Jason Thomas Knight (born July 14, 1992) is an American bare knuckle boxer and a 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 ...

. He has previously competed 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 ...

and

Titan FC Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC) is an American mixed martial arts promotion based out of Pompano Beach, Florida. Their shows were originally run in and near Kansas City and have since expanded to include venues all over North America and e ...

Background

Reared in

D'Iberville, Mississippi D'Iberville ( ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, immediately north of Biloxi, across the Back Bay. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 9,486. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan St ...

, Knight began training at the age of 14 to stay out of trouble and

street fighting Street fighting is hand-to-hand combat in public places, between individuals or groups of people. The venue is usually a public place (e.g. a street) and the fight sometimes results in serious injury or occasionally even death. Some street fi ...

. He attended George County High School before dropping out at the age of 16, and began training with

veteran

Alan Belcher Alan Belcher (born April 24, 1984) is an American bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. A professional from 2004 until 2015, he is perhaps best known for his 15-fight tenure with the UFC. Background Belcher was born in Jonesboro ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Knight began competing as an amateur at the age of 14, and fought ten times before turning professional in 2009 at age 17. He then compiled a record of 16–1 before being signed by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Knight made his promotional debut against

Tatsuya Kawajiri is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. He is a former Shooto Lightweight Champion, and has also competed in the UFC, PRIDE, DREAM, Strikeforce, ONE FC, and Rizin Fighting Federation. Kawajiri also partic ...

on December 11, 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale, replacing

Mirsad Bektić Mirsad Bektić (born February 16, 1991) is a Bosnian-born American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Background Mirsad Bektić was born on February ...

on two weeks' notice. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Knight faced

Jim Alers Jim Alers (born October 14, 1986) is an American professional bare knuckle boxer. A professional MMA fighter from 2008 until 2018, he fought in the UFC and is the former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion. Background Alers attended University ...

on July 23, 2016 at

UFC on Fox 20 ''UFC on Fox: Holm vs. Shevchenko'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 23, 2016, at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background The event was headlined b ...

. He won the fight via split decision. The combat was awarded the ''Fight of the Night'' bonus. Knight next faced

Dan Hooker Daniel Hooker (born 13 February 1990) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Hooker was the King in the Ring Middleweight Kickboxing Champion and WKBF ...

on November 26, 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 101 ''UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 101'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 27, 2016, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Back ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Knight faced

Alex Caceres Alex Caceres (born June 20, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division of the UFC. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Caceres mostly competed in his regional circuit, before signing with the Ultim ...

on January 28, 2017 at

UFC on Fox 23 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 won the fight via submission in the second round, winning his first ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Knight faced

Chas Skelly Chas Lucas Skelly (born May 11, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2009, he has also competed for Bellator MMA and Legacy Fig ...

on May 13, 2017 at

UFC 211 ''UFC 211: Miocic vs. dos Santos 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on May 13, 2017, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Background The event was the fourth that the UFC has host ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. The win also earned Knight his second consecutive ''Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Knight faced

Ricardo Lamas Ricardo Alejandro Lamas (born May 21, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Lamas' father is Cuban and his mother is Mexican. The flag ...

on July 29, 2017 at

UFC 214 ''UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on July 29, 2017 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A PPV event was initially planned for Anaheim on Janu ...

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

Gabriel Benítez Gabriel Apolinar Benítez (born June 15, 1988) is a Mexican mixed martial artist. He was a contestant on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 1'', and he competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Ba ...

on December 9, 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 123 ''UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 123'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on December 9, 2017, at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. Background ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Knight faced

Makwan Amirkhani Makwan Amirkhani ( fa, ماکوان امیرخوانی; born November 8, 1988) is an Iranian-born Finnish mixed martial artist

on May 27, 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 130 ''UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 130'' or ''UFC Liverpool'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the UFC that was held on May 27, 2018, at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. Background The event w ...

. Despite four successful knockdowns during the three-round fight, Knight lost via a contentious split decision. Knight faced

Jordan Rinaldi Jordan Rinaldi (born September 25, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist. He was the welterweight Complete Devastation champion. Rinaldi competed in featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Rinaldi was b ...

on November 3, 2018 at

UFC 230 ''UFC 230: Cormier vs. Lewis'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on November 3, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship bo ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released by the organization. Following the stint in bare-knuckle boxing, Knight was expected to make his return to mixed martial arts against Christopher Ramírez at iKon Fighting Federation 5 on March 5, 2021. However, Ramírez had to withdraw from the fight due to problems getting into the United States and was replaced by Taurean Bogguess. In turn, Bogguess withdrew during the fight week and was replaced by Cliff Wright. Knight won the bout via second-round submission. On May 29, 2021, it was announced that Knight is scheduled to headline the inaugural event of

Jorge Masvidal Jorge Masvidal (born November 12, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Masvidal has been competing professionally since 2003; h ...

's Gamebred Fighting Championship against Charles Bennett on June 18, 2021. The bout had typical mixed martial arts rules, but was contested without gloves. Knight was knocked down early on, but went on to win the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round one. Following the successful bout in Gamebred FC, Knight signed with the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

and faced

Bobby Moffett Robert "Bobby" Thomas Moffett (born June 1, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2013, he has also competed for the Ultimate Fig ...

at PFL 9 on August 27, 2021. At weigh-ins, Moffett weighed in at 148.2 pounds, missing weight by 2.2 pounds. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Moffett was fined a percentage of his purse, which went to Knight. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. On May 19, 2022, Knight headlined Gulf Coast MMA 15 against Rey Trujillo. Knight defeated his opponent by a first round TKO.

Bare knuckle boxing

Following his UFC release, Knight signed a one-fight contract with

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. BKFC is the first promotion to hold an official state-sanctioned and commissioned bare-knuckle boxing event in the United States since 1 ...

. He faced

Artem Lobov Artem Lobov (russian: Артём Лобов; born August 11, 1986) is a Russian, former professional mixed martial artist and boxer based in Ireland. He previously competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...

in the main event of Bare Knuckle FC 5 on April 6, 2019. Knight lost the bout and several of his teeth. Knight was expected to headline Bare Knuckle FC 7 on August 10, 2019 against

Leonard Garcia Leonard Garcia (born July 14, 1979, in Plainview, Texas) is an American former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Featherweight division of the Legacy Fighting Championship, and is the former Legacy FC Featherweight Champion. ...

. However on July 15, 2019, Knight revealed on his social media that he was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a rib injury. Knight defeated Artem Lobov in a rematch headlining Bare Knuckle FC 9 on November 16, 2019, earning the victory by TKO in the fifth round.

Personal life

In 2012, Knight was arrested and charged with grand

larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engla ...

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

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 ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs.

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(Two times) * Atlas Fights ** Atlas Fights Featherweight Championship (One time) ***One successful title defense ** Interim Atlas Fights Featherweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 23-7 , Rey Trujillo , TKO (punches) , Gulf Coast MMA 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:05 ,

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–7 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , PFL 9 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 22–6 , Charles Bennett , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Gamebred Fighting Championships 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–6 , Cliff Wright , Submission (rear-naked choke) , iKon Fighting Federation 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:48 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–6 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

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

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–5 ,

Makwan Amirkhani Makwan Amirkhani ( fa, ماکوان امیرخوانی; born November 8, 1988) is an Iranian-born Finnish mixed martial artist

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

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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–4 ,

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

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–3 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:34 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–2 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:39 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Peña , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:21 ,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–2 ,

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

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 17–2 ,

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

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Finale , , 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, 16–1 , Musa Khamanaev , Submission (triangle choke) , Titan FC 35 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:06 ,

Ridgefield, Washington Ridgefield is a city in northern Clark County, Washington, Clark County, Washington (state), Washington. The population was 10,319 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 4,763 in 2010 United States census, 2010, making ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 , Thiago Moisés , Decision (unanimous) , Atlas Fights 25 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–1 , Michael Roberts , Decision (unanimous) , Atlas Fights 23 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 , Gilbert Burgos , Submission (gogoplata) , Atlas FC 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Harry Johnson , Submission (

Von Flue choke A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza ( ja, 絞技, translation=constriction technique) is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking)''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' ( ...

) , V3 Fights: Johnson vs. Shuffield , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:38 ,

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Tony Way , Submission (inverted triangle choke) , Atlas Fights: Battle on Mobile Bay , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:03 ,

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Ronald Jacobs , TKO (punches) , Atlas Fights 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Bradley Collins , Submission (armbar) , Atlas Fights 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:06 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Matt McCook , Submission (rear naked choke) , Atlas Fights 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:52 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Michael Roberts , Decision (unanimous) , Atlas Fights 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Shawn Hayes , Submission (triangle choke) , Atlas Fights 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:33 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , James Rutherford , Submission (guillotine choke) , Atlas Fights 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:31 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Jonathan Burdine , TKO (punches) , FFI: Blood and Sand 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:05 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Ronald Jacobs , Submission (triangle choke) , UEP: Battle at the Beach , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:22 ,

Daphne, Alabama Daphne () is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The city is located along I-10, 11 miles east of Mobile and 170 miles southwest of the state capital of Montgomery. The 2010 United States ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Daren Hayes , Submission (triangle choke) , UEP: Battle at the Beach , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:04 ,

Orange Beach, Alabama Orange Beach is a resort city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 8,095. Geography Orange Beach is located along the Gulf of Mexico, and is the easternmost community on Alabama's Gulf Coast, wit ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Shawn Hayes , Submission (armbar) , No Love Entertainment , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:50 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Patrick Needham , Submission (triangle choke) , UEP: The Reckoning , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:10 ,

, United States , , -

Bare knuckle record

, Win , align=center, 1–1 ,

, TKO (corner stoppage) , Bare Knuckle FC 9 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Bare Knuckle FC 5 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 2:00 ,