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 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 is the former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion.

Background

Alers attended

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, where he graduated with a degree in

elementary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or firs ...

. He began training in MMA at the age of 19.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Alers began competing in mixed martial arts in 2006 and made his professional debut in 2008 competing in regional promotions primarily in the lightweight and featherweight divisions in his home state of Florida. He also had a stint in

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 ...

, where he was featherweight champion. He signed with the UFC in early 2014.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Alers made his promotional debut against Alan Omer on August 23, 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 39 ''UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 39'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 11, 2014, at du Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background A heavyweight bout between Roy Nelson and Antônio ...

, filling in for an injured

Tim Elliott Timothy Samuel Elliott (born December 24, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former Titan FC Titan Fighting Champions ...

. He won the fight via split decision. Alers was expected to face

Lucas Martins Lucas Martins (born 11 November 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division of Brave Combat Federation, where he is a former interim lightweight champion. A professional mixed martial artist since 2011, Ma ...

on July 16, 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 45 ''UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Miller'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 45'') was a mixed martial arts event held on July 16, 2014, at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Background The event was headlined by a lightweight bout bet ...

. However, Alers pulled out of the bout citing injury, and was replaced by Alex White. Alers 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 Fighti ...

on February 14, 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 60 ''UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 60'') was a mixed martial arts event held on February 14, 2015, at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Background The event was the third that the UFC has hosted ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the closing seconds of the second round. Alers next faced

Cole Miller Cole Miller (born April 26, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the featherweight division in the UFC. His nickname "Magrinho" means "skinny" in Portuguese. Mixed martial arts career Before giving ...

on December 19, 2015 at

UFC on Fox 17 ''UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 17'') was a mixed martial arts event held on December 19, 2015, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Background The event was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout ...

. The bout was ruled a No Contest after Miller was accidentally poked in the eye by Alers in the second round and was unable to continue. Alers faced

Jason Knight Jason Knight may refer to: *Jason Knight (fighter) (born 1992), American featherweight mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer *Jason Knight (footballer) (born 2001), Irish footballer *Jason Knight (wrestler) (born 1963), American professional ...

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 lost the fight via split decision.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship

On June 22, 2019, Jim Alers defeated Elvin Brito via KO at 0:45 in round 1 at Bare Knuckle FC 6. On August 10, 2019, Jim Alers defeated

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. ...

via TKO at 1:38 in round 1 at Bare Knuckle FC 7. On October 19, 2019, Jim Alers defeated Julian Lane via TKO at 0:53 in round 2 at Bare Knuckle FC 8. After the fight, Alers stated he wants a shot at the title and wants to face the winner of

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 (UFC ...

and

. Alers faced Kaleb Harris in the BKFC Super Welterweight Tournament quarterfinals at BKFC 10 on February 15, 2020. He won the fight via majority decision. Alers is next expected to challenge

Luis Palomino Luis Vicente Palomino (born October 9, 1980) is a Peruvian-American mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle fighter who is the current Lightweight and Welterweight champion for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, making him the first “double ch ...

for the BKFC Super Welterweight Championship at BKFC 14 on November 14, 2020.

Professional grappling career

Alers competed in the welterweight edition of the 2023 Combat jiu-jitsu world championships on Jun 6, 2021. He submitted Bobby Emmons in the opening round with a rear-naked choke, before being submitted himself by Roberto Jimenez in the quarter-finals with a triangle armbar. He was then invited to compete in the absolute grand prix at Submission Underground 24 on June 17, 2021. Both Alers and fellow MMA veteran

Ronny Markes Ronny Markes (born April 21, 1988), is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Markes has formerly competed for the UFC, King of the Cage, PFL, Bellator MMA, and M-1 ...

withdrew from the event on short notice, being replaced by Nick Maximov and Adam Sidelinger. Alers was invited to compete in the welterweight edition of the 2023 Combat jiu-jitsu world championships on March 26, 2023.https://jitsmagazine.com/first-combat-jiu-jitsu-worlds-event-announced-for-2023/

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 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 ...

** CWFC Featherweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–5 (1) , Enrique Gonzalez , Decision (unanimous) , Combate Global: USA vs. Mexico , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

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, Ukraine , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 (1) , Elvin Leon Brito , Technical Submission (triangle choke) , Combat Night Pro 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:07 ,

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Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 , Graham Turner , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CWFC 63 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:22 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Martin Svensson , Decision (unanimous) , CWFC 59 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, 10–1 , Joni Salovaara , Submission (triangle armbar) , CWFC 53 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 3:43 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Marcio Cesar , Submission (D'Arce choke) , Cage Warriors Fight Night 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:27 ,

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

, Jordan , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Matteus Lähdesmäki , TKO (elbows) , Cage Warriors Fight Night 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:01 ,

Isa Town Isa Town ( ar, مدينة عيسى, ''Madīnat ʿĪsā'') is a middle class town located in Bahrain, in the north central part of the country. Etymology The name ''Isa'' refers to Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, the ruler of Bahrain from 1961 to 1999 ...

, Bahrain , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Noe Quintanilla , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CDMMA: Complete Devastation 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 ,

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Denis Hernandez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ultimate Alliance Fights 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:46 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Matt Kersse , Submission (guillotine choke) , AOF 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:12 ,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Ronald Jacobs , TKO (punches) , AOF 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Freddy Assuncao , Submission (rear-naked choke) , AOF 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:55 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , David Gomez , KO (punches) , RFC 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:18 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Brent Silva , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CWFC USA: Destruction , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:16 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Brandon Ocasio , Submission (triangle choke) , CWFC USA: Unleashed , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:50 ,

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Bare knuckle record

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, TKO (punches) , Bare Knuckle FC 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:44 ,

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, United States , Super Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Julian Lane , TKO (punches) , Bare Knuckle FC 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:53 ,

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