Landon Anthony Vannata (born March 14, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2012, he has formerly competed for the

RFA RFA may refer to: Government and private organizations * Radio Free Asia, a private news broadcaster and publisher in East Asia, funded in part by the U.S. government * Renewable Fuels Agency, a former UK renewable fuel regulatory agency * Ren ...

and Pancrase.

Early years

Vannata was born in

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

, New Jersey and at the age of 13, began wrestling and

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

. Vannata later wrestled at an NCAA Division I University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, but dropped out after one semester. After dropping out, he left for

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

to join JacksonWink Academy

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Vannata made his professional MMA debut in May 2012. He amassed an undefeated record of 8–0 in various promotions over the next four years before joining the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After an injury to Michael Chiesa, Vannata was called on two weeks' notice to fight against ranked #3 lightweight Tony Ferguson on July 16, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 91. After an exciting back-and-forth fight, and almost finishing Ferguson with strikes in the first round he lost by submission in the second round. Both participants were awarded a ''Fight of the Night'' bonus. Vannata faced John Makdessi on December 10, 2016, at UFC 206 He won the fight via highlight reel spinning heel kick knockout in the first round and was awarded a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Vannata faced

David Teymur David Teymur (born May 1, 1989) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Kickboxing and Muay Thai career David and his older brother Daniel started ou ...

on March 4, 2017, at UFC 209. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. The fight was awarded ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Vannata was expected to face

Abel Trujillo Abel Nazario Trujillo (born September 18, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Trujillo attended Ri ...

on October 7, 2017, at UFC 216. However, Trujillo was removed from the card on August 14 for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Bobby Green. Vannata struck Green with a knee while Green was a grounded opponent, which caused referee Herb Dean to deduct one point from Vannata. The judges handed down a split draw after three rounds with score of 29-27-27-29 and 28-28. This fight earned him Fight of the Night award. Vannata was linked to a fight with Gilbert Burns on April 14, 2018, at UFC on Fox 29. However, the pairing never materialized as Vannata was unable to accept the fight for this date/event as he was still rehabilitating a recent arm injury. Vannata faced Drakkar Klose on July 7, 2018, at UFC 226. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. After the fight with Klose, Vannata departed from Jackson Wink MMA Academy in the heels of Donald Cerrone's departure. Due to the departure, Vannata begun training at both Cerrone's BMF Ranch and Jackson's MMA Association Gym. Vannata faced Matt Frevola on November 3, 2018, at UFC 230. The bout ended in a majority draw. Shortly after the fight, Vannata announced that he became a free agent. In the beginning of 2019, Vannata announced that he had signed a new, four-fight contract with the UFC. Vannata faced promotional newcomer Marcos Rosa Mariano on February 10, 2019, at UFC 234. He won the fight via a submission in round one. Vannata faced

Marc Diakiese Marc Diakiese (born 16 March 1993) is a Congolese-born English professional mixed martial artist who competes as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has also competed for Caged Steel and BAMMA. Background Aged 17, Diakies ...

on September 28, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 160 ''UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 160'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 18'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 28, 2019 at Royal Arena in Cop ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Vannata faced Yancy Medeiros on February 15, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 167. He won the fight via unanimous decision. A rematch with Bobby Green took place on August 1, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the '' Fight of the Night'' award. Vannata moved down to featherweight and faced Mike Grundy at UFC 262 on May 15, 2021. He won his 145 lb debut via split decision. Vannata was scheduled to face Tucker Lutz on November 13, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 197. However, the contest was cancelled in late October as Lutz was removed from the event in favor of another bout. Vannata faced

Charles Jourdain Charles Jourdain (born November 27, 1995) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Featherweight division. He was previously a TKO Major League MMA Double Champion, wi ...

on April 23, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 205. He lost the fight via a guillotine choke in round one. Vannata was scheduled to face Andre Fili on September 17, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 210. However, Vannata was forced to pull from the event due to injury. Vannata is scheduled to face Daniel Zellhuber on Apri 15, 2023 at

UFC Fight Night 222 ''UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Allen'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 222'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 80'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on April 15, 2023, at the T-Mobile ...

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championship ** Fight of the Night (four times) ** Performance of the Night (one time) *

MMAjunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

**2020 August Fight of the Month *MMADNA.nl **2016 Knockout of the Year vs. John Makdessi

Mixed martial arts record

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Copenhagen, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, , Marcos Rosa Mariano , Submission (kimura) , UFC 234 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:55 , Melbourne, Australia , , - , Draw , align=center, 9–3–2 , Matt Frevola , Draw (majority) , UFC 230 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , New York City,

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 209 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , John Makdessi , KO (wheel kick) , UFC 206 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 , Toronto, Ontario, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 , Tony Ferguson , Submission (D'Arce choke) , UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:22 , Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Ramico Blackmon , TKO (punches) , TSE: Rocky Mountain Rubicon 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:06 , Pueblo, Colorado, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Chad Curry , TKO (punches and elbows) , RFA 32: Blumer vs. Higo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:29 , Prior Lake, Minnesota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Santana-Sol Martinez , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Nemesis Promotions: High Altitude Face Off 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:11 ,

Alamosa, Colorado Alamosa is a home rule municipality and the county seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 9,806 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is the commercial center of the San Luis Valley in south-central Colora ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Bruce Reis , Submission (heel hook) , Jackson's MMA Series 13 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:07 , Pueblo, Colorado, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Mitsuyoshi Nakai , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pancrase 255 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:13 , Tokyo, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 ,

J. P. Reese James Patrick Reese (born December 21, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist. He bases his training at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Amateur wrestling career J.P. Reese began wrestling at Rochester Adams High School in Roches ...

, Decision (split) , Xtreme FC 25: Boiling Point , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Antonio Ramirez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Kamikaze Fight League 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 ,

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, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Adrian Apodaca , TKO (punches) , Mescalero Warrior Challenge 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:38 , Mescalero, New Mexico, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vannata, Lando 1992 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from New Jersey American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Neptune City, New Jersey Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers