List of Irish UFC fighters

Last updated

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Logo of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.svg

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, founded in 1993 by Art Davie and Rorion Gracie. The organization was purchased from its parent company SEG in 2001 by Zuffa LLC, a promotional company owned by Las Vegas casino magnates, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta and managed by Dana White (current president of operations). [1] Since its inception, and through its current Zuffa management, the UFC has remained one of the more dominant MMA promotions in the world, playing host to a wide field of MMA fighters. [2]

Contents

This list provides an up-to-date roster of all Irish fighters currently competing or have previously competed under the UFC promotional banner. [note 1] [note 2] Fighters are organized by weight class and within their weight class by their number of appearances inside the UFC. Fighters with the same number of fights are listed in order of their number of wins. Fighters with the same UFC record are listed alphabetically. [note 3]

World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was purchased by Zuffa in 2006 [3] and officially merged under the UFC brand on January 1, 2011. [4] All former WEC fighters have had their WEC record listed in place of their UFC record, starting with WEC 25 (the first WEC event under Zuffa). These records have been, and will be, continued as former WEC fighters move on in the UFC. [note 4]

Strikeforce was purchased by Zuffa in 2011 [5] and officially merged under the UFC brand on January 12, 2013. [6] All former Strikeforce fighters have had their Strikeforce record listed in place of their UFC record, starting with Strikeforce Challengers: Wilcox vs. Damm (the first Strikeforce event under Zuffa). These records have been, and will be, continued as former Strikeforce fighters move on in the UFC. [note 5]

Each fight record has four categories: wins, losses, draws, and no-contests (NC). [7] All fight records in this article are displayed in that order, with fights resulting in a no-contest listed in parentheses.

Welterweights (170 lb, 77 kg)

ISO NameNicknameUFC recordMMA recordTeamNotes
NIR Stevie

Lynch

The Smiling Assassin0–15–2UFR Fight TeamFirst Irish UFC Fighter to fight under the Tri-colour in UFC 72
  • First Northern Irish UFC Fighter - competed in UFC 72
IRE Tom EganThe Tank SBG Ireland
  • First Irish UFC Fighter - competed at UFC 93
IRE Cathal Pendred The Punisher SBG Ireland
  • Retired from MMA November 2015 [8]
IRE Charlie Ward Relentless SBG Ireland
  • Switched to Bellator September 2017 [9]
NIR Rhys McKeeSkeletorNext Generation
IRE Dean BarryThe SniperSBG Charlestown
IRE Ian Machado Garry The Future6-013-0 Kill Cliff FC
IRE Kiefer CrosbieBDKSBG Ireland

Lightweights (155 lb, 70 kg)

ISO NameNicknameUFC recordMMA recordTeamNotes
IRE Joseph Duffy Irish Joe Tristar Gym
IRE ConorMcGregor The Notorious SBG Ireland
NIR Norman Parke StorminNext Generation

Featherweights (145 lb, 65 kg)

ISO NameNicknameUFC recordMMA recordTeamNotes
IRE Paul RedmondRedserTeam Ryano
  • Released from UFC November 2015 [13]

Bantamweights (135 lb, 61 kg)

ISO NameNicknameUFC recordMMA recordTeamNotes
IRE Caolon Loughran The Don Team Kaobon - Liverpool

Flyweights (125 lb, 56 kg)

ISO NameNicknameUFC recordMMA recordTeamNotes
IRE Patrick Holohan The Hooligan SBG Ireland
  • Retired from MMA in April 2016 [14]
IRE Neil Seery 2TapTeam Ryano* Retired on July 17, 2017 [15]

Women's strawweights (115 lb, 52 kg)

ISO NameNicknameUFC recordMMA recordTeamNotes
IRE Aisling Daly Ais the Bash SBG Ireland
  • Retired from MMA in January 2017 [16]
IRE Shauna BannonMama BHolohan Martial Arts

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Unless otherwise cited, all fighters listed are retrieved from ufc.com.
  2. ↑ All names presented are in accordance with UFC.com profiles and may include common nicknames or alternative spellings rather than birth names.
  3. ↑ Unless otherwise cited, all records are retrieved from sherdog.com.
  4. ↑ All asterisked fighters are listed by a combination of their UFC and WEC records.
  5. ↑ All double asterisked fighters are listed by a combination of their UFC and Strikeforce records.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strikeforce (mixed martial arts)</span> Defunct promoter based in California

Strikeforce was an American mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California which operated from 1985 to 2013. It was headed by CEO Scott Coker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Riggs</span> American mixed martial arts fighter

Joseph Jonathan Riggs is an American professional bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist who is currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2001, Riggs formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Bellator, ProElite, M-1 Global, and King of the Cage. Riggs is the former WEC Middleweight Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuffa</span> American sports promotion company (2001–2023)

Zuffa was an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after they purchased it from the Semaphore Entertainment Group. The word "Zuffa" is an Italian word, meaning "fight". On July 11, 2016, Zuffa announced that it would be purchased by a group led by WME-IMG including Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and MSD Capital for the price of $4.025 billion. After the Endeavor deal closed, the Zuffa logo and brand were retired from on-air usage in favor of the UFC brand, but Zuffa was retained as the legal name of the company. In April 2023, Endeavor Group Holdings announced that UFC would merge with the wrestling promotion WWE to form TKO Group Holdings, a new public company majority-owned by Endeavor, with Vince McMahon serving as an executive chairman of the new entity and White remaining as UFC president, replacing Zuffa as parent entity of the UFC. The merger was completed on September 12, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert Melendez</span> American mixed martial artist

Gilbert Melendez is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightweight Champion. He also competed in PRIDE FC, Shooto and Rumble on the Rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urijah Faber</span> American mixed martial arts fighter

Urijah Faber is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gegard Mousasi</span> Dutch kickboxer and mixed martial arts fighter

Gegard Mousasi is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. As of May 16, 2023, he is #2 in the Bellator Middleweight Rankings. He is also the former DREAM Light Heavyweight Champion, former DREAM Middleweight Champion, former Cage Warriors World Middleweight Champion, and the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, thus making Mousasi an overall six-time MMA world champion. At the moment of his departure from the UFC in July 2017, he was #4 in the official UFC middleweight rankings, and he is currently ranked the #14 middleweight MMA fighter in the world by Fight Matrix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Cerrone</span> American mixed martial artist (born 1983)

Donald Anthony Cerrone, known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and was known and respected by fans for his willingness to fight any time, having completed 38 fights in his 11 year UFC tenure. Cerrone was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2023.

La Carvas Rashad Davis is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Davis has also formerly competed for the Quad Cities Silverbacks in the IFL, Affliction Entertainment, Titan FC, and the WEC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Aldo</span> Brazilian mixed martial artist

José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior, commonly anglicized as Jose Aldo, is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist. He last competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the Bantamweight division after previously competing at Featherweight, and was the fourth and final WEC Featherweight Champion. He became the first UFC Featherweight Champion following the UFC/WEC merger. Aldo is widely considered as one of the best mixed martial artists of all-time, and as the greatest featherweight ever after defending his UFC title seven times and his WEC title twice.

Ryan Duane Couture is an American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2009, he has formerly competed for the UFC and Strikeforce. He is the son of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benson Henderson</span> American mixed martial artist (born 1983)

Benson Henderson is an American former professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Lightweight division for Bellator MMA. He is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and WEC Lightweight Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Mendes</span> American mixed martial arts fighter

Chad Eduardo Mendes is an American former professional bare-knuckle boxer, mixed martial artist, and collegiate wrestler who is currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). Mendes gained notoriety competing in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a three-time UFC championship challenger. Competing as a Cal Poly Mustang, he was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American and a Pac-10 Conference champion in folkstyle wrestling.

Robert "Bobby" James Voelker is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in their Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Voelker has formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator MMA, Strikeforce, M-1 Global, and Titan FC.

Scott Coker is an American mixed martial artist, Taekwondoin, former movie stuntman, and combat sports promoter. He is the founder and former CEO of MMA promotion Strikeforce and the current President of Bellator MMA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorenz Larkin</span> American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter

Lorenz Larkin is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2009, Larkin formerly competed for Strikeforce and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of June 20, 2023, he is #9 in the Bellator Welterweight Rankings.

Justin Ray Lawrence is an American former professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Lawrence has also formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, the RFA, and was a competitor on FX's The Ultimate Fighter: Live.

Peter Queally is an Irish mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2012, he has also competed for Extreme Fighting Championship, BAMMA, Cage Warriors and Fight Nights Global.

References

  1. ↑ Cliff Montgomery. "The History of the UFC - Part 1". ExtremeProSports.com. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  2. ↑ MMAjunkie.com Staff (December 23, 2010). "Sports-industry executives choose UFC as best positioned property for 2011". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012.
  3. ↑ Scott White (December 11, 2006). "UFC Acquires Assets from WFA; Purchases WEC". mmaontap.com.
  4. ↑ ESPN Staff (October 28, 2010). "Huge White announcement sees Aldo arrive in UFC". ESPN.
  5. ↑ "Zuffa purchases Strikeforce". mmafighting.com. 2011-03-12.
  6. ↑ "UFC/Strikeforce Merger Is Finally "Official"". addictedmma.com. 2013-01-16. Archived from the original on 2014-12-21.
  7. ↑ Grant Waterman (October 2003). "MMA Scoring Guide". SFUK. Archived from the original on 2014-12-21.
  8. ↑ "Cathal Pendred calls time on MMA career". RTÉ Sport. 25 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Charlie Ward vs. John Redmond confirmed for Bellator 187". MMAFighting.com. 27 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "Conor McGregor knocks out Alvarez to make UFC history – as it happened". theguardian.com. 13 November 2016.
  11. ↑ Doyle, Dave (13 December 2015). "UFC 194 results: Conor McGregor knocks out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds". MMA Fighting.
  12. ↑ "Norman Parke announces release from the UFC". BJPenn.com. 2 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Paul Dollery. "Irish fighter released by the UFC following consecutive defeats". The42.
  14. ↑ "UFC flyweight Paddy Holohan, 27, announces retirement due to blood disorder". mmajunkie.com. 25 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Newly retired and emotional Neil Seery not sure what's next, 'and that's what scares me'". mmajunkie.com. 17 July 2017.
  16. ↑ "The first Irish woman to compete in the UFC has retired due to a brain scan 'abnormality'". The42.ie. 30 January 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.