Paul Simon Taylor (born 15 December 1979) is a retired English professional

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 formerly competed 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 ...

. A professional competitor from 2002 until 2013, Taylor also competed for

Cage Rage Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went into liquidation and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and ma ...

Mixed martial arts career

Taylor fights for

Team Kaobon Team Kaobon, which was formerly known as ''Fighters and Fitness'' is a mixed martial arts team from Liverpool, England. "Team Kaobon" is well known for being the training camp of multiple English lightweight fighters based in the Ultimate Fight ...

of Liverpool and is a former WPKC World Kickboxing Champion. Taylor got into

MMA 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 strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

when his coach entered him in the UK's first cage tournament,

. Taylor had given up

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

after becoming disillusioned at the lack of money in the sport. After giving up kickboxing, Taylor decided to retrain as a carpenter whilst doing MMA on the side, but eventually trained MMA full-time until his retirement.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Taylor sent a DVD of his fighting to the UFC to try and secure a contract with the organization and they signed him immediately. In his UFC debut, Taylor stopped previously undefeated Edilberto de Oliveira via TKO due to strikes early in the third round. His second UFC fight at

UFC 75 ''UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held September 8, 2007, at The O2 in London, United Kingdom. Background The event was the fourth event held by the UFC in ...

was a loss via

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

Marcus Davis Marcus Paul Davis (born August 24, 1973), is an American professional mixed martial artist and former professional boxer who is perhaps best known for competing in the UFC. A professional MMA competitor from 2003 until 2014, Davis also competed ...

. Although Taylor lost the fight he came close to winning with the referee seconds away from stopping the action due to Taylor connecting with a high kick and landing several blows on a rocked Davis. Due to its high pace and excitement the fight was awarded Fight of the Night. His next fight at

UFC 80 ''UFC 80: Rapid Fire'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), that took place on January 19, 2008, at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, United Kingdom. Background The main event was originally sch ...

was a loss via unanimous decision to fellow countryman Paul Kelly. Although he lost, Taylor along with Kelly was awarded $35,000 as a bonus for Fight of the Night. This was the second time that Taylor had won the award. Taylor fought

Jess Liaudin Jess Liaudin (born 21 December 1973) is a retired French professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and film actor. A professional MMA competitor from 1990 until 2014, he competed for UFC, Pancrase, Cage Rage, and King of the Cage. Backgrou ...

in a rematch at

UFC 85 ''UFC 85: Bedlam'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on June 7, 2008, at The O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. Background The card was plagued by a number of injuries sustained by scheduled fight ...

. Taylor won by split decision. Taylor met MMA veteran

Chris Lytle Chris Scott Lytle (born August 18, 1974) is a retired American mixed martial artist and boxer. An MMA professional from 1999 until 2011 and 20-fight veteran of the UFC, Lytle also fought in Pancrase, Cage Rage, and the WEC. He held the inaug ...

UFC 89 ''UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on October 18, 2008, at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Background The event was headlined by a middleweight b ...

which took place at the

National Indoor Arena Arena Birmingham (known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Arena Birmingham, and previously as The Barclaycard Arena and originally as the National Indoor Arena) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, United Kingdom. It ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England. Lytle won a unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 30–27). The decision resulted in loud boos and Taylor was surprised at Lytle being awarded the judges' decision.

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

, MMAWeekly and MMAJunkie thought Taylor had won the decision. The fight was awarded ''Fight of the Night'' honors and both fighters received $40,000 following their exciting, action packed fight. Although this was Taylor's third defeat in the octagon, he had won ''Fight of the Night'' awards on three occasions when he had been defeated in the UFC. Taylor next fought

John Hathaway John Lawrence Hathaway (born 1 July 1987) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division. Mixed martial arts career Background and early career Formerly an open-side flanker for local rugby team Hove RFC, Hatha ...

