Daniel Spitz (born July 31, 1990) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. A professional competitor from 2013 until 2019, he competed for

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

and 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 ...

Background

Spitz was born in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, United States. He attended

Mead High School Mead High School (also Mead Senior High School, MHS) is a four-year public secondary school in Spokane, Washington, United States. MHS is one of two traditional high schools in the Mead School District #354 and has an enrollment of around 1,600 ...

, where he starred in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

as a defensive lineman and tight end. Spitz later continued playing football as an offensive lineman for

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

, weighing 302 lbs. at the time, and earned a degree in Psychology. After his collegiate football career was over, he transitioned to MMA as he wanted to stay physically active. He trained under Rick Little and after one month of training, he competed in his first amateur fight. He was instantly hooked after his fight competition and never look back since. He trains at Sikjitsu in Spokane and his teammates are UFC fighters

Michael Chiesa Michael Keith Chiesa (; born December 7, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist, and sports analyst who currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor sin ...

Julianna Pena Juliana (variants Julianna, Giuliana, Iuliana, Yuliana, etc) is a feminine given name which is the feminine version of the Roman name Julianus. Juliana or Giuliana was the name of a number of early saints, notably Saint Julian the Hospitaller, wh ...

, and

Sam Sicilia Samuel Travis Sicilia (born February 1, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division for Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2007, Sicilia formerly competed for the UFC, a ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After compiling a 5-1 amateur record, Spitz fought all his fights in the United States for Excite Fight,

(KOTC) and Conquest of the Cage (COTC) promotions. His notable win came over former notable UFC veteran

Wesley Correira Wesley John Correira Jr. (born November 11, 1978), nicknamed Cabbage, is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions. An iron chinned brawler, Correira began his career in 2000 and came to p ...

and he amassed a record of 5-0 prior to joining the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his UFC debut, Spitz faced

Mark Godbeer Mark Godbeer (born 22 November 1983) is a British bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor from 2009 until 2018, he competed for the UFC, Bellator MMA, Absolute Championship Akhmat, and BAMMA. He is a ...

, replacing

Todd Duffee Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

, on a 9-day notice, on March 4, 2017, at

UFC 209 ''UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 4, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Background The event wa ...

in Las Vegas. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. On September 16, 2017, Spitz stepped into the octagon for his second UFC fight against Anthony Hamilton at

UFC Fight Night 116 ''UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 116'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 16, 2017 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Backg ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in 24 seconds on round one. Spitz faced Walt Harris on June 1, 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 131 ''UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 131'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 1, 2018, at Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, New York. Background ...

. He lost the fight via in second round. Spitz was scheduled to face Jeff Hughes on March 9, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN+ 4 UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 4'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 20, 2019 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event ma ...

. However, Spitz pulled out of the fight in February citing injury and he was replaced by Maurice Greene. Spitz faced promotional newcomer

Tanner Boser Tanner Vilbon Nicholas Boser (born August 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently signed to the UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight division. He had previously competed for Unified MMA, where he won the ...

on October 18, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN 6 ''UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 18, 2019 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A light ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Spitz was subsequently released from the promotion. Spitz was released by the UFC on February 11, 2020.

Personal life

Spitz went to

and earned a degree in Psychology and a minor in businesses study. He worked full-time at Starbucks and part-time as a bouncer prior signed by UFC. Spitz has a tight knit group of friends from his childhood he affectionately calls "The QuadPod". Spitz loves water related sport activities and he is a boxing fan.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Boston, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Walt Harris , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:59 ,

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Anthony Hamilton , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Colton Vaughn , TKO (injury) , KOTC: Fall Out , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:06 ,

Worley, Idaho Worley is a city in southwestern Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. The population was 257 at the 2010 census, up from 223 in 2000.

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , RWE: Just Scrap , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement i ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Trandon Benson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Conquest of the Cage 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 , Airway Heights, Washington, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , David Lewis , Submission (guillotine choke) , Conquest of the Cage 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:28 , Airway Heights, Washington, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Matt Kovacs , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , ExciteFight: Summer Showdown 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:45 ,

Tulalip, Washington The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (, lut, dxʷlilap), formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. Th ...

, United States , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spitz, Daniel Living people 1990 births American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Spokane, Washington Mixed martial artists from Washington (state) Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters