Alex Mark Nicholson (born May 2, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist formally competing in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division of the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

. A professional competitor since 2014, he has competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

Background

Born and raised in

Apopka, Florida Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...

, Nicholson played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

growing up before being introduced to

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

. In boxing, he was a Florida

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

Champion, as well as a state amateur Muay Thai champion, in which he was undefeated.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After an amateur career in 2012 and 2013 where he held a record of 4-7, Nicholson made his professional MMA debut in February 2014. He amassed a record of 6 wins against 1 loss before signing with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Nicholson made his UFC debut on February 6, 2016 at UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson. He faced

Misha Cirkunov Mikhail Cirkunovs (born February 27, 1987), better known as Misha Cirkunov is a Latvian-Canadian, Latvian-born Canadian professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, who competed in the Light heavyweight (MMA), Light heavyweight division ...

on the card and lost the fight via submission in the second round. In his second fight for the promotion, Nicholson faced Devin Clark in a Middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker on July 13, 2016. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. In his third fight for the promotion, Nicholson faced

Sam Alvey Samuel William Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Alvey has also formerly com ...

at UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson on November 5, 2016. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. In his fourth fight for the promotion, Nicholson faced

Jack Hermansson Jack Berndhard Hermansson (born 10 June 1988) is a Swedish and Norwegian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former middleweight champion i ...

at UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira on May 28, 2017. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Subsequent to this fight, Nicholson was released from the promotion.

Professional Fighters League

In June 2018, Nicholson entered into the $1 million Heavyweight tournament held by

. He faced , Jake Heun in the opening round at PFL 1 on June 7, 2018. He won the fight via knockout due to a flying knee in the second round. On July 19, Nicholson lost via TKO to Phillipe Lins at PFL 4. In October 2018, Nicholson defeated Jack May by TKO but then lost later that night via KO to Josh Copeland. In June 2019, Nicholson entered the second season of PFL's Heavyweight tournament and lost a decision to Francimar Barroso. In August, he defeated Zeke Tuinei-Wiley. On October 31, Nicholson lost a rematch against Barroso again by decision. In December 2019, Nicholson was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for four years due to testing positive for three steroids.

Regional circuit

Nicholson was scheduled to headline Gamebred FC 2 against Antônio Silva on September 11, 2021. However, Silva's prevailing contract with Eagle Fighting Championship prevented him from competing at the event and he was initially replaced by Jack May. In turn, May tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and was replaced by Jonathan Ivey. Furthermore, the event was postponed to take place on October 1, 2021, in order to ensure housing for those impacted of

Hurricane Ida Hurricane Ida was a deadly and extremely destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 2021 that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 200 ...

. He won the bout via TKO in the first round. Nicholson faced Tony Lopez on December 17, 2021 at Gamebred FC 3. He won the bout via KO in the first round. Nicholson faced Oscar Sosa for the Titan FC Heavyweight Championship on July 29, 2022 at Titan FC 78. He won the bout and title via anaconda choke in the first round.

Professional boxing

Nicholson made his professional boxing debut in 2015, a KO win. He fought again two months later and lost via KO to Simon Kean.

Personal life

Nicholson has a son, Odin (born 2017) with fellow mixed martial artist

Hannah Goldy Hannah Eliza Goldschmidt (born May 18, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Goldy grew up in Vermont snowboarding, running track, and competing in cross ...

. In 2016, Nicholson faced criticism for the racially-charged comments he made while cornering teammate Mike Perry in his bout against South Korean fighter

Hyun Gyu Lim Lim Hyun-Gyu (born January 16, 1985), often anglicized to Hyun Gyu Lim, is a South Korean mixed martial artist, who formerly competed in the UFC Welterweight division. Mixed martial arts career Biography and early career He first experienced ...

. During the fight, Nicholson was recorded shouting "He imcan't even open his motherfucking eyes." The UFC issued a formal statement that any future racially derogatory remarks by Nicholson "could result in a suspension from competition, or termination of his contract." Prior to the fight, Nicholson made a Facebook post where he referred to Lim as "dung him Kong Jung foo" and claimed Perry would "rip im'slimbs off."

Mixed martial arts record

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Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

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Francimar Barroso Francimar Barroso (born 29 February 1980) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, he has also competed for the UFC, Shooto, and Professional Fighters League. Mixe ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

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Philipe Lins Luiz Philipe Lins Pimentel do Amaral (born August 17, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He won the 2018 Professional Fighters League heavyweight tourna ...

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Ricco Rodriguez Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American semi-retired mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, EliteXC, I ...

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Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

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Ryan Spann Ryan Jamari Spann (born August 24, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, he has also fought for the Legacy Fighti ...

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Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

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Chris Barnett Christopher James Barnett (born June 14, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Barnett was born in Zaragoza, Spain, where his father was ...

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Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

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Chase Sherman Chase Sherman (born November 16, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former bare-knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2014, he has competed for the UFC and Titan FC. Background Born and raised in D'Iberville, ...

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Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Alex 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Orange County, Florida American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Florida Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Apopka, Florida American male taekwondo practitioners American male boxers American Muay Thai practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters