Jordan Leavitt (; born June 2, 1995) 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 ...

who competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

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 ...

Background

Leavitt’s MMA journey began in high school as part of the wrestling team. Initially quitting during his first year, he stumbled across

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

on TV and immediately fell in love with the sport, re-joining the wrestling team and competing for the next three years. As of August 2018, Leavitt majors in political science at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

, and has dreams of law school and a career in family law. He postponed these dreams in favor of his fighting career, but with hopes to pursue law school once again after that.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Making his MMA debut at Gladiator Challenge Fight Club, Leavitt would win his first bout after submitting Tony Martinez via Peruvian Necktie in the second round. Leavitt would go on to defeat Lucas Neufeld at Tuff N’ Nuff Fight Night via unanimous decision, Roy Ostrander at Final Fighting Championship 36 via arm-triangle choke, John Walker via heel hook in round one at Gladiator Challenge Holiday Beatings, and finally Isaiah William via unanimous decision at BCM Promotions Fight Night 8 to pick up his second decision win as a professional. In his debut promotional appearance with

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

at LFA 85, he submitted Levion Lewis via anaconda choke in the second round. Leavitt was invited to Dana White's Contender Series 27 on August 4, 2020. He won the fight via arm-triangle choke in the first round and was subsequently awarded a UFC contract.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Leavitt made his UFC debut against

Matt Wiman Matthew Charles Wimanhttp://boxing.nv.gov/2011%20Results%20Web/07-02-11%20MMA.pdf (born September 19, 1983) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed as a lightweight. He competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background ...

on December 5, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori. He won the bout via slam knockout in round one. This fight earned him the ''

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 ...

'' award. Leavitt faced

Claudio Puelles Claudio Puelles Martinez (born April 21, 1996) is a Peruvian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Puelles started training M ...

in his sophomore performance on June 5, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Leavitt faced

Matt Sayles Matt Sayles (born February 21, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also competed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Xplode MMA, World Ser ...

on December 18, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus. He won the bout via submission due to an inverted triangle choke in the second round, being only the third fighter in UFC history to do so. Leavitt was scheduled to face Victor Martinez on April 16, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 34 ''UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 34'' and ''UFC Vegas 51'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 16, 2022, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, ...

. However, Martinez withdrew from the event for unknown reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Trey Ogden. Leavitt won the bout via split decision. Leavitt next faced

Paddy Pimblett Patrick Pimblett (born 3 January 1995) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Pimblett is a former Cage Warrio ...

on July 23, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 208 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 208'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 66'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 23, 2022, at The O2 Arena in Lon ...

. Leavitt lost the bout via rear-naked choke in the second round. Leavitt faced Victor Martinez on February 25, 2023 at

UFC Fight Night 220 ''UFC Fight Night: Muniz vs. Allen'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 220, UFC on ESPN+ 78'' and ''UFC Vegas 70'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 25, 2023, at the UFC Ape ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This win earned him the ''

'' bonus. Leavitt is scheduled to face Elves Brenner on July 1, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 48.

Championships and accomplishments

(Two times)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , style="text-align:center", 11–2 , Victor Martinez , TKO (elbows and knees) , UFC Fight Night: Muniz vs. Allen , , style="text-align:center", 1 , style="text-align:center", 2:27 ,

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 , , - , Loss , style="text-align:center", 10–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall , , style="text-align:center", 2 , style="text-align:center", 2:46 ,

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 , style="text-align:center", 10–1 , Trey Ogden , Decision (split) , UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 , , style="text-align:center", 3 , style="text-align:center", 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center", 9–1 ,

, Submission (inverted triangle choke) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus , , style="text-align:center", 2 , style="text-align:center", 2:05 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , style="text-align:center", 8–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai , , style="text-align:center", 3 , style="text-align:center", 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center", 8–0 ,

, KO (slam) , UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori , , style="text-align:center", 1 , style="text-align:center", 0:22 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center", 7–0 , Jose Flores , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Dana White's Contender Series 27 , , style="text-align:center", 1 , style="text-align:center", 4:15 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center", 6–0 , Leivon Lewis , Submission (anaconda choke) , LFA 85 , , style="text-align:center", 2 , style="text-align:center", 2:01 ,

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center", 5–0 , Izzy William , Decision (unanimous) , BCM Promotions Fight Night 8 , , style="text-align:center", 3 , style="text-align:center", 5:00 ,

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The city ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center", 4–0 , Johnny Walker , Submission (heel hook) , Gladiator Challenge: Holiday Beatings , , style="text-align:center", 1 , style="text-align:center", 0:17 ,

Hemet, California Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundin ...

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center", 3–0 , Ray Ostrander , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Final Fight Championship 36 , , style="text-align:center", 1 , style="text-align:center", 1:30 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center", 2–0 , Lucas Neufeld , Decision (unanimous) , Tuff-N-Uff Fight Night , , style="text-align:center", 3 , style="text-align:center", 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , style="text-align:center", 1–0 , Tony Martinez , Submission (Peruvian Necktie) , Gladiator Challenge: Fight Club , , style="text-align:center", 2 , style="text-align:center", 2:43 ,

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...

, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, Jordan 1995 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu