Andreas Spång
| Andreas Spång | |
|---|---|
| Born | Andreas Christian Spång November 7, 1978 Stockholm, Sweden |
| Other names | Sweet Swede |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) |
| Division | Middleweight |
| Fighting out of | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Team | J-Sect MMA One Kick's Gym |
| Years active | 2008-present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 11 |
| Wins | 8 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Losses | 3 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Notable relatives | Chris Spang (brother) |
| Boxing record from BoxRec | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Andreas Christian Spång[1] (born November 7, 1978) is a Swedish professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He currently fights for Bellator Fighting Championships in the middleweight division and was featured in the sixth season tournament. His younger brother Chris Spang is also a mixed martial artist.
Personal life
Andreas Spang first learned boxing at 3-years-old from his father who had been an amateur boxer in Sweden. As he stated in a Bellator interview, Spang says, "It is important to be a role model for my family." He lives with his wife and young son in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Spang defines himself as a "striker by nature." As an amateur boxer, Spang has a record of 15-5 and went 1-0 as a professional K-1 fighter.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Spang made his professional MMA debut on April 5, 2008 when he fought at the Fight Fiesta de Luxe: Unstoppable event in Luxembourg and won his first match via unanimous decision. Sprang quickly rose up the middleweight ranks, compiling a 5-0 record. 6 of his 8 victories have been by knockout or submission win, all in the first round.
Bellator Fighting Championships
Andreas Spang is currently signed to Bellator Fighting Championships and competed in their season six middleweight tournament. Spang welcomed the opportunity to fight in the Bellator middleweight tournament when he replaced Bruno Santos, who was originally scheduled to face Rogers.
Spang made his Bellator debut at Bellator 66 on April 21, 2012 in a middleweight tournament semifinal match, where he defeated the highly aggressive Brian "The Predator" Rogers with an impressive come-from-behind KO victory.
He faced Maiquel Falcão in the finals at Bellator 69. After rocking Maiquel Falcão in the first round, Spang was controlled by Falcão's wrestling for the remainder of the fight and lost via unanimous decision.
In January 2013, Bellator announced Spang as a competitor in the Season Eight Middleweight tournament. His Quarterfinal fight took place at Bellator 89 against Doug Marshall. He lost via knock out in the first round.
Controversy
Spang was involved in a post-fight scuffle whiched marred his comeback at Bellator 66. Maiquel Falcão who had fought earlier that night defeating Vyacheslav Vasilevsky to secure his own spot in the middleweight finals, was brought into the cage to do a face-off with Spang for the first time after Spang's fight. When they moved in close to each other, Spang immediately shoved Falcão. Startled by this, the much publicized temperament of Falcão rushed back at him with a knee to the ribcage and then lifted up his hand as if looking to throw a punch. Officials, Bellator commentator/former fighter Jimmy Smith and fight matchmaker Sam Caplan separated the two from one another.[2]
Spang, who also shoved Brian Rogers at Thursday's event during the fight's weigh-ins to get inside his opponent's head and not out of hatred, was apologetic to the crowd after the melee incident. He even apologized again at the post-fight press conference with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney in attendance, stating he just doesn't like people getting up in his face.[3]
Disciplinary action from the Ohio Athletic Commission, which oversaw the event, will determine if any fines and/or suspensions should be lifted against both fighters.
Kickboxing record
| Kickboxing record | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
? wins (? KOs), ? losses, ? draws
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mixed martial arts record
| 11 matches | 8 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 1 |
| By submission | 3 | 1 |
| By decision | 2 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 8–3 | Doug Marshall | KO (punch) | Bellator 89 | February 14, 2013 | 1 | 3:03 | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | Bellator Season 8 Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal |
| Loss | 8–2 | Maiquel Falcão | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 69 | May 18, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States | Bellator Season 6 Middleweight Tournament Final |
| Win | 8–1 | Brian Rogers | KO (punch) | Bellator 66 | April 20, 2012 | 2 | 3:34 | Cleveland, Ohio, United States | Bellator Season 6 Middleweight Tournament Semifinal |
| Win | 7–1 | Willie Parks | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce Challengers 20 | November 18, 2011 | 1 | 3:10 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6–1 | Cody Krahn | Submission (guillotine choke) | MFC 30 | June 10, 2011 | 1 | 1:18 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |
| Loss | 5–1 | Ali Mokdad | Submission (rear-naked choke) | MFC 29 | April 8, 2011 | 1 | 1:35 | Windsor, Ontario, Canada | |
| Win | 5–0 | Chaun Sims | TKO (punches) | Ring of Fire - ROF 38 - Ascension | June 5, 2010 | 1 | 3:38 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | BJ Lacy | Decision (unanimous) | MMA Xplosion - Super Fight Night | February 20, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Andre Walker | Submission (guillotine choke) | Ring of Fire - ROF 36 - Demolition | December 4, 2009 | 1 | 2:20 | Denver, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Ryan Ballingall | Submission (guillotine choke) | North American Challenge - NAC 25 - North American Challenge 25 | June 27, 2009 | 1 | 0:54 | North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Win | 1–0 | Karim Khalifa | Decision (unanimous) | Fight Fiesta de Luxe - Unstoppable | April 5, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Hollerich, Luxembourg |
