Garreth McLellan (born 9 January 1982) is a South African professional

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 most recently competed in the

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 ...

division of the EFC. A professional since 2009, he was one of the first South African MMA fighters to compete in 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

Born and raised in South Africa, McLellan began training in karate at the age of nine and also played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

. At the age of 19, McClellan was playing flanker for the Crusaders Rugby Club in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

when he was offered a contract to compete for the

Natal Sharks The Sharks (known as the Cell C Sharks for sponsorship reasons) are a South Africa rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. The Sharks are the current representative team of the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union and they ...

. Working with Jason Vorster, the team's fitness coach and an MMA trainer, McClellan would eventually make the transition to

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

. In karate, McClellan was a national champion and also won a national title in grappling.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

McLellan compiled an amateur record of 10–0 before making his professional debut in 2009, competing exclusively for regional promotions in his native South Africa, and was a two-time EFC AFRICA champion. He compiled a professional record of 12–2, before signing with the UFC in December 2014.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

McLellan made his promotional debut against

Bartosz Fabiński Bartosz Ryszard Fabiński (born 26 April 1986) is a Polish mixed martial artist who fights in the Middleweight division. He has formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Fabiński was born in Warsaw, Poland. He ...

on 11 April 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 64 ''UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 64'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 11, 2015, at the Tauron Arena Kraków in Kraków, Poland. Background The event was the first that the organization has ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. McLellan faced Bubba Bush on 24 October 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 76 ''UFC Fight Night: Holohan vs. Smolka'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 76'') was a mixed martial arts event held on October 24, 2015, at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Background The event was the third that the organization has hosted in Dublin, ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the closing seconds of the third round. McLellan next faced

Magnus Cedenblad Magnus Cedenblad (born April 10, 1982) is a retired Swedish mixed martial artist who competed in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, among others. Mixed martial arts career Early career Cedenblad has said that he ...

on 8 May 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 87 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 87'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 8, 2016, at the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Background The event was the first that the organization hosted ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. McLellan was defeated by

Alessio Di Chirico Alessio Di Chirico (born December 12, 1989) is an Italian former mixed martial artist who competed in Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Di Chirico was born in Rome, Italy. He attended University of Fo ...

on 27 August 2016 at

UFC on Fox 21 ''UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 21'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on August 27, 2016, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Background This was t ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. McLellan faced promotional newcomer

Paulo Costa Paulo Henrique Costa (born 21 April 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 1, 2022, he is #6 in the UFC middleweight ...

on 11 March 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 106 ''UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Gastelum'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 106'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 11, 2017, at the Centro de Formação Olímpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) is a South African mixed martial arts promotion company established since 2009. It is the largest MMA promotion company on the continent of Africa and features on its roster professional fighters from across t ...

** EFC Middleweight World Championship (Two times) ***Two title defences

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–7 , Brendan Lesar , KO (punch) , EFC Africa 80 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:06 ,

Sibaya Sibaya is a hamlet in the Altiplano of northern Chile. As of 2017 Sibaya had 46 inhabitants and 123 homes. It has an irrigation system based on underground aqueducts tapping an aquifer. The hamlet was badly hit by the 2005 Tarapacá earthquake. ...

, South Africa , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–6 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:17 ,

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 ,

, TKO (head kick and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:47 ,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Bubba Bush , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Holohan vs. Smolka , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:58 ,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 ,

Dricus du Plessis Dricus du Plessis (born 14 January 1994) is a South African professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously competed in the Middleweight division of E ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , EFC Africa 33 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:44 ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , J.P. Kruger , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EFC Africa 28 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:05 ,

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Jeremy Smith , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EFC Africa 24 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Tumelo Muphutha , Decision (split) , EFC Africa 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Armand de Bruyn , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EFC Africa 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:22 ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Danie van Heerden , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EFC Africa 14 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:08 ,

, South Africa , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Jeremy Smith , Submission (guillotine choke) , EFC Africa 12 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 0:56 ,

, South Africa , Lost the EFC Middleweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Jacques Joubert , Submission (guillotine choke) , EFC Africa 8 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 3:14 ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Wade Henderson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EFC Africa 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:38 ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Warren Allison , Submission (armbar) , EFC Africa 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Juan Lubbe , KO (punches) , EFC Africa 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Barry Britz , TKO (punches) , EFC Africa 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, South Africa , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Wade Henderson , TKO (punches) , Fight Force 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , J.P. Kruger , Submission (armbar) , XFC Africa: Fight Club , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:20 ,

, South Africa , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLellan, Garreth 1982 births Living people South African male mixed martial artists South African practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Johannesburg South African male karateka Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters