Nicolae Negumereanu

Nicolae Negumereanu
Born	Nicolae Negumereanu (1994-09-04) September 4, 1994 (age 28) Brașov, Romania
Nationality	Romanian
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	206 lb (93 kg; 14.7 st)
Division	Heavyweight Light Heavyweight
Reach	78 in (198 cm) [1]
Style	Wrestling
Fighting out of	Brașov, Romania
Team	Corona Brașov
Trainer	Ninel Ianculescu
Wrestling	Freestyle Wrestling
Years active	2016–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	15
Wins	13
By knockout	8
By submission	3
By decision	2
Losses	2
By knockout	1
By decision	1
Spouse	Negumereanu Elena
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Romania Senior National Championships 2018 97 kg [2] 2017 125 kg [3] Romanian Senior Cup 2019 97 kg [4] 2018 97 kg [5] 2017 125 kg [6]

Nicolae Negumereanu (born September 4, 1994), commonly known as Nick Negumereanu, is a Romanian mixed martial artist (MMA) who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division in the UFC.

A former Real Xtreme Fighting (RXF) Light Heavyweight champion, Negumereanu is known for making his entrance in a traditional Dacian hat called pileus. ^[7]

Background

Starting wrestling when he was 15 years old, he was able to become a national wrestling champion and a national kempo champion. He changed his mind and shifted his focus to MMA after seeing one of his friends compete at an RXF show. ^[8]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

He made his pro-MMA debut on October 10, 2016, against Alexandru Gavrila. Nicolae was victorious in his first MMA bout via a TKO. He went undefeated fighting mostly in Real Xtreme Fighting, with some of the opponents that he defeated being Marius Pîslaru, Constantin Pădure, Robert Orbocea, Yuri Gorbenko, and Kovács Kálmán. On November 19, 2018, he defeated Dan Konecke via Brabo Choke at RXF 32 to capture his first MMA title, the RXF Light Heavyweight Championship. ^[8]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Negumereanu, as a last-minute replacement for Gökhan Saki, faced Saparbek Safarov on March 16, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal in London, England. ^[9] Negumereanu lost the fight by unanimous decision. ^[10]

Due to two surgeries, one on his back and one on his knee, he would miss the next two years. ^[11] Negumereanu stated that he accepted the fight with Safarov only three weeks before, and he fought with a cracked hand and a cold. Later he also said that he was coming to the match with Villanueva after a meniscus operation but he did not want to cancel the match, entering unprepared again but this time winning the match. ^{[12] [13]}

Negumereanu faced Aleksa Camur at UFC on ESPN: The Korean Zombie vs. Ige on June 19, 2021. ^[14] He won the bout via split decision. This fight had its fair share of controversy after Negumereanu repeatedly illegally held holding Camur against the fence. ^{[15] [16]}

Negumereanu faced Ike Villanueva on October 23, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori. ^[17] He won the fight via knockout in round one. ^[18]

Negumereanu was scheduled to face Ihor Potieria on March 5, 2022, at UFC 272. ^[19] However, Potieria pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Kennedy Nzechukwu. ^[20] Negumereanu won the fight via split decision. ^[21] 8 out of 15 media scores gave it to Nzechukwu, while 6 scored it a draw, with only one giving it to Negumereanu. ^[22]

Negumereanu was scheduled to face Alonzo Menifield on June 4, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 207. ^[23] However, Negumereanu was removed from the event for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by Askar Mozharov. ^[24]

Negumereanu faced Ihor Potieria on July 30, 2022 at UFC 277. ^[25] He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round. ^[26]

Negumereanu faced Carlos Ulberg on November 12, 2022, at UFC 281. ^[27] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. ^[28]

Personal life

He has 3 brothers, their father died when Nicolae was 10 years old. Negumereanu worked from the age of 14-15 to support his family. He declared that if he had had better performances in wrestling than being national champion, he probably would not have started MMA. He was active in wrestling for only 4-5 years and already after 2 years he started defeating opponents with 10 years of experience. ^[29] Later, Negumereanu also studied BJJ in Brașov, Romania. ^[30] He also said that MMA is not developed in Romania, unlike the much more popular kickboxing, and that it has only been practiced for 5 years. At one point, Negumereanu trained only on the striking part of kickboxing, and the former coach did not manage to improve his ground part. ^[31]

He also trained at the UFC Performance Institute. ^[32]

Nicolae Negumereanu is an Eastern Orthodox Christian. He said his idol is Lucian Bute, and that he was also inspired by Leonard Dorin Doroftei and Alexandru Lungu. He would like to end up like Conor McGregor and have a match with Jon Jones. ^[11]

Nicolae says that he is passionate about Dacian culture (Dacology) and listens to Subcarpați's music. He worked for many years as a security guard. ^[33]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

• Real Xtreme Fighting
  • RXF Light Heavyweight Championship (One Time)

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

15 matches	13 wins	2 losses
By knockout	8	1
By submission	3	0
By decision	2	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	13–2	Carlos Ulberg	KO (punches)	UFC 281	November 12, 2022	1	3:44	New York City, New York, United States
Win	13–1	Ihor Potieria	TKO (knees and punches)	UFC 277	July 30, 2022	2	3:33	Dallas, Texas, United States
Win	12–1	Kennedy Nzechukwu	Decision (split)	UFC 272	March 5, 2022	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Nzechukwu was deducted one point in round 3 due to repeated eye pokes.
Win	11–1	Ike Villanueva	TKO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori	October 23, 2021	1	1:18	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	10–1	Aleksa Camur	Decision (split)	UFC on ESPN: The Korean Zombie vs. Ige	June 19, 2021	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	9–1	Saparbek Safarov	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal	March 16, 2019	3	5:00	London, England	Safarov was deducted one point in round 1 for continuously grabbing the cage.
Win	9–0	Dan Konecke	Submission (brabo choke)	RXF 32	November 19, 2018	2	0:30	Brașov, Romania	Won the RXF Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win	8–0	Kálmán Kovács	Submission (rear-naked choke)	RXF 31	October 1, 2018	1	3:12	Cluj-Napoca, Romania	Heavyweight bout.
Win	7–0	Olutobi Ayodeji Kalejaiye	TKO (punches)	RXF 29	December 18, 2017	2	3:04	Brașov, Romania	Light Heavyweight debut.
Win	6–0	Yuri Gorbenko	TKO (retirement)	RXF 28	October 30, 2017	2	5:00	Brașov, Romania
Win	5–0	Hatef Moeil	TKO (doctor stoppage)	Superior FC 18	September 16, 2017	1	2:35	Ludwigshafen, Germany
Win	4–0	Robert Orbocea	TKO (punches)	RXF 27	July 29, 2017	1	1:55	Piatra Neamț, Romania
Win	3–0	Constantin Pădure	Submission (armbar)	RXF 26	April 25, 2017	2	1:08	Brașov, Romania
Win	2–0	Marius Pîslaru	TKO (punches)	RXF 25	December 19, 2016	1	0:57	Ploiești, Romania
Win	1–0	Alex Gavrilă	TKO (punches)	RXF 24	October 10, 2016	1	0:10	Brașov, Romania	Heavyweight debut.

^[34]

See also

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com.
2. Lupte. Colectie de medalii la Nationale, Dinamo – locul 1 la greco-romane, locul 2 la libere
3. Nicu Negumereanu, vicecampion național
4. Lupte. Rareș Chintoan a câștigat Cupa Românie
5. Lupte. Alin Alexuc si Stefan Daniliuc au castigat Cupa Romaniei
6. Lupte. Dinamo, noua clasari pe podium la Cupa Romaniei
7. Nicolae Negumereanu la AS.ro LIVE, partea a 4-a. Ce planuri are în UFC, după prima victorie obținută
8. Marian, Stoica (2021-04-26). "LUPTE: Brașoveanul Nicolae Negumereanu este singurul român din UFC!". Sport Brasov (in Romanian). Retrieved 2021-10-23.
9. Marcel Dorff. "Nick Negumereanu makes UFC debut against Saparbeg Saforov during UFC London". mmadna.com. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
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11. "Nick Negumereanu, primul interviu după victoria istorică din UFC. Luptătorul a vorbit pentru Fanatik de pe aeroport. Exclusiv". fanatik.ro (in Romanian). 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
12. Nicolae Negumereanu la AS.ro LIVE, partea 1
13. Nicolae Negumereanu la AS.ro LIVE, partea a 2-a. ”Mi-am imaginat cum ridic tricolorul în cușca UFC”
14. "Nicolae Negumereanu returns from 27-month layoff, fights Aleksa Camur at UFC event on June 19". MMA Junkie. 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
15. Behunin, Alex (2021-06-19). "UFC Vegas 29 Results: Aleksa Camur Falls to Nicolae Negumereanu in Split Decision". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
16. "Aleksa Camur to appeal UFC on ESPN 25 loss after plethora of Nicolae Negumereanu fence grabs". MMA Junkie. 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
17. Behunin, Alex. "Nick Negumereanu vs. Ike Villanueva Set For October 23 UFC Event". Cageside Press. Cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
18. Evanoff, Josh (2021-10-23). "UFC Vegas 41 Results: Nicolae Negumereanu Controversially KO's Ike Villanuenva". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
19. "Negumereanu treft debutant Potieria tijdens UFC 272". Eurosport (in Dutch). 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
20. Wannan, Jack (2022-02-04). "Kennedy Nzechukwu Steps In To Face Nick Negumereanu At UFC 272". Knockdown News. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
21. McClory, Mike (2022-03-05). "UFC 272: Nicolae Negumereanu Survives Eye Pokes, Wins Split Decision Against Kennedy Nzechukwu". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
22. "Nicolae Negumereanu def. Kennedy Nzechukwu :: UFC 272 :: MMA Decisions". www.mmadecisions.com. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
23. Behunin, Alex (2022-04-28). "Alonzo Menifield vs. Nicolae Negumereanu Added To June 4 UFC Fight Night". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
24. Behunin, Alex (2022-04-29). "UFC: Negumereanu Out, Askar Mozharov In Against Alonzo Menifield on June 4". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
25. "UFC 277 | Alles wat je moet weten over UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2". Eurosport (in Dutch). 2022-05-12. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
26. Theodosi, Jamie (2022-07-30). "UFC 277: Nicolae Negumereanu Overwhelms Ihor Potieria". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
27. "Carlos Ulberg vs. Nicolae Negumereanu agregado a UFC 281 - MMA.uno , #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español". mma.uno (in Spanish). 2022-08-25. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
28. Val Dewar (2022-11-12). "UFC 281: Carlos Ulberg Sleeps Nicolae Negumereanu In First Round". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
29. Nicolae Negumereanu la AS.ro LIVE, partea 1
30. Nicolae Negumereanu la AS.ro LIVE, partea a 2-a. ”Mi-am imaginat cum ridic tricolorul în cușca UFC”
31. Nicolae Negumereanu la AS.ro LIVE, partea a 3-a. ”Îmi doresc să ajung la nivelul lui McGregor”
32. Nicolae Negumereanu la AS.ro LIVE, partea a 4-a. Ce planuri are în UFC, după prima victorie obținută
33. Nicolae Negumereanu la AS.ro LIVE, partea a 4-a. Ce planuri are în UFC, după prima victorie obținută
34. Sherdog.com. "Nicolae-Negumereanu". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-03-16.

External links

• Professional MMA record for Nicolae Negumereanu from Sherdog
• Nicolae Negumereanu at UFC