Robert "Bubba" McDaniel (born May 3, 1983) 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, incorpo ...

who formerly fought as a Middleweight for 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 ...

where he went (1–2). He was a member of FX's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen.

Mixed martial arts career

''The Ultimate Fighter''

In January 2013, it was announced that McDaniel was selected for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen. To get into the TUF house, McDaniel defeated Ryan Bigler by TKO. During the choosing of teams, he was the third pick of coach

Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...

for Team Jones and sixth overall. McDaniel faced eventual winner

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won '' The Ul ...

in the preliminary round. Despite being favored to win, McDaniel was submitted in the second round via rear-naked choke. McDaniel was chosen by coach Jones for the wildcard spot and faced Kevin Casey. Bubba won via corner stoppage after Casey didn't answer the bell for the third round. McDaniel lost via early KO to Uriah Hall in the quarterfinals.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

McDaniel made his UFC debut against castmate Gilbert Smith on April 13, 2013 at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale. He won the fight via submission in the third round. McDaniel faced

Brad Tavares Bradley Kaipo Sarbida Tavares (born December 21, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Tavares currently competes in the middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2007, Tavares foug ...

on August 28, 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 27 ''UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 27'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 28, 2013, at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Backg ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. McDaniel was expected to face TUF 17 castmate Tor Troéng on March 15, 2014 at

UFC 171 ''UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler'' was a mixed martial arts event that was held on March 15, 2014, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The event was released on DVD on June 17, 2014. The DVD was distributed by '' Anchor Bay Entertai ...

. However, Troéng was forced to pull out of the bout citing an injury. McDaniel instead faced UFC newcomer Sean Strickland. He lost the bout via submission in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Bellator MMA

Previous to fighting in the UFC, McDaniel appeared on an early Bellator MMA fight card in 2009. He faced William Chris Spicer at

Bellator 6 2009 in Bellator MMA was the first installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started broadcasting April 3, 2009, through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes. The episodes had a one-day ...

and won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. In May 2014, McDaniel signed with Bellator MMA. He made his return on June 6, 2014, facing Matt Jones at Bellator 121. He won the fight by unanimous decision. McDaniel faced Emiliano Sordi on October 10, 2014 at

Bellator 128 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

. He lost via guillotine choke submission in the first round. In his second fight for the promotion, McDaniel faced Kenyon Jackson at

Bellator 146 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company ...

on November 20, 2015. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. After nearly two years away from Bellator, McDaniel will compete at Light Heavyweight when he replaces

Muhammed Lawal Oklahoma State Cowboys Central Oklahoma Bronchos Muhammed Lawal (born January 11, 1981), also known as "King Mo", is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to Major League Wr ...

against

Liam McGeary Liam McGeary (born 4 October 1982) is an English professional mixed martial artist who competed in Bellator's Light Heavyweight division. He is a former Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion. Mixed martial arts career Early career McGe ...

at Bellator 185 on October 20, 2017. The following week, McGeary pulled out of the fight due to an injury.

Personal life

McDaniel's son, Wilder, passed away October 11, 2018 at two years old. Late October 2018, McDaniel was arrested for allegedly making terroristic threats against a man he believed killed his son. In July 2021, Bubba's wife was arrested and charged with tampering or fabricating physical evidence and abandoning or endangering a child in relation to the death of Wilder.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 30–10 , Leonardo Pecanha , TKO (punches) , Zak Cummings Promotions - Stronger Men's Conference 2018 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:45 ,

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, United States , Catchweight (195 lbs) bout , - , Loss , align=center, 26–10 , Hayward Charles , Submission (anaconda choke) , HERO FC: Best of the Best VI , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:27 ,

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, United States , For Hero FC Middleweight Championship , - , Win , align=center, 26–9 , Kenyon Jackson , Submission (choke) , Legend Fights: Lopez vs. Alexander , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:06 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 25–9 , Edgar Verdin , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fury Fighting 7: McDaniel vs. Verdin , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,

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, United States , Light Heavyweight bout , - , Win , align=center, 24–9 , Marvin Babe , TKO (punches) , Horsepower Promotions: Fists of Fury 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:45 ,

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, United States , Light Heavyweight bout , - , Loss , align=center, 23–9 , Emiliano Sordi , Submission (guillotine choke) ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 22–8 , Matt Jones , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 121 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , Catchweight (190 lbs) bout , - , Loss , align=center, 21–8 ,

Sean Strickland Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former King of ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–6 , Gilbert Smith , