweight (+106.8 kg/235 lb) Muay Thai title in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He was sent to the canvas early with a flurry of punches and elbows. After beating the count, he was dropped with a low kick, which also caused Quarteron to fall over. As both fighters fell to the canvas, Quarteron's knee landed on Cheek's head, seemingly knocking him unconscious.[10]

He soon made his way back to K-1 to fight in the K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii in Honolulu on August 9, 2008. He won by TKO against Kyokushin karate stylist Nicholas Pettas in the quarter-finals when Pettas aggravated a groin injury sustained in training early in the fight. He was then eliminated by the eventual tournament winner Gökhan Saki in the semis. He was floored with low kicks before being crumpled with a liver punch towards the end of round one.[11][12][13]

In his second attempt at a world title, he challenged Ben Edwards for the vacant ISKA World Super Heavyweight (+96.4 kg/212 lb) Oriental rules belt in Canberra, Australia on April 4, 2009 but was KO'd inside the first minute of the opening frame.[14]

On August 28, 2010, Cheek lost to Steven Banks via second-round KO in a fight for the WBC Muaythai United States Super Heavyweight (+104.5 kg/230 lb) title. He struggled with the knees of Banks, being floored by them on four occasions throughout the match.[15]

Cheek suffered a one-sided beating at the hands of Cătălin Moroşanu, after re-tearing his MCL in the first round in their SuperKombat World Grand Prix 7 in Varna, Bulgaria bout on July 7, 2012. He was dropped five times, forcing referee Cezar Gheorghe to call a halt to the bout in the second round.[16]

22 wins (19 KOs), 5 losses, 1 draw, 1 no contest
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time
2012-07-07	Loss	Cătălin Moroşanu	SuperKombat World Grand Prix 7	Varna, Bulgaria	TKO (right hook)	2	1:07
2010-08-28	Loss	Steve Banks	WCK Muay Thai	Primm, Nevada, USA	KO (knees)	2	2:52
For the WBC Muaythai United States Super Heavyweight (+104.5 kg/230 lb) Championship.
2009-05-30	Win	Ethen Cox	WCSC The Awakening	San Francisco, California, USA	Decision (unanimous)	5	3:00
Wins the WCSC World Super Heavyweight Muay Thai Championship.
2009-04-04	Loss	Ben Edwards	World Domination	Canberra, Australia	KO (right cross)	1	0:55
For the ISKA World Super Heavyweight (+96.4 kg/212 lb) Oriental Championship.
2008-08-09	Loss	Gökhan Saki	K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii, Semi Finals	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	KO (left hook to the body)	1	2:36
2008-08-09	Win	Nicholas Pettas	K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii, Quarter Finals	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	TKO (injury)	1	1:15
2008-06-20	Loss	Patrice Quarteron	Champions of Champions I	Montego Bay, Jamaica	KO (right low kick)	1	2:00
For the IKF World Super Heavyweight (+106.8 kg/235 lb) Muay Thai Championship.
2007-08-11	Win	Imani Lee	K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Las Vegas, Quarter Finals	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	TKO (punches)	3	1:52
2006-02-18	Win	Mahmoud Fowzi	Combat Sports Challenge 12	Richmond, Virginia, USA	TKO (corner stoppage)	1	1:56
Wins the WKA United States Super Heavyweight (+95 kg/209 lb) Muay Thai Championship.
2005-08-13	Win	Mike Sheppard	K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas II, Reserve Bout	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	KO	2	0:48

Amateur kickboxing record
Date	Result	Opponent	Event	Location	Method	Round	Time
2008-03-28	Win	Terry Bullman	WCL Eastern Conference Playoffs	St. Charles, Missouri, USA	Decision (28-20)	2	3:00
2005-03-26	Win	Ben Davis	Fairfield Fight Fest	Fairfield, California, USA	KO (low kick)	1	0:50
Wins the IKF Amateur California Super Heavyweight (+106.8 kg/235 lb) Muay Thai Championship.
2004-08-15	Win	Brian Wells	IKF North American Classic, Final	Orlando, Florida, USA	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00
Wins the IKF Amateur North American Super Heavyweight (+106.8 kg/235 lb) Muay Thai Championship.
2004-08-14	Win	Bernard Settle, Jr.	IKF North American Classic, Semi Finals	Orlando, Florida, USA	TKO	2	1:03
2004-02-28	Win	Matt Dunn	Feet & Fists of Fury	Roseville, California, USA	TKO	2	1:40

Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

• Official K-1 profile
• K-1Sport profile
• Professional MMA record for Rick Cheek from Sherdog