| Robin Black | |
| Birth Date: | 10 August 1969 |
| Birth Place: | Pinawa, Manitoba, Canada |
| Occupation: | Martial arts commentator |
| Credits: | Karate Combat[1] WLC TSN[2] CBS UFC |
| Children: | 1 |
Robin Black is a Canadian combat analyst and sports commentator. He formerly competed in mixed martial arts, and previously had a career as a glam rock musician.[3] [4] [5] [6] Robin Black has commentated for most major combat sports organizations in the world such as Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, Brave Combat Federation, Karate Combat, World Lethwei Championship in Myanmar and ACB in Russia.[7] [8] [9]
Black grew up in Pinawa, Manitoba before moving to Winnipeg after high school.[10] In Winnipeg he formed the band Ballroom Zombies in the mid-1990s, before moving to Toronto in 1998 to form Robin Black and the Intergalactic Rock Stars.[5]
According to Black, he went around Toronto confidently boasting that he was going to be a rock star before he even actually had a band, and was forced to hastily assemble a band when his bluffing got him invited to perform at Canadian Music Week in 1999.[11] The original band members included guitarist Stacey Stray, bassist Killer Ky Anto, keyboardist Chris "Starboy" Cunnane and drummer Kevin "K-Tron" Taylor, while Black himself was sometimes billed as Robin Fucking Black.[12]
The band released their first recording, the two-song "Time Travel Tonight"/"More Effeminate Than You", as a novelty CD single cut in the shape of a star in 2000.[13] The album Planet Fame, produced by Moe Berg and Garth Richardson, followed on February 14, 2002.[14] It was filled with glam rock tracks, led by the single "So Sick of You", and was supported by a national tour.[15] According to Black, "we've never hidden the fact that we want to be the filthy, beer-drinking, chick-fucking Beatles of the 21st century. You've got Edwin on one hand or you have Robin Black & the Intergalactic Rock Stars on the other. This is an easy choice to make. I mean, is Raine Maida really going to make you a better person? I don't think so."[16]
Black made an appearance on Showcase's TV series KinK in 2002.[17]
Prior to the release of their second album, the band brought in two new members, Chris "The Kidd" Avolos on drums and John "The Creep" Kerns on bass. The 2005 album was named Instant Classic, and was produced by Bob Ezrin along with Garth Richardson.[18] For this release the band's name was shortened to just Robin Black.[18] They toured extensively for this release, including internationally.[19]
In 2006, while touring in UK, Black suffered a drug-induced seizure.[20] For almost two minutes, Black’s body jerked and he was unable to speak. The seizure was attributed to Black's lack of sleep, alcohol and drug use such as speed.[21]
Black became a judge on the Much Music show VJ Search.[22] [23]
In 2007, Black pitched a new reality series to Much Music called Fearless or Stupid, which would have featured Black performing dangerous stunts, highlighting his new training regime, and culminating in his first MMA fight.[24] At the age of 36, Black started competing as a mixed martial artist after attaining a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.[9] [25] [26] Although he had been a hobby martial artist throughout his career, he attributed his decision to start actively competing in MMA to the seizure incident forcing him to clean up many aspects of his life and take his health more seriously.[19]
In 2009, MuchMusic aired a one-off documentary special Robin Black: Cage Fighter, which featured Black training with mixed martial artists Georges St-Pierre, Sam Stout, Mark Hominick.[27] [10] [28] [29]
In 2008, Black was guest commentator at an XMMA show in Montreal featuring David Loiseau.[30] This marked the first time that Robin did color commentary for fights. Robin eventually started interviewing fighters between rounds at local and provincial events such as Warrior-1 MMA - Inception, WRECK MMA, CFC and others. In 2009, Black submitted opponent Stephane Poirier to becoming Champion in Canada's ELITE 1 MMA promotion. On November 30, 2012, Robin returned to the cage at the inaugural SLAMM: Tristar Fights event, submitting opponent Derek Charbonneau via Kimura armlock in the 2nd round.[31] "What would be the one thing that, to me, would be more exciting and more thrilling and more authentically who I am as a person than being a rock star? And the answer was, ‘I want to be a UFC commentator in 10 years,’"said Black. In 2018, Brave Combat Federation signed Black as the lead fight analyst and joined Karate Combat in 2021.[32] Black is known for his signature word Bink!.[33]
On August 2, 2019, Black was invited to be commentator for the World Lethwei Championship at WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs in Mandalay, Myanmar.[34] [35] The event was streamed on UFC Fight Pass. He won the Lethwei World Lethwei Analyst of the Year for his performance at WLC 9.[36] The event also won Best Sport Program at the Asian Academy Awards.[37] On November 7, 2020, Black commentated the rematch between Dave Leduc and Cyrus Washington in Wyoming, USA.[38] [39]
(1998-2002)
(2002-2003)
(2003-2006)
|-| Win| align=center| 4–5| Derek Charbonneau| Submission (kimura)| Slamm 1 - Garcia vs. Lamarche| | align=center| 2| align=center| 2:34| Montreal, Quebec, Canada| |-| Loss| align=center| 3–5| Mike Reilly| Submission (armbar)| Wreck MMA - Strong and Proud| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:57| Casino du Lac-Leamy, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada| |-| Loss| align=center| 3–4| Eric Perez| TKO (punches)| CFC - Canadian Fighting Championship 5| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:23| Winnipeg Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada| |-| Win| align=center| 3–3| Matt Knysh| TKO (punches)| AMMA 2 - Vengeance| | align=center| 2| align=center| 1:20| Edmonton Expo Centre, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada| |-| Loss| align=center| 2–3| Corey Lautischer| Submission (guillotine choke)| AMMA 1 - First Blood| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:31| Edmonton Expo Centre, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada||-| Win| align=center| 2–2| Stephane Poirier| Submission (rear-naked choke)| Elite 1 - Never Back Down| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:31| Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada| |-| Win| align=center| 1–2| Stephane Poirier| Submission (triangle choke)| CFC - Canadian Fighting Championship 1| | align=center| 1| align=center| 2:57| Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada| |-| Loss| align=center| 0–2| Janz Stein| Submission (rear-naked choke)| UCW 14 - November to Remember| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:36| Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada| |-| Loss| align=center| 0–1| Chris Myra| Submission (triangle choke)| Freedom Fight - Title Quest| | align=center| 2| align=center| 1:15| Gatineau, Quebec, Canada| [41]