Mark Crawn

Mark Crawn, pictured after his first professional MMA victory.

Mark Crawn (1-2 pro 6-3 am) has evened out his pro record, posting a second round TKO victory over Richie “Macho” Mayes from 4 Seasons on May 15, 2010 at Last Man Standing: Bluegrass Bragging Rights in Lexington, KY.

Crawn’s exposure to MMA initially came while he was stationed in Washington State as part of his career with the United States Navy. As someone who lives for competition, Crawn saw MMA as a sport that held high prestige, and he wanted to be a part of it. After being stationed in West Virginia, Mark had his first exposure with training.

“I showed up green and thought I could just find a school and go beat up on some guys. Wrong. It just so happened that I walked into a Jorge Gurgel school and they tied me up into a pretzel about 1,000 times. I was hooked after that.”

Initially training under Bryan Atterson (Team Jorge Gurgel) in Beckley, WV, Crawn’s service to his country finds him currently stationed in Clarksville, Tennessee. While still training with Atterson and his West Virginia MMA training partners when he can, Crawn now trains with Team Wildside out of Clarksville, TN.

While his naval career has seen him change locations a number of times, the service to his country is important to Crawn.

“When I die, I want to know that I had some important role in society. I want to make a difference, whether it is serving my country with Honor, Courage, and Commitment, or being the ideal role model for young athletes. It is important to show our generation that it’s not all about glamour, fame, and money. Instead, it is about integrity, pride, and leadership. I’m an E-6 and I used to fly in airplanes and track submarines using geometry and sound through underwater buoys that we launched out of our plane; we did counter-intelligence, launched missiles, and dropped bombs. Now I am a Career Recruiter and I manage recruiters and show them how to help young men and women to become a member of the Service of choice – America’s Navy: A Global Force For Good.”

Pictured from L to R: James Nickerson, Brian Furby, Jorge Gurgel, Mark Crawn, Chad Marsh with Crawn's banner printed courtesy of Cosmic

In addition to serving his country, Crawn has fought another battle that all too many people are familiar with – cancer.

“It’s not everyday you find out that your life could be over and that you could die. I never imagined or could tell you how it feels to find out that you have cancer. I found out I had testicular cancer in May 2009. It was the biggest shock and scare I have ever faced, and it’s one I hope no one else ever goes through. I was determined right away that it was not going to hold me down. The doctors gave me details, scheduled my surgery to remove it, and then put me on rest for eight weeks with follow ups every month after. I got the surgery done and lasted about two weeks before I snuck back into the gym and began lightly sparring, and then four weeks after I was back to training like a machine two to three times a day. It was a scare and ultimately it has opened up my eyes to how important it is to get the message out about cancer awareness, and if you are not donating some of your money to the little children who fight this battle everyday, then you really have no idea what it is to be a role model. I donate every month to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and will as long as I live.”

Crawn’s signature walkout shirt (seen above), designed and distributed exclusively by On Point Athletics, is available for purchase. Cost and shipping details can be found on the On Point Athletics website. A portion of the proceeds from each shirt will be donated directly to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.