Ricky Glenn (born April 12, 1989) is an 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 ...

currently competing 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

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 ...

. A professional since 2006, he is the former

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 ...

Featherweight Champiom.

Background

Glenn was born in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

, an idyllic small town of Midwest America. With an adventure spirit, he had interest in BMX biking but the interest in fighting outweighed biking since he was young. He did a year of wrestling at

Marshalltown High School Marshalltown High School (MHS) is public high school located in Marshalltown, Iowa and is home to 1,600 students in grades 9–12. It is a part of the Marshalltown Community School District. The district, and therefore the high school, serves al ...

and started boxing training when he was fourteen. He loved combat sport so much that when his local boxing gym closed down, he travelled one and half hour each trip to other gym to get his boxing practice. He later transitioned to MMA training at a friend's basement and switch to his uncle's garage. When Glenn was seventeen, still a high school student and with one year wrestling, some boxing experience and self-taught MMA skills, he was asked to fight on a short notice for a local promotion. Still in his work uniform, Glenn left his work at a local Staples shift early in Marshalltown, rushing out to the venue, in time for a few stretches, and stepped in the cage 5 minutes later, winning his first fight. This win set of his MMA career where he put it “He was a tough guy, but I cut him up really good. I was shocked, I mean, I was fighting for my life in there. I was fighting grown men when I was in high school, and that first win meant everything.” After high school, Glenn moved to Cedar Rapids and attended a community college, majoring in physical therapy. He joined a MMA gym under Duke Roufus guidance where his training partner was Erik Kock and

Ben Askren Benjamin Michael Askren (born July 18, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. Askren was the former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion, remaining undefeated for over a decade before competing in ...

. Glenn fought 17 amateur fights in a short period with record of 15–1–1 and he would go on to fight 21 times professionally, losing only 3 bouts, and 97% of his wins have been by way of knockout, submission, or TKO prior signed by UFC. He moved to Milwaukee and left his employment at Costco to train full-time.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Glenn fought most of the fights in regional Midwest of American. He was the World Series of Fighting (WSOF) featherweight champion and Midwest Cage Fight featherweight champion. Glenn amassed a record of 18–3–1 prior signed by UFC. In his past 17 bouts, Glenn's only loss was to WSOF featherweight champion

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 he held notable victories over

Johnny Case Johnny Case (born June 28, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Lightweight division of RIZIN. A professional since 2007, he formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Professional Fighters League ...

and

Georgi Karakhanyan Georgi Karakhanyan is a Russian-born Armenian-American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Karakhanyan has also formerly competed for the ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Glenn made his promotion debut on September 17, 2016 at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Johnson against

Evan Dunham Evan Neil Dunham (born December 18, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in the lightweight division. He is perhaps best known for 21-fight tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship which spanned over a decade. Bac ...

in Texas. He moved up to lightweight for this fight bout replacing injured

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 12 days notice. He was bested by Dunham via unanimous decision and this unsuccessful debut snapped a three-fight winning streak since losing his WSOF title to

in 2014. He next faced

Phillipe Nover Phillipe J. Nover (born February 3, 1984), is a retired American mixed martial artist. He is best known for making it to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir. He is a former Ring of Combat lightweight champion. Early li ...

on February 11, 2017 at

UFC 208 ''UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on February 11, 2017, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Background The event was originally scheduled to take pl ...

. He outpointed Nover and win via split decision (27-30, 29–28, 29-28). Glenn faced

Gavin Tucker Gavin Scott Tucker (born June 17, 1986) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist. Tucker currently competes in the featherweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He had previously won the Extreme Cage Combat promotio ...

on October 9, 2017 at

UFC 215 ''UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 9, 2017 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background The promotion was initially planning a PPV event ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Tucker suffered four broken bones on his face during the one-sided beating from Glenn and many criticized the referee, Kyle Cardinal, for not stopping the fight. Glenn faced

Myles Jury Myles Madison Jury (born October 31, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist. He is currently signed with Bellator MMA, competing in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division. He is a Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. B ...

on December 30, 2017 at UFC 219. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Glenn faced

Dennis Bermudez Dennis Ross Bermudez (born December 13, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the UFC. Bermudez has been a professional MMA competitor since 2009. He has made a name for himself mainly fig ...

on July 14, 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 133 ''UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Ivanov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 133'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 14, 2018 at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho, United States. ...

. He won the fight via split decision. Glenn was scheduled to face

Arnold Allen Arnold Billy Allen (born 22 January 1994) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 8, 2022, he is #4 in the UFC featherweig ...

on November 30, 2018 at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. However, Allen pulled out of the fight on November 16 citing a cut he received while training, and he was replaced by

Kevin Aguilar Kevin Aguilar (born September 7, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). Aguilar was the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) Featherweight champion and he currently competes in the featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

. At the weigh-ins, Glenn weighed in at 148.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit of 146. He was fined 20 percent of their purse, which went to his opponent Kevin Aguilar. The bout proceeded at catchweight. Glenn lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Moving up to Lightweight

Glenn was scheduled to face Carlton Minus on December 19, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 183 ''UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 183'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 41'' and ''UFC Vegas 17'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 19, 2020 at the UF ...

. However during fight week, it was announced that Glenn had to be pulled out of the bout. Glenn faced Joaquim Silva on June 19, 2021 at

UFC on ESPN 25 ''UFC on ESPN: The Korean Zombie vs. Ige'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 25'' and ''UFC Vegas 29'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 19, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enter ...

. He won the bout via knockout just 37 seconds into the first round. The fight marked the last of his prevailing contract, and he subsequently signed a new, four-fight contract with the UFC. Glenn faced

Grant Dawson Grant Dawson (born February 20, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 19, 2022, he is #15 in the UFC lightweight rankings. Background Daws ...

on October 23, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori. The fight ended in majority draw. Glenn was scheduled to face

Drew Dober Andrew Martin Dober (born October 19, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also formerly competed for Bella ...

on March 12, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 203 ''UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 203'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 61'' or ''UFC Vegas 50'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 12, 2022 at the UF ...

. However, a week before the event, Glenn withdrew due to a torn groin and was replaced by

Terrance McKinney Terrance Kitarius McKinney (born September 15, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2017, McKinney also compet ...

Personal life

Glenn's moniker "The Gladiator" was given to him by his uncle for his killer instinct demeanour inside the boxing ring. Glenn and his wife Jenny have a son, Jaxson (born 2021).

Championships and accomplishments

** WSOF Featherweight Championship (One time; former) *Midwest Cage Fight **Midwest Cage Fight Featherweight Champion (One time; former)

Mixed martial arts record

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Urbandale, Iowa Urbandale is a city in Polk and Dallas counties, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city population was 45,580. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Urbandale was incorporated as ...

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Mashantucket, Connecticut Mashantucket is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northeast part of the town of Ledyard, New London County, Connecticut, United States. It consists of land held by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. The Foxwoods Resort Casino is in the northeast ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Glenn, Rick 1989 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Marshalltown, Iowa Mixed martial artists from Iowa Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu