Gerald Strebendt

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American mixed martial arts fighter

title: "Gerald Strebendt" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-male-mixed-martial-artists", "mixed-martial-artists-utilizing-brazilian-jiu-jitsu", "living-people", "sportspeople-from-coos-bay,-oregon", "american-practitioners-of-brazilian-jiu-jitsu", "1979-births", "united-states-marines", "ultimate-fighting-championship-male-fighters"] description: "American mixed martial arts fighter" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Strebendt" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American mixed martial arts fighter ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox martial artist"]

Field	Value
name	Gerald Strebendt
other_names	Bangkok Ready
The Finishing Machine
image	Gerald Strebendt (cropped).jpg
caption	Strebendt, 2002
birth_name	Gerald Ray Strebendt
birth_date
birth_place	Coos Bay, Oregon, U.S.
height
weight	154 lb
weight_class	Lightweight
stance	Orthodox
fighting_out_of	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
team	10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu
years_active	2001–2008
mma_kowin	1
mma_subwin	8
mma_koloss	4
mma_subloss	3
sherdog	2327
::

Gerald Ray Strebendt (born March 1, 1979) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2008, he fought for the UFC and Cage Rage. He is the former Cage Rage World lightweight champion.

Career

A former member of the United States Marine Corps, Strebendt is known for being the first student of the now world-renowned Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioner, Eddie Bravo where he adopted Eddie's rubber guard, and twister game. In 2004 he became the first fighter to execute a twister in an MMA match.

Strebendt was a key witness in the 2005 murder trial of Rafiel Torre. Torre, whose real name is Ralph Bartel, initially offered Strebendt $10,000 to kill the victim, 32-year-old Bryan Richards, who had a sizable life insurance policy and with whose wife Torre was having an affair. After Strebendt refused, Torre committed the murder himself, then told Strebendt a few days later that he had killed Richards in self-defense with a rear naked choke. Torre asked Strebendt to provide him with an alibi, a request which was met with Strebendt's refusal. More than a year after the killing, Strebendt voluntarily came forward and provided his story to detectives, out of concern that Torre would escape punishment for the murder. Torre was convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; he is appealing the sentence.

On January 29, 2014, Strebendt shot and killed 53-year-old David Paul Crofut, also of Springfield, during an altercation following a traffic collision between the two drivers' vehicles. Strebendt called 911 following the collision but before shooting Crofut and was still connected with the 911 call when the shot was fired. Strebendt claims self-defense in the shooting; Strebendt's attorney, Mike Arnold of Eugene, states that Strebendt reached into his vehicle and retrieved his weapon, a loaded .223 caliber semi-automatic rifle, because Crofut verbally threatened his life. Carrying a loaded rifle in a vehicle is legal in Oregon. Crofut was unarmed during the altercation, and no weapons other than Strebendt's rifle were found at the scene. Following the shooting, Strebendt was handcuffed and taken into custody, but was released later that night. According to Strebendt on the 911 call, Crofut hit him "on purpose with his vehicle." Strebendt can be heard on the 911 call instructing Crofut to "back away" and "don't fucking come near me." At the time of his death, Crofut had a blood alcohol content of 0.156%. The legal limit for driving under the influence of alcohol in Oregon is 0.08%.

Strebendt was arrested and charged with murder on March 6, 2014, after a grand jury indictment. On May 21, 2015, the murder charge was dismissed and Strebendt pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide due to police establishing "some mitigating evidence" favoring Strebendt. His attorney Mike Arnold and co-counsel Emilia Gardner went on to write a book about Strebendt and the case called Finishing Machine. He was released from state prison in 2017.

Eight months after his release from prison, Strebendt was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing an underage female on April 25, 2018. He was later sentenced by courts in Lane County, OR to two years and four months in prison with two years and eight months of probation.

Mixed martial arts record

other-losses=
Loss
align=center
Lyle Beerbohm
Submission (injury)
EWC 3: Capitol Invasion

For the vacant Cage Rage World Lightweight Championship.
Win
align=center
Dave Elliot
Submission (twister)
Cage Warriors 7: Showdown

Won the vacant Cage Rage World Lightweight Championship.
Win
align=center
Carmelo Serrato
Submission (rear-naked choke)
Ultimate Cage Fighting 1

References

[http://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2003_Results/09-26-03ufc.pdf Mixed martial arts show results Date: September 26, 2003]
Leveque, Rod. "DA says man used martial arts move to kill lover's husband", The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, Canada), July 29, 2005.
"Gerald's Tweet with Photo of Joe Rogan". Gerald Strebendt (official twitter) @StrebendtGerald.
[http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/31074131-75/springfield-shooting-lewis-police-driver.html.csp Moran, Jack. "Police investigate deadly shooting"]{{Dead link. (September 2025)
[http://www.registerguard.com/rg/news/local/31103061-75/strebendt-crofut-lewis-police-springfield.html.csp Moran, Jack. "Shooting details under scrutiny"]{{Dead link. (September 2025)
[http://msn.foxsports.com/ufc/haymaker/police-investigating-deadly-shooting-involving-former-ufc-fighter-gerald-strebendt-020514 Martin, Damon. "Police investigating deadly shooting involving former UFC fighter Gerald Strebendt"], Fox Sports Haymaker, February 5, 2014
[http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/Police-still-piecing-together-car-crash-and-deadly-shooting-243602251.html Dudley, Kelsey. "Police still piecing together car crash and deadly shooting"], KMTR Newssource 16 (Eugene, Oregon) February 4, 2014
Strebendt, Gerald. (January 29, 2014). "911 Call of Gerald Strebendt (YouTube)". Gerald Strebendt (YouTube).
"Man who shot and killed motorist pleads guilty to lesser charge".
"ORS 813.010 – Driving under the influence of intoxicants – 2013 Oregon Revised Statutes".
"Murder charge for man who claimed self-defense in shooting".
(October 12, 2016). "Finishing Machine". Versus Publishing.
(March 28, 2019). "Former one-time UFC fighter, Gerald Strebendt, convicted of sexually abusing teen".
"Former UFC fighter, convicted in road rage killing, arrested for sexually abusing underaged female".
"Ex-UFC fighter Gerald Strebendt sentenced for sexual abuse of martial arts student".

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