Danielle Nicole Taylor (born October 25, 1989) is an 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, incorpo ...

. She was the Strawweight

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 ...

(KOTC) champion (2 times), competed in 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 ...

(UFC) women's strawweight division and is currently competing for Invicta FC.

Background

Personal background

Taylor was born in Lancaster,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

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 territori ...

on October 25, 1989, and she is a full-time Deputy Sheriff for the

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States ...

at the

North County Correctional Facility North County Correctional Facility (NCCF) is a Los Angeles County jail, run by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Located approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles, it is one of four jails located within the Pitchess Detention C ...

Castaic, California Castaic () (Chumash: ''Kaštiq''; Spanish: ''Castéc'') is an unincorporated community in the northwestern part of Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 19,015. For statistical purposes the Census Bureau h ...

MMA background

Taylor started training in

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 predetermine ...

, when she first got on with the Sheriff's Department in 2010, as she believed she needed to know some self-defense for her job. After struggling to find boxing matches to compete, she moved her focus to MMA, and she began to add

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and

jiu-jitsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

into her training. She was encouraged by her coach to try on MMA competitions and fell in love with the sport, where she fought a total of 5 amateur fights with record of 4 wins and 1 loss, paving the path to her MMA career She joined

(KOTC) promotion for 2 years, from March 2014 to March 2016. She picked up all first five bouts and captured women's strawweight division championship from Glena Avila. However, she did not manage to defend her title against Jamie Colleen, but was able to reclaim the title by TKO from Colleen in the rematch in KOTC: Night of the Champion in 5 March 2016, and soon later she joined

(UFC) in 2016. Despite her small stature, 5 feet 0 inches, she has above average power for the strawweight division. She has the ability to power in with a right hand knockout punch, where she would face fighters who have reach and height over her that can control her from outside and on the clinch. She does conditioning at Chain Fitness and trains striking at Saekson Muay Thai under Julio Trana.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

2013–2014

She had five amateur fights in both strawweight and flyweight divisions, from May 2013 to January 2014, under KOTC and Tuff-Nuff promotions, with four wins against Lena Hellqvist, Chelsea Lewis, Rachael Smith and Samantha Hester, and one loss to Wendy Julian.

King of the Cage

2014

Danielle made her professional career debut in the Flyweight division (125 lb) of KOTC, facing Maia Kahaunaele-Stevenson at KOTC: Beaten Path main card, in

, securing a unanimous decision win in 3 round bout. She was up against Jillian Lybarger on March 26, 2014 on her second fight in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

at KOtC: Alliance. The bout was refereed by Mike Beltran. She won by TKO (punches). Danielle submitted Nikki Lowe with an armbar on round 1 on August 7, 2014, on KOTC: Point of Impact in

. On her 4th professional fight, she secured a unanimous win decision over Maria Andaverde at KOTC: Battle For The Belt in

2015

On 12 February 2015, Taylor was granted a Strawweight Championship fight facing Glena Avila, and stole a split decision win with Herb Dean as the referee on KOTC: Short Fuse and crowned the- KOTC Strawweight champion. Danielle lost her first title defense five months later to Jamie Colleen, where she was knocked out on August 29, 2017, at KOTC Bitter Rivals in California on round 4. After her last loss, Taylor made a comeback with a TKO win against Calie Cutler in

Las Vegas 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 ...

on KOTC: Sinister Intention event on October 17, 2015, with the record of 6–1–0 in 2016.

2016

Danielle started her 2016 fight on March 5 on

KOTC 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 ...

: Night of Champions in California and managed to reclaimed the 15 Ib strawweight title from Jamie Colleen at 5th round with TKO punches.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

= 2016

= Taylor signed with

in 2016 with a 7–1 record. Taylor made her promotional UFC debut in on August 6, 2016, with 9 days notice at

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, US, on UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Caceres She stepped in for the injured Justine Kish, facing 8th-ranked

Maryna Moroz Maryna Moroz (Ukrainian: Марина Мороз; born September 8, 1991) is a Ukrainian professional mixed martial artist, signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the Women's Flyweight division. Moroz is also ...

. She suffered a split-decision loss. In her second bout with UFC she gained a win over

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

fighter

Seo Hee Ham Seo Hee Ham ( ko, 함서희 ; born ), written Ham Seo-Hee in Korean order, is a South Korean professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. She is currently signed to ONE Championship, where she is ranked #2 in the ONE Championship Women's Ato ...

(16-8MMA, 1-3 UFC), at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson on 26 November 2016 at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, with a split-decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27).

= 2017

= On UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov at Nashville, United States Dannielle faced

Jessica Penne Jessica Marie Penne (born January 30, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Penne currently competes in the Women's Strawweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the first Invicta FC Atomweight Cha ...

( 12-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) on the preliminary card on 22 April 2017. She secured a win with unanimous decision, outpointing with scores of 29-28 across the board from the judges, where John McCarthy was the referee of the bout.

= 2018

= Taylor faced

JJ Aldrich JJ Aldrich (born September 29, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. She is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and has fought for Invicta FC. Background Aldrich was born to a ho ...

on January 14, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Taylor faced

Zhang Weili Zhang Weili (; born August 13, 1989) is a Chinese mixed martial artist. She is the former Kunlun Fight (KLF) strawweight champion and competes in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current ...

on August 4, 2018 at

UFC 227 ''UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2'' was a mixed martial arts event that was produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on August 4, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Background A UFC Bantamweight Championshi ...

. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. On August 30, Taylor was released from the UFC.

Post-UFC career

After the release from the UFC, Taylor signed with

Invicta FC Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

. She made her promotional debut against

Montserrat Ruiz Avelina Montserrat Conejo Ruiz (born February 3, 1993) is a Mexican female mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background At the age of 16, Ruiz started practicing Olympic wrestlin ...

at Invicta FC 33 on December 15, 2018. She won the fight via unanimous decision. She then entered the Invicta Phoenix Series 1 Strawweight tournament, facing Juliana Lima in the quarterfinals. She lost the bout via split decision and was eliminated from the tournament. In late 2020, Taylor signed with Xtreme Fighting Championships and made her promotional debut against

Jessica Aguilar Jessica Aguilar (born May 8, 1982) is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist who competes in RIZIN. At the time of her voluntary departure from World Series of Fighting, she was the reigning WSOF Women's Strawweight Champion. Aguilar previously ...

at XFC 43 on November 11, 2020, winning by split decision. Taylor faced

Emily Ducote Emily Ducote (born January 1, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist, currently competing in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She previously competed in Invicta FC, where she was the Invicta FC Strawweigh ...

for the vacant Invicta FC Strawweight Championship at Invicta FC 44: A New Era on August 27, 2021. Her bout with Ducote headlined the first pay-per-view in Invicta FC history. Taylor lost the fight by a first-round knockout. She was first stopped in her tracks with a right straight, before being floored with a head kick. Taylor faced Liz Tracy at Invicta FC 46 on March 9, 2022. At the weigh-ins, Liz Tracy missed weight for her bout, weighing in at 117.8 pounds, 1.8 pounds over the strawweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Tracy were fined 25 percent of their purses, which went to Taylor. She lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

*King of the Cage (KOTC) **KOTC Strawweight Champion (2 times)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–6 , Liz Tracy , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 46: Rodríguez vs. Torquato II , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–5 ,

, KO (punch & head kick) , Invicta FC 44: A New Era , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:51 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 ,

, Decision (split) , XFC 43 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander II , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Kansas City, Missouri, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

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

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Caceres , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Jamie Colleen , TKO (punches) , KOTC: Night of Champions , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Calie Cutler , TKO (punches) , KOTC: Sinister Intentions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:58 ,

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 Vega ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , Jamie Colleen , KO (punch) , KOTC: Bitter Rivals , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 1:47 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Glena Avila , Decision (split) , KOTC: Short Fuse , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 , Maria Andaverde , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC: Battle For The Belt , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Highland, California Highland (and neighboring "East Highlands") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population of the city was 53,104 as of the 2010 census, up from 44,605 at the 2000 census. The term ''Highland'' also refers to a geo ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Nikki Lowe , Submission (armbar) , KOTC: Point of Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:22 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Jillian Lybarger , TKO (punches) , KOTC: Alliance , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:26 ,

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Maia Kahaunaele-Stevenson , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC: Beaten Path , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States ,

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Juliana Lima , Decision (split) , Invicta Phoenix Series 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , Invicta FC Strawweight Tournament Quarterfinal , -

References

External links

* *
Danielle Taylor
at

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Danielle Living people 1989 births People from Lancaster, California American female mixed martial artists Strawweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners 21st-century American women Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters