James Vick | |
---|---|
Born | Mineral Wells, Texas, United States | February 23, 1987
Nickname | The Texecutioner |
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) |
Division | Lightweight (2011–2019) Welterweight (2011, 2019) |
Reach | 76 in (193 cm) [1] |
Style | Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
Fighting out of | Temple Hills, Maryland, United States |
Team | Team Lloyd Irvin |
Rank | brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Lloyd Irvin Jr. [2] |
Years active | 2011–2021 (MMA) 2010, 2022 (boxing) |
Professional boxing record | |
Total | 4 |
Wins | 2 |
By knockout | 2 |
Losses | 2 |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 19 |
Wins | 13 |
By knockout | 3 |
By submission | 5 |
By decision | 5 |
Losses | 6 |
By knockout | 5 |
By decision | 1 |
Other information | |
Boxing record from BoxRec | |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
James Vick (born February 23, 1987) is a retired American mixed martial artist and boxer who formerly competed in the welterweight and lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Vick was a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Live .
Vick was born to a modest Texan family on February 23, 1987. [3] He grew up in Olney, Texas with his five siblings. [3] Vick took up boxing following his senior year at Olney High School in 2005. [4] Mixed martial arts piqued his interest initially when he saw The Ultimate Fighter 1 around the time he graduated from high school. [3] Nevertheless, he wound up playing basketball in junior college only to be kicked out of the team due to physical altercations and eventually dropping out of college too. [3]
After the failed attempt at college, Vick started training boxing under Jarred Kemp. [3] Eventually, he became two-time Golden Gloves champion in the open division, winning the first title in 2007. Having already been training mixed martial arts during his amateur boxing tenure, Vick decided to drop off boxing in order to pursue an MMA career. [3]
Vick began his professional career fighting in regional shows in his home state of Texas. His first four fights all came in 2011, where he went undefeated with four straight wins. [5]
Vick was one of 32 lightweight fighters announced by the UFC to participate in the first live season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. [6]
Vick won his way into the house when he defeated Dakota Cochrane by split decision after one round. [7] He was then chosen to be part of Team Cruz as Cruz's fifth pick and ninth overall.
For the first official fight of the show, he was chosen to fight Team Faber's third pick Daron Cruickshank. After a rough first part of the round, Vick landed a knee on Cruickshank as he shot in for a takedown, and won the fight by knockout in the first round. [8]
His quarter-final fight came against Team Faber's Joe Proctor. Vick was able to dominate the fight, out-striking Proctor on the feet and successfully defending all of Proctor's take down attempts. Vick won the fight by unanimous decision, earning his way into the semi-final round. [9]
Vick was selected to fight Team Faber fighter and eventual show winner, Michael Chiesa, in the semi-final round. Vick lost the fight via TKO in the second round. [10]
Vick was scheduled to face castmate Vinc Pichel on June 1, 2012, at The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale. However, due to his TKO loss in the semifinals, Vick was unable to compete at the event and Pichel was pulled from the card as well. [11]
In his official debut, Vick faced Ramsey Nijem on August 17, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 26. [12] He won the fight via submission at just 58 seconds into the first round.
Vick was expected to face promotional newcomer Valmir Lazaro on August 2, 2014, at UFC 176. [13] However, after UFC 176 was cancelled, Vick/Lazaro was rescheduled and eventually took place on August 23, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 49. [14] He won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.
Vick faced Nick Hein on November 22, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 57. [15] Vick won the fight by unanimous decision. [16]
Vick faced Jake Matthews on May 10, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 65. [17] Vick won the fight via submission in the first round. [18] The win also earned Vick his first Performance of the Night bonus award. [19]
Vick next faced Glaico França on April 23, 2016, at UFC 197. [20] He won the fight by unanimous decision. [21]
Vick was expected to face Evan Dunham on June 4, 2016, at UFC 199, filling in for an injured Leonardo Santos. [22] In turn, Dunham pulled out for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Beneil Dariush. [23] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. [24]
Vick was scheduled to face Johnny Case on February 4, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 104. [25] However On January 19, Case pulled out the fight citing injury and was replaced by Abel Trujillo. [26] Vick won by submission via submission in the third round. [27]
Vick faced Polo Reyes on May 13, 2017, at UFC 211. [28] He won the fight via TKO in the first round. [29] After the bout with Reyes, Vick signed a new, four-fight contract with UFC. [30]
Vick faced Joseph Duffy on November 4, 2017, at UFC 217. [31] He won the fight via TKO in the second round. [32]
Vick faced Francisco Trinaldo on February 18, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros. [33] He won the fight via unanimous decision. [34]
Vick was scheduled to face Paul Felder on July 14, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 133. [35] However, Vick was pulled from that fight in favor of a main event bout with Justin Gaethje on August 25, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 135. [36] He lost the fight via KO in the first round. [37]
Vick faced Paul Felder on February 17, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 1. [38] He lost via unanimous decision. [39]
Vick faced Dan Hooker on July 20, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 4. [40] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. [41] Subsequently, Vick announced he will be moving up to the welterweight division. [42]
Vick faced Niko Price on October 12, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 19. [43] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. [44]
Following this fight, Vick's contract expired and the UFC elected not to renew it, making him a free agent. [45]
Following his release from the UFC, Vick fought André Fialho at XMMA event on January 30, 2021. [46] Vick lost the fight by second-round technical knockout. [47] Vick announced his retirement after the loss, [48] stating:
.... One of my main reasons for still fighting was to prove to my son that you can’t just give up when things get hard in life. But this is not the way to teach him that. This is not like failing a test or losing a basketball or football game. This is combat sports and this shit can be permanent. One of the last punches he landed i knew something was seriously wrong. I’m glad the ref stepped in because lord knows I would have been too tough and dumb to do that. My orbital is broke on my right side, the fracture went all the way through to the other side causing a bilateral break, plus my jaw is completely displaced so tomorrow they are finally doing surgery to fix it..... [48]
After a successful amateur boxing career, Vick turned professional in 2010, losing his debut via majority decision. [49] Following retirement from mixed martial arts after a decade in the sport, Vick returned to boxing in 2022. [50] He faced Simon Alejandro Heredia Cortes on March 26, 2022, and won the bout via second-round technical knockout.
James and his wife Ada have a son, James Jr (born 2018).
19 matches | 13 wins | 6 losses |
By knockout | 3 | 5 |
By submission | 5 | 0 |
By decision | 5 | 1 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 13–6 | André Fialho | KO (punches) | XMMA: Vick vs Fialho | January 30, 2021 | 2 | 2:21 | West Palm Beach, Florida, United States | |
Loss | 13–5 | Niko Price | KO (upkick) | UFC Fight Night: Joanna vs. Waterson | October 12, 2019 | 1 | 1:44 | Tampa, Florida, United States | Return to Welterweight. |
Loss | 13–4 | Dan Hooker | KO (punch) | UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards | July 20, 2019 | 1 | 2:33 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
Loss | 13–3 | Paul Felder | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez | February 17, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | |
Loss | 13–2 | Justin Gaethje | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Vick | August 25, 2018 | 1 | 1:27 | Lincoln, Nebraska, United States | |
Win | 13–1 | Francisco Trinaldo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros | February 18, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Austin, Texas, United States | |
Win | 12–1 | Joseph Duffy | TKO (punches) | UFC 217 | November 4, 2017 | 2 | 4:59 | New York City, New York, United States | |
Win | 11–1 | Polo Reyes | TKO (punches) | UFC 211 | May 13, 2017 | 1 | 2:39 | Dallas, Texas, United States | |
Win | 10–1 | Abel Trujillo | Submission (D'Arce choke) | UFC Fight Night: Bermudez vs. The Korean Zombie | February 4, 2017 | 3 | 0:49 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
Loss | 9–1 | Beneil Dariush | KO (punch) | UFC 199 | June 4, 2016 | 1 | 4:16 | Inglewood, California, United States | |
Win | 9–0 | Glaico França | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 197 | April 23, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 8–0 | Jake Matthews | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt | May 10, 2015 | 1 | 4:53 | Adelaide, Australia | Performance of the Night. |
Win | 7–0 | Nick Hein | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Swanson | November 22, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Austin, Texas, United States | |
Win | 6–0 | Valmir Lazaro | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. dos Anjos | August 23, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States | |
Win | 5–0 | Ramsey Nijem | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen | August 17, 2013 | 1 | 0:58 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | |
Win | 4–0 | Chris Pecero | Decision (unanimous) | Back Alley Promotions | September 3, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Arlington, Texas, United States | |
Win | 3–0 | Mike Salazar | TKO (punches) | STFC 16 - All or Nothing | August 12, 2011 | 1 | 2:17 | McAllen, Texas, United States | Welterweight bout. |
Win | 2–0 | Jimmy Taylor | Submission (armbar) | Xtreme Knockout 11 | July 23, 2011 | 1 | 1:56 | Arlington, Texas, United States | |
Win | 1–0 | Cody Carrillo | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Undisputed MMA 1 | June 18, 2011 | 1 | 3:30 | Amarillo, Texas, United States |
Exhibition record breakdown | ||
4 matches | 3 wins | 1 loss |
By knockout | 1 | 1 |
By decision | 2 | 0 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 3–1 | Michael Chiesa | TKO (punches) | The Ultimate Fighter: Live | May 12, 2012 (Live airdate) | 2 | 1:55 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | The Ultimate Fighter: Live Semi-Final round. |
Win | 3–0 | Joe Proctor | Decision (unanimous) | May 11, 2012 (Live airdate) | 3 | 5:00 | The Ultimate Fighter: Live Quarter-Final round. | ||
Win | 2–0 | Daron Cruickshank | KO (knee) | March 16, 2012 (Live airdate) | 1 | 2:16 | The Ultimate Fighter: Live Preliminary round. | ||
Win | 1–0 | Dakota Cochrane | Decision (split) | March 9, 2012 (Live airdate) | 1 | 5:00 | The Ultimate Fighter: Live Elimination round. |
4 fights | 2 wins | 2 losses |
---|---|---|
By knockout | 2 | 0 |
By decision | 0 | 2 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | Loss | 2–2 | Rodrigo Octavio Gonzalez | MD | 4 | September 24, 2022 | Indoor Soccer World, Mesquite, Texas, U.S. | |
3 | Win | 2–1 | Robert Lartigue | TKO | 2 (4), 2:31 | May 5, 2022 | La Hacienda Event Center, Midland, Texas, U.S. | |
2 | Win | 1–1 | Simon Alejandro Heredia Cortes | TKO | 2 (4), 1:39 | March 26, 2022 | Mesquite Arena, Mesquite, Texas, U.S. | |
1 | Loss | 0–1 | Salvador Roa | MD | 4 | March 6, 2010 | Music Hall, Austin, Texas, U.S. |
1 match | 1 win | 0 losses |
By decision | 1 | 0 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1–0 | Jeremiah Truhler | Decision (unanimous) | May 15, 2023 | 3 | 3:00 | West Palm Beach, Florida, United States |
Evan Dunham is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in the lightweight division. He is perhaps best known for 21-fight tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship which spanned over a decade.
Ross Pearson is a retired English mixed martial artist who last competed in 2019. A 26-fight veteran of the UFC, he was a three-time "Fight of the Night" winner and was the lightweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9.
Daron Jae Cruickshank is an American mixed martial artist currently competing as a lightweight for the Xtreme Fighting Championships. A professional competitor since 2008, he also formerly competed for the UFC, King of the Cage and was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Live.
Francisco Trinaldo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2006, he has also competed for Jungle Fight in his native Brazil, where he is the former Lightweight Champion, and was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.
Pedro Ramsey Nijem is an American retired mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor from 2008 to 2021, Nijem is perhaps best known for his 10-fight stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was a finalist on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos and also competed in the Professional Fighters League (PFL).
Leonardo Santos is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and 4th degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt.
Al Iaquinta is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, having once challenged for the Lightweight championship belt. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Iaquinta has been signed with the UFC since 2012.
Michael Keith Chiesa is an American professional mixed martial artist and sports analyst who competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional mixed martial artist since 2008, Chiesa was the winner of FX's inaugural The Ultimate Fighter: Live. As of October 24, 2023, he is #14 in the UFC welterweight rankings.
John Anthony Moraga is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes as a flyweight and featherweight in MMA and boxing, respectively. He is best known for his lengthy career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship which saw him challenge for the UFC Flyweight Championship in 2013.
Kelvin Gastelum is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum earned a contract with the UFC after winning The Ultimate Fighter 17 in 2013. Gastelum has also competed in the middleweight division.
Antônio Carlos Coelho de Figueiredo Barbosa Júnior, also known as Antônio Carlos Jr. and professionally by his ring name Cara de Sapato, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division and is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he became champion in 2021. Carlos Júnior is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight division in addition to Middleweight. A multiple time champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Carlos Júnior was World Cup Champion in 2006 and 2x World Champion in 2010. He is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Heavyweight tournament and the 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion. In 2023, he was cast as contestant in the reality show Big Brother Brasil 23.
Carlos Diego Ferreira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Legacy FC lightweight champion, and vacated the championship in May 2014 to sign with UFC.
Andrew Martin Dober is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2009, he has also formerly competed for Bellator MMA, and Titan Fighting Championship. As of October 17, 2023, he is #15 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Paul Felder is an American retired professional mixed martial artist and color commentator currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a fighter, Felder competed in the UFC's Lightweight division after making his name in Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC).
Jake Aaron Matthews is an Australian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Welterweight division.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier is a Canadian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. Competing since 2011 to 2023, Aubin-Mercier competed for the Professional Fighters League, where he won the 2022 and 2023 PFL Lightweight Championship and as well a 12 bout stint in the UFC where he appeared on The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia.
Joseph Duffy is an Irish retired mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2008, he has formerly competed for Cage Warriors and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck. He is also a former professional boxer. He holds a notable victory over the former UFC lightweight and featherweight double-champion, Conor McGregor.
Daniel Preston Hooker is a New Zealand mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Hooker was the King in the Ring Middleweight Kickboxing Champion and WKBF X-Rules Welterweight Champion. As of 16 January 2024, he is #10 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Matheus Nicolau Pereira is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has also competed in the Brave Combat Federation and the Future FC. As of December 5, 2023, he is #5 in the UFC flyweight rankings.
Cory Sandhagen is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2015, Sandhagen has also competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance. As of February 20, 2024, he is #3 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.