Tom Breese

Tom Breese
Born	(1991-09-26) 26 September 1991 (age 32) Birmingham, England
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Division	Light Heavyweight Middleweight Welterweight
Reach	73 in (185 cm) [1]
Fighting out of	Birmingham, England
Team	Fearless MMA (until 2016) [2] [3] Team Renegade BJJ & MMA (2016–present) [2] Tristar Gym (2013–2016) [2] [4]
Rank	Black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu [5] under Chiu Kwong Man [6]
Years active	2010–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	23
Wins	18
By knockout	5
By submission	12
By decision	1
Losses	5
By knockout	3
By submission	1
By decision	1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Tom Breese (born 26 September 1991) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of PFL. A professional competitor since 2010, he formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), and BAMMA.

Background

Born in Birmingham to a Welsh father and an English mother, Breese began training MMA at the age of 16.^{[ citation needed ]} After high school, Breese attended university only to drop out later in order to pursue a career in mixed martial arts. ^[7] A successful wrestler and jiu-jitsu competitor, he won a junior national freestyle wrestling championship, ^[7] as well as a second-place finish at the IBJJF world championships when he was a purple belt.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Breese compiled an amateur record of 3–0–1 before successfully making his professional debut for BAMMA in 2010.^{[ citation needed ]}

Breese fought exclusively in his native England and amassed an undefeated record of 7–0 with all but one win coming by way of submission before joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2015. ^[8]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Breese made his promotional debut against Luiz Dutra Jr. on 30 May 2015 at UFC Fight Night 67. ^[9] Breese won the fight via TKO in the first round after dropping his opponent with a straight left and following up with ground and pound. ^[10]

Breese faced Cathal Pendred on 24 October 2015 at UFC Fight Night 76. ^[11] Breese dominated the fight with striking exchanges en route to another TKO victory in the first round. In similar fashion to his UFC debut, Breese dropped his opponent with a straight left and followed up with ground and pound to earn the TKO victory. ^[12] The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award. ^[4]

Breese faced Keita Nakamura on 27 February 2016 at UFC Fight Night 84. ^[13] He won the fight via unanimous decision. ^[14]

Breese faced Sean Strickland on 4 June 2016 at UFC 199. ^[15] He lost the fight via split decision, marking the first loss in Breese's career. ^[16]

Breese was expected to face Oluwale Bamgbose on 18 March 2017 at UFC Fight Night 107. ^[17] However, on the day of the event, Breese was deemed unfit to compete and the bout was cancelled. ^[18]

Breese faced Dan Kelly on 27 May 2018 at UFC Fight Night 130. ^[19] He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. ^[20] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. ^[21]

Breese was expected to face Cezar Ferreira on 17 November 2018 at UFC Fight Night 140. ^[22] However, it was reported on 9 November 2018 that Breese pulled out of the event due to injury and was replaced by Ian Heinisch. ^[23]

Breese was expected to face Alessio Di Chirico on 16 March 2019 at UFC Fight Night 147. ^[24] However, Di Chirico pulled out of the fight in early January citing an undisclosed injury and subsequent surgery. ^[25] He was replaced by Cezar Ferreira. ^[26] However, on 1 February 2019 Ferreira withdrew from the fight, citing a knee injury, and was replaced by Ian Heinisch. ^[27] In turn, Breese withdrew from the fight against Heinisch due to health concerns. ^[28]

Breese faced Brendan Allen on 29 February 2020 at UFC Fight Night 169. ^[29] He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. ^[30]

Breese was scheduled to meet Roman Kopylov on 4 October 2020. at UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana. ^[31] However, Kopylov was removed from the bout for undisclosed reason and he was replaced by KB Bhullar. The fight took place a week later at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen. ^[32] Breese won the fight via technical knockout in round one. ^[33] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. ^[34]

Breese was expected to face Omari Akhmedov on 16 January 2021 at UFC on ABC 1. ^[35] During fight week, the UFC opted to move the bout to UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny. ^[36] He lost the bout via second round arm triangle submission. ^[37]

Breese was scheduled to face Antônio Arroyo on 5 June 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. ^[38] However, the fight would be cancelled a few hours before it was to take place due to medical issues suffered by Breese. ^[39]

