Kyler Phillips (born June 12, 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, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

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

At the age of 3, Phillip's father took him to the Gracie Academy out of Torrance, California, where he developed a lifelong love for it. At the age of 12, Phillips took part in pankration fights and had his first MMA fight at the age of 16. Phillips also wrestled at

Temecula Valley High School Temecula Valley High School, known by locals as TV, is a public high school for grades 9 to 12 in Temecula, California. The school opened in 1985 as the city's first high school. When it was built, it was a part of the Elsinore Union High Schoo ...

. He is a Carlson Gracie BJJ Brown belt, and a Nikidokai black/red belt under grandmaster Hanshi Nico. Among some other accomplishments of Phillips are IBJJF jiu-jitsu world champion blue belt (2012), California State judo champion (2010), and California Southern Section CIF wrestling champion at 138 lbs (2013).

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After a 4–0 record on the regional scene, including an impressive win at LFA 13 against Jonathan Quiroz, was invited to first season of Dana White's Contender Series 4 in 2017, when he only needed 46 seconds to stop James Gray Jr. While not being offered a contract to the UFC, he was brought in to compete on The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated. On the show he lost a majority decision to eventual season winner

Brad Katona Brad Devin Katona (born December 12, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial artist and the reigning Brave CF Bantamweight Champion. Katona formerly competed in the UFC and was the featherweight winner of ''The Ultimate Fighter 27''. Personal life ...

. Then came his first official pro defeat, a split decision to Victor Henry in a 2018 bout before a head kick knockout of Emeka Ifekandu in 2019 earned him his call to the Octagon.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Phillips made his UFC debut against Gabriel Silva on February 29, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo. He won the bout in dominant fashion via unanimous decision. This win earned him the '' Fight of the Night bonus.'' Phillips faced Cameron Else on October 4, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana. He won the bout via stoppage due to elbows on the ground in the second round. This win 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 ...

bonus.'' Phillips faced

Song Yadong Song Yadong (; born December 2, 1997) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #8 in the UFC bantamweight rankings. Background Raised by a s ...

on March 6, 2021, at

UFC 259 ''UFC 259: Błachowicz vs. Adesanya '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Phillips was scheduled to face

Raphael Assunção Raphael Oliveira Assunção (born 19 July 1982) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Born in Recife in Northeast Brazil, Assunção moved to Unite ...

on July 24, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw. However, Assunção suffered a bicep injury in late June and was replaced by

Raulian Paiva Raulian Paiva Frazão (born 17 October 1995) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Paiva was born and raised Santana, Amapá, Brazil where he still tra ...

. Phillips lost the fight via majority decision. This fight earned him the '' Fight of the Night'' award. Phillips faced Marcelo Rojo on February 12, 2022, at

UFC 271 ''UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 12, 2022 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Middleweight Champi ...

. He won the fight via triangle armbar submission in round three. Phillips was scheduled to face

Jack Shore Jack Shore (born 6 February 1995) is a Welsh professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2016, he is the former Bantamweight c ...

on November 19, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 215 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 ...

. However, Shore pulled out of the fight due to a knee injury. Phillips was scheduled to face

on March 11, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 221 ''UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 221'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 79'' and ''UFC Vegas 71'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on March 11, 20 ...

. However, Phillips withdrew from the event for undisclosed reasons, and he was replaced by

Davey Grant David "Davey" Jeremy Grant (born 18 December 1985) is an English mixed martial artist. He was one of the cast members for TUF 18 The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate, UFC TV series program, and he competes in Bantamweight division o ...

. In March, it was announced that Phillips was suspended by NSAC due to testing positive for

ostarine Enobosarm, also known as ostarine or MK-2866, is an investigational selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) developed by GTx, Inc. for the treatment of conditions such as muscle wasting and osteoporosis, formerly under development by Merc ...

for six months effective January 22, 2023. He would be eligible to fight again in July 22, 2023. Phillips was scheduled to face

Said Nurmagomedov Said Nurmagomedov (born April 5, 1992) is a Russian mixed martial artist, currently competing as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he formerly competed for Absolute Championship Berkut and ...

on August 5, 2023 at UFC on ESPN 50. However, Nurmagomedov withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by

Raoni Barcelos Raoni Mendonça Barcelos (born May 1, 1987) is a Brazilian former amateur wrestler and grappler, and current professional mixed martial artist. He was five-times Brazilian national wrestling champion, and three-time Resurrection Fighting Allianc ...

. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

(One time) ** Fight of the Night (Two times)

Mixed martial arts record

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Font , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

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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 Vega ...

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Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

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Studio City, California Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 192 ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Taylor Alfaro , TKO (punches) , CXF 1: The Return , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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, Decision (majority) , The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated , (airdate) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,