Jillian DeCoursey (born July 26, 1984) 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, incorp ...

. She currently competes in the

Atomweight Atomweight (also referred to as light minimumweight, junior strawweight, junior mini-flyweight and pinweight) is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In women's boxing and junior amateur boxing pinweight is, or has been, a Weight class (boxing), ...

division of the

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 currentl ...

, where she is the current Atomweight champion. As of November 21, 2022,

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

ranks DeCoursey as the #4 atomweight in the world.

Background

DeCoursey was born and grew up in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, United States. DeCoursey started undergraduate studies at

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin University; it retain its own n ...

and graduated from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

. She started

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 ...

after she finished competing in collegiate basketball at Hunter College. She later picked up

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

and eventually transitioned to mixed martial arts. DeCoursey also eventually finished her postgraduate studies at

Iona University Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, New ...

, earning a master's degree and owns her counselling practice in mental health.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

DeCoursey was signed by Invicta after amassing an amateur record of 8–1. She was an

IBJJF The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) tournaments in the world, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World No-Gi Championship, Pan Jiu ...

brown belt medalist.

Invicta Fighting Championships

DeCoursey made her promotional debut on August 31, 2017 at Invicta FC 25: Kunitskaya vs. Pa'aluhi against Ashley Medina. She won the fight via split decision. Her next fight came on March 24, 2018 at Invicta FC 28: Mizuki vs. Jandiroba against Rebekah Levine. She won the fight via unanimous decision. On July 21, 2018, DeCoursey faced

Alesha Zappitella Alesha Zappitella (born February 28, 1995) is an American mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to the Invicta Fighting Championships, where she is a former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion. Background Growing up in Ohio, Alesha started w ...

, replacing Shino VanHoose, at Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander. For her next fight, DeCoursey fought outside of Invicta, being scheduled to face Katie Perez at CFFC 80. She won the fight by a third-round technical knockout. DeCoursey returned to Invicta to face Linda Mihalec at Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II. DeCoursey won the fight by unanimous decision. DeCoursey was scheduled to challenge the reigning Cage Fury FC Strawweight champion

Elise Reed Elise Reed (born December 5, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Reed started martial arts at six years old by competing in Taekwondo, then moving ...

at CFFC 91. Reed won the fight by unanimous decision. DeCoursey was scheduled to participate in a one-night Invicta Phoenix Tournament to determine the next atomweight title challenger. DeCoursey lost the quarterfinal bout against Linda Mihalec by split decision. DeCoursey faced

Lindsey VanZandt Lindsey VanZandt (born August 6, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist, currently fighting in the atomweight division of Invicta FC. Mixed martial arts career Early career VanZandt made her professional debut against Katie Saull at KOTC - R ...

on May 11, 2022 at Invicta FC 47. She won the bout after knocking out VanZandt in the first round.

Invicta FC Atomweight Champion

DeCoursey was booked to challenge the reigning Invicta Atomweight champion

Jéssica Delboni Jéssica Correa Delboni (born 7 September 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the atomweight division of Invicta FC, where she is the former Atomweight champion. Mixed martial arts career Early career Delboni made ...

at Invicta FC 49: Delboni vs. DeCoursey on September 28, 2022. DeCoursey won the fight by a first-round submission.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed Martial Arts

Invicta Fighting Championships 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 currentl ...

** Invicta FC Atomweight Championship (One time, current)

Mixed martial arts record

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Hinton, Oklahoma Hinton is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,196 as of the 2010 census, up from 2,175 in 2000. It is approximately west of Oklahoma City. Geography Hinton is located in northeastern Caddo County at (35.479004 ...

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, KO (punch) , Invicta FC 47: Ducote vs. Zappitella , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:01 ,

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 ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , Cage Fury Fighting Championships 91 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2 , Katie Perez , TKO (punches) , Cage Fury Fighting Championships 80 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–2 , Kelly D'Angelo , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 35: Bennett vs. Rodriguez II , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Rebekah Levine , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 28: Mizuki vs. Jandiroba , , 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, 1–0 , Ashley Medina , Decision (split) , Invicta FC 25: Kunitskaya vs. Pa'aluhi , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 2 ...

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References

External links

*
Jillian DeCoursey
at

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:DeCoursey, Jillian 1984 births Living people American female mixed martial artists Atomweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American Muay Thai practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Muay Thai practitioners Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners 21st-century American women