Levels Fight League

After the pull out from his last bout, Breese was released from the UFC and signed a multi-fight deal with Levels Fight League. ^[40] Breese made his debut against David Ramirez at LFL 4 on 13 March 2022. He won the fight by submission due to rear naked choke at 1:46 of the second round, winning the LFL Middleweight title in the process. ^[41]

Breese defended his title against Ahmed Sami at Levels Fight League 5 on 26 June 2022. ^[42] He won the bout and kept the title, submitting Sami in the second round via guillotine choke. ^[43]

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki

Breese made his KSW debut against Damian Janikowski on 10 September 2022, at KSW 74, controversially winning via guillotine choke in the second round, with the bout being stopped after the ref thought that Janikowski tapped when he said he didn't. ^[44]

In his sophomore performance, Breese faced Paweł Pawlak on 12 November 2022, at KSW 76: Parnasse vs. Rajewski, losing the bout via ground and pound TKO in the first round. ^[45]

Breese faced Bartosz Leśko on 17 March 2023, at KSW 80: Ruchała vs. Eskiev, submitting him via rear-naked choke in the first round. ^[46]

Return to LFL and double championship

After the stint in KSW, Breese returned to the Levels Fight League, challenging the reigning LFL Light Heavyweight champion Jarosław Lech at LFL 9 on 9 July 2023. ^[47] Breese became an LFL double champion by submitting Lech in the first round. ^[48]

On October 10, 2023, KSW announced that Breese was no longer under contract with the promotion. ^[49]

Professional Fighters League

After leaving KSW, Breese signed with the PFL and made his debut against Cleiton Silva on December 8, 2023 at PFL Europe 4. ^[50] He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round. ^[51]

Breese started the 2024 season with a bout against Rob Wilkinson on April 12, 2024 at PFL 2. ^[52] He lost the fight by first-round technical knockout with a knee and punches. ^[53]

Championships and achievements

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Performance of the Night (Three times) vs. Cathal Pendred, Dan Kelly and KB Bhullar ^{[4] [21] [34]}
• BAMMA
  • BAMMA RDX Welterweight Championship (One time)
• Levels Fight League
  • LFL Middleweight Championship (One time; current)
    • One successful title defense
  • LFL Light Heavyweight Championship (one time; current)
• Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
  • Submission of the Night (one time) vs. Bartosz Leśko ^[54]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

23 matches	18 wins	5 losses
By knockout	5	3
By submission	12	1
By decision	1	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	18–5	Rob Wilkinson	TKO (knee and punches)	PFL 2 (2024)	April 12, 2024	1	1:10	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	18–4	Cleiton Silva	Submission (rear-naked choke)	PFL Europe 4	8 December 2023	1	3:30	Dublin, Ireland	2024 PFL Global League Qualifier.
Win	17–4	Jarosław Lech	Submission (triangle choke)	Levels Fight League 9	9 July 2023	1	2:42	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Light Heavyweight debut. Won the LFL Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win	16–4	Bartosz Leśko	Submission (rear-naked choke)	KSW 80: Ruchała vs. Eskiev	17 March 2023	1	2:45	Lubin, Poland	Submission of the Night.
Loss	15–4	Paweł Pawlak	TKO (elbow and punches)	KSW 76: Parnasse vs. Rajewski	12 November 2022	1	3:54	Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland
Win	15–3	Damian Janikowski	Submission (guillotine choke)	KSW 74: De Fries vs. Prasel	10 September 2022	2	1:53	Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland
Win	14–3	Ahmed Sami	Submission (guillotine choke)	Levels Fight League 5	26 June 2022	2	1:52	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Defended the LFL Middleweight Championship.
Win	13–3	David Ramires	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Levels Fight League 4	13 March 2022	2	1:46	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Won the vacant LFL Middleweight Championship.
Loss	12–3	Omari Akhmedov	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny	20 January 2021	2	1:41	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win	12–2	KB Bhullar	TKO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen	11 October 2020	1	1:43	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Performance of the Night.
Loss	11–2	Brendan Allen	TKO (elbows and punches)	UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo	29 February 2020	1	4:47	Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Win	11–1	Dan Kelly	TKO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till	27 May 2018	1	3:33	Liverpool, England	Middleweight debut. Performance of the Night.
Loss	10–1	Sean Strickland	Decision (split)	UFC 199	4 June 2016	3	5:00	Inglewood, California, United States
Win	10–0	Keita Nakamura	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping	27 February 2016	3	5:00	London, England
Win	9–0	Cathal Pendred	TKO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Holohan vs. Smolka	24 October 2015	1	4:37	Dublin, Ireland	Performance of the Night.
Win	8–0	Luiz Dutra Jr.	TKO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves	30 May 2015	1	4:58	Goiânia, Brazil
Win	7–0	Thibaud Larchet	Submission (rear-naked choke)	CWFC 74	15 November 2014	3	4:57	London, England
Win	6–0	Warren Kee	Submission (rear-naked choke)	BAMMA 11	1 December 2012	1	3:06	Birmingham, England	Won the inaugural BAMMA British Welterweight Championship.
Win	5–0	Jack Magee	Submission (triangle choke)	BAMMA 10	15 September 2012	1	3:19	London, England
Win	4–0	Mark Tucker	TKO (knee to the body)	BAMMA 9	24 March 2012	2	1:40	Birmingham, England
Win	3–0	Qasim Shafiq	Submission (triangle choke)	BAMMA 8	10 December 2011	1	4:20	Nottingham, England
Win	2–0	Lee Taylor	Submission (rear-naked choke)	BAMMA 7	10 September 2011	1	2:26	Birmingham, England
Win	1–0	Shahid Hussain	Submission (rear-naked choke)	BAMMA 4	25 September 2010	2	2:57	Birmingham, England

^[55]

See also

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

References

1. "Fight Card – UFC Fight Night Holohan vs. Smolka". ufc.com. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
2. Jim Edwards (2 August 2016). "Tom Breese: Making Changes To Be The Best". flocombat.com.
3. The MMA Mad Podcast (29 August 2014). "Ep.10: Tom Breese and Dana White's Sleazebag Accusation" (Podcast).
4. "Tom Breese's post-UFC Fight Night 76 plan? Move out of Tristar dorms". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
5. "Tom Breese Promoted to Black Belt". Team Renegade BJJ & MMA. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
6. @@chiukwongman (18 July 2018). ""(...) Very happy to have promoted @breesemma to black belt yesterday (...)"" . Retrieved 16 March 2019– via Instagram.
7. The Grappling Monkey (24 December 2016). Podcast #4 Tom "the Octopus" Breese (english) – via YouTube.
8. "Tom Breese – Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
9. "UFC Fight Night 67 adds two fights, including Ryan Jimmo vs. Francimar Barroso". MMAjunkie.com . 6 April 2015.
10. "UFC Fight Night 67 results: Tom Breese pounds out Luiz Dutra late in first round". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
11. Staff (3 August 2015). "Ireland vs. England: Cathal Pendred meets Tom Breese at UFC Fight Night 76 in Dublin". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
12. "UFC Dublin knockout video: Tom Breese destroys Cathal Pendred in round 1". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
13. Tristen Critchfield (4 December 2015). "Tom Breese vs. Keita Nakamura set for UFC Fight Night in London on Feb. 27". sherdog.com. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
14. Dave Doyle (27 February 2016). "UFC Fight Night 84 results: Tom Breese struggles to get past Keita Nakamura". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
15. Matt Erickson (29 March 2016). "Sean Strickland gets home fight, meets Tom Breese at UFC 199 in Los Angeles in June". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
16. "UFC 199 results: Sean Strickland edges Tom Breese by split decision". MMAjunkie. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
17. Staff (11 January 2017). "UFC Fight Night 107 gets 6 fights". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
18. Staff (18 March 2017). "Oluwale Bamgbose vs. Tom Breese also pulled from today's UFC Fight Night 107 lineup". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
19. Staff (16 March 2018). "Sorry, Dublin: UFC heading to Liverpool for first time for UFC Fight Night 130". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
20. "UFC Fight Night 130 results: Tom Breese phenomenal in return from long layoff, stops Daniel Kelly in first". MMAjunkie. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
21. "UFC Fight Night 130 bonuses: Darren Stewart's emotional win nets him $50,000 extra". MMAjunkie. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
22. Marcelo Barone and Raphael Marinho (21 August 2018). "In search of the third consecutive victory, Mutante faces Breese in Argentina" (in Portuguese). sportv.globo.com. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
23. "Breese deixa luta contra Mutante no UFC Argentina, e Ian Heinisch é escolhido como substituto". Sportv (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 10 November 2018.
24. Tudor Leonte (17 December 2018). "Tom Breese set to fight against Alessio Di Chirico at UFC London on March 16". sherdog.com. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
25. Tudor Leonte (2 January 2018). "Alessio Di Chirico Withdraws from UFC Fight Night London Bout vs. Tom Breese". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
26. Peter Carroll (8 January 2018). "Tom Breese gets new UFC London assignment as Cezar Ferreria replaces Alessio Di Chirico". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
27. Newswire, MMA Fighting (1 February 2019). "Cezar Ferreira announces withdrawal from UFC London". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
28. Alexander K. Lee (7 February 2019). "Tom Breese withdraws from UFC London bout against Ian Heinisch". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
29. Frankenberry, Jamie (19 December 2019). "UFC begins to fill card for visit to Norfolk in February". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
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31. MMA DNA (28 August 2020). "Tom Breese vs. Roman Kopylov toegevoegd aan UFC evenement op 3 oktober". MMA DNA. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
32. "Edmonton's K.B. Bhullar to make UFC debut on Fight Island in October - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
33. Bitter, Shawn (10 October 2020). "UFC Fight Island 5 Results: Tom Breese Finishes KB Bhullar With Jab". Cageside Press. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
34. Haynes, Stephie (10 October 2020). "UFC Fight Island 5 bonuses: Buckley stuns with highlight reel knockout". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
35. Staff (7 December 2020). "Omari Akhmedov meets Tom Breese on January 16". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 7 December 2020.(in Dutch)
36. "UFC on ESPN 20 gets Omari Akhmedov vs. Tom Breese after four-day COVID-19 delay". MMA Junkie. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
37. Jay Anderson (20 January 2021). "UFC Fight Island 8 Results: Ricky Simon Submits Debuting Gaetano Pirrello". cagesidepress. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
38. "Em busca da primeira vitória no UFC, Antonio Arroyo enfrenta Tom Breese no próximo compromisso". SUPER LUTAS (in Brazilian Portuguese). 9 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
39. Mike Bohn (5 June 2021). "Tom Breese vs. Antonio Arroyo pulled from UFC Fight Night 189 minutes before bout". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
40. "UFC vet Tom Breese signs with Levels Fight League, headlines March 13 event". MMA Junkie. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
41. "Tom Breese vs. David Ramires, Levels Fight League 4 | MMA Bout". Tapology. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
42. Anderson, Jay (15 June 2022). "Former UFC Middleweight Tom Breese to Defend Title at Levels Fight League 5". Cageside Press. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
43. "Two Team Renegade fighters crowned World Champions | MMA UK". 4 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
44. "KSW 74: Kontrowersyjne przerwanie w walce Janikowski vs. Breese - myMMA.pl" (in Polish). 10 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
45. Stachura, Bartłomiej. "(VIDEO) Znów kontrowersje z Tomem Breese! Paweł Pawlak wygrywa przez techniczny nokaut!". Lowking.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 19 March 2023.
46. "Unbeaten Robert Ruchala Stops Lom-Ali Eskiev for Interim KSW Featherweight Title". Sherdog. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
47. Hubert Zdun (22 April 2023). "Jarosław Lech kontra Tom Breese! Pas mistrzowski Polaka na szali". mmarocks.pl (in Polish).
48. "Levels Fight League: LFL9". lflmma.com.
49. Łosak, Jacek (10 October 2023). "Organizacja KSW poinformowała o zakończeniu współpracy z trzema zawodnikami | MMAROCKS". MMA Rocks! (in Polish). Retrieved 10 October 2023.
50. O'Neill, Ian (27 October 2023). "Brett Johns, Tom Breese, Lewis McGrillen and Matiss Zaharovs added to PFL Dublin card". SevereMMA.com - UFC, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Irish MMA. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
51. King, Nolan (8 December 2023). "2023 PFL Europe 4 Results". Cageside Press. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
52. Cruz, Guilherme (11 March 2024). "PFL announces full line-ups for first 3 season events, 8 ex-Bellator champions debut". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
53. Staff (12 April 2024). "2024 PFL 2: Kasanganay vs. Polizzi Full Results". Cageside Press. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
54. KSW [@KSW_MMA] (22 March 2023). "#KSW80 Bonus Winners 💰 (...) Sub of Night 🥋 🇬🇧 Tom Breese (RNC)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
55. Sherdog.com. "Tom Breese MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 10 November 2018.

External links

• Professional MMA record for Tom Breese from Sherdog
• Tom Breese at UFC