Danny Roberts (born 14 July 1987) is an English

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 ...

who competes in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

division of 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 ...

. A professional since 2010, he has also competed for

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish owned mixed martial arts promotion, based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under the Cage Warrio ...

Background

Born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, London, Roberts grew up on a deprived estate with his mum and ten siblings before moving to

Hartcliffe Hartcliffe is the name of both a council ward and an Outer Suburb of the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom which lies within that ward. The ward contains the areas of Hartcliffe and Headley Park, as well as small portions of Withywood and B ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

at age 9. Unfortunately, things were only marginally better and Roberts, who grew up without his father around, began to find himself drifting down the wrong path with the wrong people. After being expelled from seven different schools in London, Roberts and his mother moved to Birkenhead where Roberts began boxing at age 16. He compiled a 3-1 pro record, before making his debut in mixed martial arts in 2010.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After going 1-1 as an amateur, he made his professional debut in December 2010. He competed for several regional promotions across

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, including a stint in

. He was able to compile a record of 11 - 1 before signing with the UFC on the heels of a first round finish of

Jim Wallhead Jim Wallhead (born 14 March 1984) is an English professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. He has competed for BAMMA, Bellator, and M-1 Challenge and the UFC . Wallhead is a member of Team Rough House and Lei ...

in September 2015.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Roberts was expected to make his promotional debut against

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, as well as principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Grou ...

on 10 December 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 80 ''UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 80'') was a mixed martial arts event held on December 10, 2015, at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to be headline ...

. However, Graves was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by

Nathan Coy Nathan David Coy (born July 24, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2008, he has also competed for Bellator, the MFC, and Strikeforce. ...

. Roberts won the fight via technical submission in the first round. Roberts next faced

Dominique Steele Dominique Steele (born January 25, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has also competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Fight Ni ...

on 23 April 2016 at

UFC 197 ''UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux'' was a mixed martial arts event held on April 23, 2016, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event's number was initially planned for an event taking place on March 5, 2016 at HSBC Are ...

. He won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision. Both participants were awarded a ''Fight of the Night'' bonus. Roberts faced Mike Perry on 8 October 2016 at

UFC 204 ''UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 8, 2016 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Background This was the fourth UFC event contested in Man ...

. He lost the back and forth fight via knockout in the third round. Roberts faced

Bobby Nash Robert Nash (born March 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2010, he has formerly competed for the UFC and RFA. Background Born and ra ...

on 16 July 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 113 ''UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 113'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 16, 2017 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. Background The event w ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. Roberts was expected to face

Sheldon Westcott Sheldon Westcott (born August 10, 1985) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is also known for being a contestant and finalist on The Ultimate Fighter for Te ...

on 16 December 2017 at UFC on Fox 26. However, Westcott was removed from the card for undisclosed reasons in early December and was replaced by

Nordine Taleb Nordine Taleb ( ar, نوردين طالب, born June 10, 1981) is a French-Canadian professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed in the Welterweight division of the ARES FC. A professional since 2007, he has also competed for Bellat ...

. Roberts lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Roberts faced

Oliver Enkamp Miko Eric Oliver Enkamp (born August 10, 1991) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Bellator MMA. Background Karate Enkamp grew up with martial arts as his family runs ''Combat Academy -'' a marti ...

on 17 March 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 127 ''UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 127'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 17, 2018, at The O2 Arena in London, England. Background A heavy ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Roberts was expected to face

Alan Jouban Alan Michael Joubanhttp://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2016_Results/07-07-16MMA.pdf (born November 25, 1982) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A profess ...

on 22 July 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 134 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 134'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2018, at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Background The event was ...

. However, on 12 July, Jouban was pulled out from the fight, citing a neck injury. Jouban was replaced

David Zawada David Zawada (born ) is a German mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional since 2010, he has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), and Respect ...

. He won the fight via split decision. This win earned him the Fight of the Night award. Roberts faced Cláudio Silva on 16 March 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 147 ''UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 147'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 5'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 16, 2019 at The O2 Arena in London, England. ...

. He lost the bout via an armbar submission in the third round. Roberts faced promotional newcomer

Michel Pereira Michel Pereira (born 6 October 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2011, he formerly competed for 300 Sparta, Akhmat Fight Club, ...

on 18 May 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 152 ''UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 152'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 10'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 18, 2019 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, Ne ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Roberts faced

Zelim Imadaev Zelim Imadaev (born January 25, 1995) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Imadaev began training in combat sports when he was 14 years old. His first foray ...

on 9 November at

UFC on ESPN+ 21 UFC Fight Night: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar (also known as UFC Fight Night: Zabit vs. Kattar, UFC Fight Night 163 and UFC on ESPN+ 21) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 9, 201 ...

. He won the fight via knockout in round two. Roberts was scheduled to face

Nicolas Dalby Nicolas Dalby (born November 16, 1984) is a Danish mixed martial artist who is currently fighting in the Welterweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2008, he is both a former Welterweight and interim welterweight ...

on 21 March 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the event was eventually postponed . The bout with Dalby was rescheduled and was expected to take place on 25 July 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till. However, Roberts was injured and he was replaced by

Jesse Ronson Jesse Ronson (born December 24, 1985) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competed the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the Lightweight division. A professional fighter since 2009, he has previously competed in promotions such as UFC, ...

. Roberts was scheduled to face

Tim Means Timothy Carl Means (born February 20, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist from Moriarty, New Mexico currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2004, ...

on 19 June 2021 at

UFC on ESPN 25 ''UFC on ESPN: The Korean Zombie vs. Ige'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 25'' and ''UFC Vegas 29'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 19, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enter ...

However, the pairing was scrapped by the promotion in the days leading up to the event for undisclosed reasons. Roberts faced

Ramazan Emeev Ramazan Dadaevich Emeev (russian: Рамазан Дадаевич Эмеев; born May 20, 1987 in Dagestan) is a Russian mixed martial artist. He is Combat Sambo World Champion who currently fights in the Welterweight division. He is a former M ...

on 16 October 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 195 ''UFC Fight Night: Ladd vs. Dumont'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 195'', ''UFC Vegas 40'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 53'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 16, 2021, at the UFC A ...

. Roberts won the fight via controversial split decision. 10 out of 12 media outlets scored the bout as a win for Emeev. Roberts faced

Francisco Trinaldo Francisco Trinaldo Soares da Rocha (; born August 24, 1978) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2006, he has also competed for Jungle Fight in h ...

on 7 May 2022 at

UFC 274 ''UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 7, 2022, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Background The event was originally linke ...

. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Roberts faced

Jack Della Maddalena Jack Della Maddalena (born September 10, 1996) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of February 14, 2023, he is #14 in the UFC welterweight rankings. Backgroun ...

on November 19, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 215 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 ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (Two times) vs.

and

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 18–7 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Nzechukwu vs. Cuțelaba , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:24 ,

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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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–5 ,

, KO (punch) , UFC Fight Night: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:54 ,

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, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–5 ,

, KO (flying knee and punch) , UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:47 ,

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–4 , Cláudio Silva , Submission (armbar) , UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:37 ,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 ,

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

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 ,

, KO (punch) , UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:12 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–3 ,

, KO (head kick and punch) , UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 ,

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:59 ,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 , Mike Perry , KO (knee and punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:40 ,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

, Technical Submission (triangle choke) , UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:46 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 ,

, KO (punches) , CWFC 68 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:49 ,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Juan Manuel Suarez , Decision (unanimous) , CWFC 64 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Henry Fadipe , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CWFC 57 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:34 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Diego Gonzalez , TKO (knee and punches) , CWFC 54 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:02 ,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Wales , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Jack Mason , Submission (armbar) , Cage Warriors: 48 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:46 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Pavel Doroftei , Submission (heel hook) , UCC 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:21 ,

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, England , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Shaun Lomas , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Conflict 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:32 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Aurelijus Kerpe , Submission (D'Arce choke) , Raw 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:43 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , David Howell , TKO (knees) , CWFC 43 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:26 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Matt Ross Francombe , KO (knee and punches) , OMMAC 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Darius Kuncevicius , TKO (knees) , OMMAC 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:47 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Danny 1987 births Sportspeople from London Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Living people English male mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters English male boxers