Bobby Southworth

Southworth was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and was adopted when he was six weeks old. Southworth has three sisters. He grew up in Santa Cruz, California. He liked surfing as a hobby, as well as playing football and basketball, and track. After graduating from Soquel High School, Southworth continued to Cabrillo College, then UC Davis, playing basketball at both. His initial interest in martial arts was sparked after seeing Royce Gracie at UFC 1 and UFC 2. While Southworth was looking for a sport to stay fit, a friend invited him to a jiu-jitsu class in a nearby gym. Instantly hooked by the discipline, Southworth joined Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu academy before moving on to Gracie Systems, which was formed after Cesar's cousin Ralph Gracie moved stateside. Subsequently, Ralph opened his own academy in Mountain View, California, where Southworth continued teaching and training jiu-jitsu. Southworth grew interested in taking a no-holds-barred bout, which Gracie disapproved of, leading to Southworth's departure from the academy. Subsequently he joined American Kickboxing Academy, which at the time had no proper Brazilian jiu-jitsu program, so he took the responsibility of teaching the discipline. == Mixed martial arts career ==

Southworth's first major exposure in the mixed martial arts world was when he faced Vitor Belfort on two-weeks short notice at PRIDE 13 on March 25, 2001. In the last bout of his career, Southworth faced Aaron Boyes at Xtreme MMA 2 on July 31, 2010. He won the fight via first-round knockout. ==Personal life==

Bobby has four children, three daughters and one son. Bobby co-founded the American Kickboxing Academy Sunnyvale in 2008. In 2015, Southworth began coaching at UFC Gym Hollow Brook in San Antonio, Texas. ==Championships and accomplishments==

• Strikeforce • Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship (One time, First) • One Successful Title Defense • The only fighter to have successfully defended the Light Heavyweight Championship ==Mixed martial arts record==