Kelvin Tiller (born June 26, 1990) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

currently competing in the

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

division. A professional competitor since 2011, Tiller has also formerly competed for Bellator,

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

and

Shark Fights Shark Fights was a mixed martial arts promotion based in Amarillo, Texas. It made its debut on October 24, 2008. On September 11, 2010 Shark Fights had its biggest card in Shark Fights history by having UFC veterans Jorge Masvidal, Keith Jardin ...

Background

Born and raised in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, Tiller was often involved in street fights while growing up and also briefly trained in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

. Tiller later attended Highland Park High School where he competed in track and won a city championship for the 100-meter dash in his senior year.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Tiller competed as an amateur from 2009 until 2011, compiling a record of 7–3. On September 10, 2011, Tiller made his professional MMA debut against Jeb Chiles at Shark Fights 19. Tiller won the fight by submission at the end of the first round.

Bellator

Tiller made his Bellator debut on October 29, 2011, at

Bellator 56 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feather ...

against

Daniel Spohn Daniel Brian Spohn (born October 12, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, and was a competitor on The Ultim ...

. Tiller defeated Spohn via split decision. In his next appearance for Bellator, Tiller faced

Jeremiah Riggs Jeremiah Riggs (born December 12, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Riggs has made a name for himself mainly ...

Bellator 70 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

on May 25, 2012. Tiller won the fight by submission in the third round. Tiller then stepped in as a replacement for an injured Marcus "Lelo" Aurelio and defeated Amaechi Oselukwue via second-round TKO at

Bellator 73 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

on August 24, 2012. Tiller was expected to face

Dave Vitkay Dave Vitkay (born May 22, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2002, he has formerly competed for Bellator MMA. Background Born and raised in the suburbs of ...

Bellator 88 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

on February 7, 2013. However, when Tiller failed to make weight for the third consecutive time, the bout was cancelled and Tiller was subsequently released from his Bellator contract.

Post-Bellator

After parting ways with Bellator, Tiller faced Chris Henning on June 29, 2013, at Epic Fight Night 1: Stinson vs. Kimmons. Tiller won via submission in round one.

World Series of Fighting

In November 2013, Tiller signed a multi-fight deal with

. Tiller was scheduled to face

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 ...

at WSOF 12 on August 9, 2014, but when Krasimir Mladenov pulled out of his fight with

Elvis Mutapčić Elvis Mutapčić (born July 19, 1986) is a Bosnian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight and the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early career Mutap ...

due to injury on the same card, Tiller stepped in as a replacement. As a result, Markes ended up fighting promotional newcomer Cully Butterfield. Tiller was handed his first professional defeat by Mutapcic via three-round unanimous decision.

Return to Bellator

Tiller, as a replacement for Steve Mowry, was scheduled to face

Marcelo Golm Marcelo Golm (born 15 September 1992) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Bellator MMA. He has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 22, 2022, he is #7 in the ...

on August 20, 2021, at

Bellator 265 Bellator 265: Kongo vs. Kharitonov was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on August 20, 2021 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. Background A heavyweight bout between #3 ranked ...

. The week of the event, Tiller had to pull out of the bout due to undisclosed reasons.

Personal life

Tiller went to Topeka High high school and Highland Park High in Topeka, Ks after high school he went to Allen County Community College for track. He was raised by a single mother Patricia Rains as they moves around between Kansas City and Topeka most of his childhood. He is the youngest of 4 children and has 3 older sisters Patricia (Nikki) Tiller, Tierra Tiller, and Autumn Tiller. He has always been a family oriented man with his Grandmother ( Ellenor Irons) Grandfather (Harrison Irons Sr.) and Uncle (Harrison (Dunnie) Irons Jr.) helping with his up bringing . Tiller himself has 3 sons and 4 daughters having his first child at the age of 16. While growing up on the streets of

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Un ...

he had to grow up fast so fighting became natural for him. His mission in life is to make sure his family is taken care of. On October 4, 2018, Tiller lost a major factor in his life, the man that thought him everything in life his grandfather Harrison Irons Sr. the day before his October 5 fight for PFL. Tiller is a major influencer in his community. He mentors the young kids, telling them that there is more out there in life; and that you can be what ever you want to be in life as long as you put your all into it.

Mixed martial arts record

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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 Vegas ...

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Jared Rosholt Jared Daniel Rosholt (born August 4, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Rosholt has competed for the UFC, Titan FC, Professional Fighters League, and L ...

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Ali Isaev Ali Isaevich Isaev (russian: Али Исаевич Исаев; born 18 December 1983 in Makhachkala, Soviet Union) is a Dagestani-Azerbaijani professional mixed martial artist and former amateur wrestler. He currently competes in the Heavyweigh ...

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Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

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Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 ...

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New York City, New York 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 ...

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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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Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

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Jake Collier Jake Collier (born October 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background With no background in sports, Collier started Brazilian jiu-jitsu to lose weight ...

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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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Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiller, Kelvin Living people American male mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing American male karateka 1990 births