Before being on The Ultimate Fighter, Cramer held a 3-0 amateur record. After the filming of The Ultimate Fighter, Cramer moved to Coconut Creek, Florida, to train with the main American Top Team academy.
The Ultimate Fighter
Cramer was a contestant on the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. In order for the fighters to make it on the show, they had to win an elimination fight. Cramer won his elimination round fight against Jeremiah Riggs via unanimous decision. Cramer was selected to be a part of Team Rampage.
Cramer then defeated Luke Zachrich by technical knockout in the second round. In the semi-final matchup, Cramer was paired off against Team Forrest's first pick, Tim Credeur. Credeur submitted Cramer with a heel hook to end Cramer's run in the tournament. After the fight, Cramer said he made a rookie mistake and he should have won the fight.
Cramer next fought his former Ultimate Fighter castmate Matthew Riddle at UFC 101.[5][6] He lost the bout by unanimous decision. The judges scored the bout 29-27, 30-26 and 30-27.[7][8] Cramer was cut from the UFC after his loss to Riddle.[9]
Bellator Fighting Championships
After leaving the UFC, Cramer recorded a pair of wins before he signed to fight Dennis Olson in a middleweight contest that took place at Bellator 15. Cramer dominated the bout, and won via unanimous decision with all three judges giving him a 30–27 win.
Cramer fought fellow TUF alumnus, Dante Rivera, for a one-off show from Bellator at Great Adventure in New Jersey. After three very close rounds, the fight went to the judges and Rivera was awarded the win via split decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29). Judge Doug Crosby was the only dissenting voice on the cards, scoring the fight 29-28 to Cramer. Many spectators believed Cramer won, even booing the hometown favorite Rivera.[10]
He returned to Bellator for its last season three event, Bellator 34, against Igor Almeida. Cramer defeated Almeida via TKO (cut) at 2:36 of round one. That was Cramer's first professional win via stoppage.
Cramer made his fourth Bellator appearance at Bellator 46 against Josh Samman.[11] Cramer controlled the entirety of the fight, and won the fight via unanimous decision. Cramer brought his undefeated Bellator record to 4-0.
Cramer was expected to fight John Clarke on August 20, 2011, in Uncasville, Connecticut, at Bellator 48. This was Cramer's fifth Bellator appearance. Clarke, however, withdrew due to an injury and Cramer faced newcomer Jeff "The Wolfman" Nader. Cramer dominated the fight throughout two rounds before losing via TKO in the third round.
At Bellator 63, Cramer rematched Jeff "The Wolfman" Nader on the preliminary portion of the card. The event took place March 30, 2012, in Uncasville, Connecticut. He won the fight via split decision.
Cramer defeated Joe Lamoureux at Bellator 81 on November 16, 2012, via KO in round one.
Cramer was then expected to face Perry Filkins at Bellator 98 on September 7, 2013, in the quarterfinals of Bellator's Season Nine Middleweight Tournament. Cramer, however, withdrew from the bout and was replaced with Jeremy Kimball. Cramer was expected to face Doug Marshall at Bellator 115 on April 4, 2014, in Bellator's Season Ten Middleweight Tournament. Marshall pulled out due to a current suspension and was replaced by Jeremy Kimball.[12] However, Kimball missed weight prior to the bout and the fight was cancelled.[13]