UFC 105 ''UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on November 14, 2009 in Manchester, United Kingdom at the Manchester Evening News Arena. This event aired on the same day, via tape de ...

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, losing via unanimous decision. Taylor was expected to make his

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 ...

debut against

John Gunderson John Edward Gunderson (born May 1, 1980) is a retired American mixed martial artist. He used to fight with the UFC and SCC also numerous other organizations being a champion or fighting for the championship in many of them. Once he was a top 1 ...

on 10 April 2010 at

UFC 112 ''UFC 112: Invincible'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Due to the time zone difference in Abu Dhabi, UFC 112 was shown live on pay-per-view in the U ...

. However, due to complications after making the weight cut, Taylor was not medically cleared to fight. Taylor next faced

Sam Stout Samuel James Stout (born April 23, 1984) is a retired Canadian professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2003 until 2015, Stout is best known for his 20-fight stint with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), winning ''Fight of the ...

on 23 October 2010 at

UFC 121 ''UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 23, 2010 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, United States. The event was the fourth time the UFC has hosted at the Hon ...

. The fight saw both fighters attempt kicks. The first round saw Stout bloody Taylor's nose and successfully gain a takedown. Taylor came back in the second, catching Stout on the inside. Stout went on to win a split decision (29–28, 28–29, 30–27). Taylor next faced

Gabe Ruediger Gabriel G. "Gabe" Ruediger (born August 29, 1977) is a former American mixed martial artist, who competed in the Lightweight division for the UFC, WEC and Tachi Palace Fights. He is a former WEC Lightweight Champion, and former TPF Lightweigh ...

on 5 February 2011 at

UFC 126 ''UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 5, 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background Former Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor B ...

. Taylor won via KO after landing a head kick and follow up punches in the second round. Taylor was expected to face

John Makdessi John Makdessi (born May 3, 1985) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Makdessi was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on May 3, 1985, ...

on 14 August 2011 at

UFC on Versus 5 ''UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle'' (also known as ''UFC on Versus 5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 14, 2011, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event was the first that the UFC h ...

. However, Makdessi was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by

Donald Cerrone Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ultimat ...

. However it was later revealed that Taylor had broken his foot and was forced out of his scheduled bout and replaced by

Charles Oliveira Charles Oliveira da Silvahttp://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2014_Results/12-12-14MMA.pdf (born October 17, 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. He currently comp ...

. Taylor was expected to face

Anthony Njokuani Anthony Obinna Njokuani (born March 1, 1980) is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor since 2001, Njokuani has also formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, and ONE Championship. Background B ...

on 5 November 2011 at

UFC 138 ''UFC 138: Leben vs. Muñoz'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 5, 2011 at LG Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the United S ...

. However, just days before the event, Taylor sustained a

whiplash Whiplash may refer to: * The long flexible part of a whip * Whiplash (medicine), a neck injury ** Whiplash Injury Protection System (WHIPS), in automobiles Film and television * ''Whiplash'' (1948 film), a US film noir about a boxer * ''Whiplas ...

injury during a minor traffic collision forcing him from the bout. With no time to find a suitable replacement the bout was scrapped. Taylor/Njokuani was expected to take place on 11 July 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman. However, Taylor was forced out of the bout with yet another injury, and replaced by

Rafael dos Anjos Rafael Souza dos Anjos (; born October 26, 1984) is a Brazilian American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former UFC Light ...

. Taylor was expected to return from the extended hiatus and the bout with Njokuani scheduled for a third time on 26 October 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 30 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, Taylor was forced to pull out of the bout once again with another injury and was replaced this time by

Al Iaquinta Al Iaquinta (born April 30, 1987) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, having once challenged for the Lightweight championship belt. A professional ...

. After the most recent withdrawal, the UFC announced that Taylor has retired from MMA.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (Three times)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 11–6–1 (1) ,

, KO (head kick and punches) ,

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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 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–6–1 (1) ,

, Decision (split) ,