Daniel William Downes (born April 8, 1986) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

. Even after his retirement, Downes has still continued to stick around the sport of MMA. He became what some call a "fighter turned writer", as he now writes for various MMA media outlets, including

MMAjunkie MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Magazine'', ''The N ...

.com

Mixed martial arts career

Since turning professional in 2007, Downes has competed for several smaller organizations, while compiling an undefeated record and obtaining wins in promotions such as

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 ...

, with all of his fights taking place in his native

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Downes is a training partner of former WEC champion

Anthony Pettis Anthony Paul Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of th ...

under the tutelage of

Duke Roufus Jeffrey Ryan "Duke" Roufus (born February 19, 1970) is an American former kickboxer and head coach of the Roufusport based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. He is a well-known striking coach in North America. Career Duke Roufus started t ...

. Downes handed David Kless his first professional loss at a Gladiators Cage Fighting event via unanimous decision. Downes picked up the biggest win of his career at KOTC Turbulence 2, defeating Bruce Johnson via first round TKO.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Downes made his WEC debut against

Chris Horodecki Christopher Horodecki (born September 24, 1987) is a Polish-Canadian mixed martial artist. He has competed for the WEC, the IFL, Bellator, TKO Major League MMA, and Palace Fighting Championship. Background Horodecki was born in London, Ontari ...

, replacing an injured

Ed Ratcliff Edward Norris Ratcliff (born March 5, 1983) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2010, he fought in the WEC. Background Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Ratcliff is African-America ...

with only a few days notice on June 20, 2010 at

WEC 49 ''WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 20, 2010 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background WEC 49 was the only event the organization had held outsi ...

. WEC commissioner Reed Harris confirmed the addition of Downes to the card on The Daily Line, adding that the WEC had had their eye on Downes for a while. He lost the fight via submission in the third round. Downes fought Chinese prospect

Zhang Tiequan Zhang Tiequan, or Zhang Tie Quan (, born July 25, 1978), often anglicized to Tiequan Zhang, is a Chinese mixed martial artist, who last competed as a Lightweight in the UFC. A professional competitor since 2005, Tiequan spent most of the beginni ...

on December 16, 2010 at

WEC 53 ''WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on December 16, 2010 at Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. The event was the first time that Zuffa has h ...

. Downes won the fight via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On October 28, 2010,

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

merged 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 ...

. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Downes faced Jeremy Stephens on June 4, 2011 at

The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos'' is the thirteenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The UFC and Spike TV held open tryouts on November 4, 2010, ...

, replacing an injured

Jonathan Brookins Jonathan Quinn Brookins (born August 13, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competed as a featherweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Brookins has mostly fought in Florida, as well a ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Downes next fought

Ramsey Nijem Pedro Ramsey Nijem ( ar, رامزي نجم, born April 1, 1988) is an American retired mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor from 2008 to 2021, Nijem is perhaps best known for his 10-fight stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championshi ...

on October 29, 2011 at

UFC 137 ''UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 29, 2011, at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was originally expected to tak ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion. Shortly afterwards, Downes retired from the sport.

Personal life

Downes, a native of

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, is a graduate of

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

with degrees in International Affairs and German.

Mixed martial arts record

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Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

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References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Downes, Danny Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Illinois Mixed martial artists from Wisconsin Lightweight mixed martial artists 1986 births Sportspeople from Chicago Marquette University alumni Sportspeople from Milwaukee Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters