Richard Walsh (born 1 December 1988) is an Australian

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 ...

. He previously competed in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of the

UFC 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 ...

. He was also a semi-finalist on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Canada vs. Australia''.

Background

Walsh graduated from St. Ignatius College in Sydney in 2006. He went on to complete a bachelor's degree in construction at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

before going to study abroad at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Walsh also enrolled in postgraduate law, but chose instead to pursue mixed martial arts. He trains out of VT1 Martial Arts in Chatswood.

Mixed martial arts career

Amateur career

Walsh competed extensively before becoming a professional athlete. He has fought in both amateur Muay Thai and western boxing where he holds records of 10–0 and 6–0 respectively. He is also a former Brazilian jiu-jitsu state champion.

Early professional career

Walsh made his professional mixed martial arts debut on 29 May 2009 when he defeated Tahu Pauro by first-round submission. He went on to fight seven more times, four of which ended in first round victories, before auditioning for TUF: Nations.

The Ultimate Fighter

On 5 December 2013, it was announced that Walsh had been selected as one of the welterweight fighters representing Australia for The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia. The reality show was led by Patrick Côté and

Kyle Noke Kyle Noke (born 18 March 1980) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who competed as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Noke has also fought for EliteXC. Background Noke, origina ...

and premiered in early 2014. In episode five of the show Walsh, who was placed on Team Noke, faced Matt DesRoches from Team Cote. Dominating the fight from start to finish, Walsh scored a unanimous decision and earned the second win for his team. He proceeded to the semi-finals of the competition. In the semi-finals, Walsh faced the much-touted Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Walsh was defeated in the first round via rear-naked choke.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Walsh fought former teammate Chris Indich on the undercard of The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale: Bisping vs. Kennedy. The event took place on 16 April 2014 at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Walsh was able to control the fight for three rounds and was awarded a unanimous decision as a result. Walsh faced

Kiichi Kunimoto is a Japanese 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 ...

UFC Fight Night 52 ''UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 52'') was a mixed martial arts event held on September 20, 2014, at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Background The event was the third time that the organization hoste ...

. He lost the fight via controversial split decision. Many prominent MMA sites and fighters scored the bout in Walsh's favour given his dominance in the first two rounds of the fight. Walsh faced

Alan Jouban Alan Michael Joubanhttp://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2016_Results/07-07-16MMA.pdf (born November 25, 1982) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A profess ...

on 28 February 2015 at

UFC 184 ''UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano'' was a mixed martial arts event held on February 28, 2015, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort was expected to serve ...

. Jouban won the fight via knockout in the first round. Walsh faced Steve Kennedy on 15 November 2015 at

UFC 193 ''UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm'' was a mixed martial arts event held on 14 November 2015, at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the most attended UFC event in the history of the company at the time, with 56,214 people filling th ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Walsh faced

Viscardi Andrade Viscardi Andrade Guimarães (born 8 March 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of Taura MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, he was also a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 before ...

on 20 March 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 85 ''UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 85'') was a mixed martial arts event held on March 20, 2016, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Background The event was the second that t ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Walsh next faced

Jonathan Meunier Jonathan Meunier (born August 4, 1987) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Meunier has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Ba ...

on 27 November 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 101 ''UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 101'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 27, 2016, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Bac ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. In May 2017, Walsh was released from the company.

Post Ultimate Fighting Championship

Walsh was awarded his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in January 2018. He is currently working at the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai.

Personal life

Walsh trained at the same gym as fellow UFC fighter and TUF 20 alumni Alex Chambers prior to the latter's departure in mid 2015. Unlike Chambers, Walsh originally had no intention of competing. However, he has been a longtime fan of MMA and combat sports which finally led to his decision to turn professional.Murray, Oliver
"VT1 Academy fighters Richard Walsh and Alex Chambers take step closer to Ultimate Fighting Championship dreams"
" Daily Telegraph", Sydney, 16 December 2013. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.

Mixed martial arts record

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Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

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Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

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Quebec City, Quebec Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is the ...

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Callan Potter Callan Potter (born 6 September 1984) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early career Potter compiled a pr ...

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Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydne ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center , 4–1 , Josh Russell , KO (punches) , War on the North Shore 15 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:10 , Kallangur, Australia , , - , Win , align=center , 3–1 , Adriano Magnani , TKO (punches) , Pro Cagefighting 1: Gladiators , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 4:30 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center , 2–1 , Robert Whittaker , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Fighting Championships 11 , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 2:40 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Win , align=center , 2–0 , Blake Doering , Decision (unanimous) , War on the North Shore 10 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Win , align=center , 1–0 , Tahu Pauro , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Elite Fight Night 8 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 3:30 , Penrith, Australia ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Richard 1988 births Sportsmen from New South Wales Living people Australian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu