Nicholas Catone (born September 1, 1981) is a retired 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 ...

. Catone competed most recently in 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 ...

in their

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division.

Mixed martial arts career

Wrestling

Catone began wrestling in middle school. Catone stayed with the sport all through his middle and high school years. While at

Brick Memorial High School Brick Memorial High School (also known as Brick Township Memorial High School) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Brick Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, oper ...

in Brick Township, New Jersey, Catone won numerous awards and titles in wrestling. He was a ''New Jersey State place winner'', ''Three-time Division I national qualifier'', ''2x Division I conference champion'' and ''100 Division I career wins''. He was rewarded with a scholarship to wrestle for

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

but did not like the lifestyle of a large college. After spending a year at Rutgers, Catone transferred to

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. It consists of four academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and West ...

where he won ''Male Athlete of the Year'' in 2004. Catone graduated from Rider with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Early mixed martial arts career

After college, Catone realized that he did not want to give up the sport of wrestling. So he found a mixed martial arts training facility in 2005 and started working very hard on his

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

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 ...

skills to become a successful professional mixed martial artist.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Catone's first UFC fight was scheduled to be against

TUF 7 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest'' was the seventh season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter'', and premiered on April 2, 2008 on Spike, after ''UFC Fight Nigh ...

winner

Amir Sadollah Amir Ali Sadollah ( fa, امیرعلی ﺳﻌدالله, born August 27, 1980) is a retired American mixed martial artist, formerly with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the winner of Spike TV's '' The Ultimate Fighter 7''. He has fough ...

UFC 91 ''UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on November 15, 2008, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event featured the return of UFC Heavy ...

. However, due to a leg infection, Sadollah withdrew from the match. A replacement for Sadollah could not be found so the match was scrapped from the card. The match against Sadollah was rescheduled for February 7, 2009 at

UFC Fight Night 17 ''UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 17'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on February 7, 2009. Background The main event was originally scheduled to be between ...

. On January 23, Sadollah was, again, forced to withdraw from the fight due, this time to a fractured clavicle. Catone finally made his UFC debut, defeating Derek Downey via keylock in the second round at UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens. Catone's second fight for the UFC, he fought

Tim Credeur Timothy Wallace Credeur II (born July 9, 1977) is a retired American mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's ''The Ultimate Fighter 7'' and was defeated by fellow cast member Jesse Taylor in the semi-finals. He was then brought b ...

UFC Fight Night 18 ''UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 18'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on April 1, 2009. Background The event was broadcast on Spike TV and served as a lead ...

. Catone lost for the first time in his career by submission due to a guillotine choke in the second round. The fight later went on to be shown on an episode of

UFC Unleashed 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 ...

. At

UFC 102 ''UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on August 29, 2009 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. It featured former five-time UFC champion and UFC Hall of Fam ...

, Catone took his second consecutive loss against

Mark Muñoz Oklahoma State Cowboys Mark Kenery Muñoz (born February 9, 1978) is a Filipino-American former professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competito ...

. The fight was full of intense sprawls and exciting stand up battles. Catone lost the fight by a very close split decision (28-29, 30-27 and 29-28). Despite the loss, Catone signed a new four fight deal with the promotion. Catone was originally scheduled to face

Steve Steinbeiss Steve Thomas Steinbeiss (born May 5, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who recently fought in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Ultimate Fighting Championship Steinbeiss was pa ...

UFC Fight Night 20 ''UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 20'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 11, 2010 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Background Nik Lentz wa ...

. However, Steinbess pulled out of the fight because of an undisclosed injury and was replaced by

Jesse Forbes Jesse Lee Forbes (born October 24, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2010, he competed for the UFC, WEC, the MFC, and was a competitor on ''The Ultimate Fighter 3.'' Background Forbes ...

. Catone returned to his winning ways by defeating Forbes via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). Catone was scheduled to face

John Salter John Salter (born March 21, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of Bellator. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also competed for the UFC and Strikeforce, King of the Cage, and ...

on May 8, 2010 at

UFC 113 ''UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 8, 2010, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background UFC 113 featured the rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauríci ...

, but Catone was forced from the card with a back injury. He was replaced by

Jason MacDonald Jason Anthony MacDonald (born June 3, 1975) is a Canadian former mixed martial artist. A professional from 1999 until 2013, he is perhaps best remembered for his two stints in the UFC, but also fought for King of the Cage, and the Maximum Fight ...

. After suffering two injuries, Catone was expected to drop down to the welterweight division. Instead, he was expected face

Tomasz Drwal Tomasz is a Polish given name, the equivalent of Thomas in English. Notable people with the given name include: *Tomasz Adamek (born 1976), Polish heavyweight boxer *Tomasz Arciszewski (1877–1955), Polish socialist politician and Prime Minist ...

on September 15, 2010 at

UFC Fight Night 22 ''UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 22'') and originally scheduled as ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Belcher'', was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 15, 2010 ...

. However, Catone withdrew from the fight against Drwal due to injury. Catone was expected to face Dan Miller on March 19, 2011 at

UFC 128 ''UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background This event was expected to take place in Abu Dha ...

in a catchweight bout of 195 lbs. However, Miller was pulled from the bout to fill in for

Yoshihiro Akiyama , also known as and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games. A fourth-generation Japanese of ...

against

Nate Marquardt Nathan Joel Marquardt (born April 20, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the middleweight and welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 1999, he is a former Strikeforce W ...

and was replaced by UFC newcomer

Costas Philippou Constantinos Philippou ( gr, Κωνσταντίνος Φιλίππου, born November 29, 1979) is a retired Greek-Cypriot mixed martial artist. He formerly fought for the UFC's Middleweight division. Early life Philippou was born in Limassol o ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Catone was expected to face Aaron Simpson on October 8, 2011 at

UFC 136 ''UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 8, 2011, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo held at the George R. Brown C ...

. However, Catone was forced out of the bout after tearing an Achilles tendon, and was replaced by

Eric Schafer Eric John Schafer (born September 20, 1977) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 until 2016, he competed for the UFC. Background Schafer attended the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. Schafer is a black belt i ...

. Catone faced

Chris Camozzi Christopher Allen Camozzi (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional Glory kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Camozzi has formerly competed in th ...

on June 22, 2012 at

UFC on FX 4 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

. Catone was up the first two rounds on the scorecards until a knee by Camozzi caused a large cut on the forehead of Catone, resulting in a doctor stoppage in the third round. Catone made his welterweight debut against

TJ Waldburger Anthony "TJ" Waldburger Jr. (born April 25, 1988) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, he competed for the UFC, Shark Fights, and HDNet Fights. Background ...

on December 15, 2012 at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale. He lost the fight via technical submission in the second round after he passed out in Waldburger's triangle choke. Catone was expected to face James Head on April 27, 2013 at

UFC 159 ''UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen'' was a mixed martial arts event held on April 27, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background Jimy Hettes was expected to face Steven Siler at the event; however, Hettes was forced out of the bou ...

. However, at the weigh ins Catone missed weight and the bout was subsequently pulled from the card the day of the show after Catone went to the hospital for dehydration. Catone faced Tom Watson in a middleweight bout on February 1, 2014 at

UFC 169 ''UFC 169: Barão vs. Faber 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held on February 1, 2014, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The event was released on DVD on May 6, 2014. The DVD was distributed by the label ''Anchor Bay Entertainment ...

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

Vitor Miranda Vitor Miranda (born March 10, 1979) is a Brazilian kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He was the K-1 Brazil 2005 and K-1 Turkey 2007 super heavyweight tournament champion. Biography Vitor Miranda was born in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Braz ...

on April 18, 2015 at

UFC on Fox 15 ''UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 15'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 18, 2015, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background The event was the sixth event that the UFC has hosted in New ...

. However, Catone abruptly announced his retirement on March 25, citing a litany of injuries and a history of chronic back pain.

Championships and accomplishments

*United States Kickboxing Association **USKBA Middleweight Championship (one time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Tom Watson , Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.TJ Waldburger Anthony "TJ" Waldburger Jr. (born April 25, 1988) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, he competed for the UFC, Shark Fights, and HDNet Fights. Background ...

, Technical Submission (triangle choke) ,

The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson'' is the sixteenth main installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. This season reverted to the taped format, after Th ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:04 ,

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 , align=center, 9–3 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:51 ,

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.

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Jesse Forbes Jesse Lee Forbes (born October 24, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2010, he competed for the UFC, WEC, the MFC, and was a competitor on ''The Ultimate Fighter 3.'' Background Forbes ...

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

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, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:45 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Derek Downey , Submission (keylock) , UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:15 ,

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 , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Eric Tavares , TKO (punches) , Ring of Combat 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Mitch Whitesel , TKO (punches) , Ring of Combat 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Ben Knight , TKO (elbows) , Ring of Combat 17 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Dan Whalen , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ring of Combat 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:58 ,

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John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

, Decision (unanimous) , CFFC 5: Two Worlds, One Cage , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Dan Karnbauer , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Reality Fighting 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

, United States ,

Post-UFC career and anti-vaccine activism

After retiring from competition, Catone opened a gym in

Ocean County, New Jersey Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Lance Palmer Lance Palmer (born February 7, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former collegiate wrestler. He currently competes in the featherweight division of Professional Fighters League, where he is the 2019's tournament champi ...

and

Timur Valiev Timur Arsenovich Valiev (born January 19, 1990) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. Valiev previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL). Background ...

. He and his wife Marjorie Madison-Catone became involved in the

anti-vaccination movement Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

after his 20-month old Nicolas died unexpectedly. A medical expert who conducted an autopsy on the body attributed the death to sudden unexplained death in childhood, a disease which has no known causes, but the parents blamed recent vaccinations for the tragedy. Catone became vocal on social media about his anti-vaccination theories and the story of his child was used in a billboard campaign by the anti-vaccination group Learn The Risk. In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Facebook deleted Catone's account, as part of its efforts to reduce the amount of misinformation about medical topics on the network. Catone threatened to sue Facebook for an amount exceeding $5 billion for depriving him of a mean to promote his business and the loss of personal pictures.

References

External links

*
BioUFC ProfileOfficial Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catone, Nick 1981 births Living people Brick Memorial High School alumni American sportspeople of Italian descent American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from New Jersey Sportspeople from Brick Township, New Jersey Rider University alumni Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Ocean County, New Jersey American anti-vaccination activists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

Mixed martial arts career

Wrestling

Early mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Post-UFC career and anti-vaccine activism

See also

References

External links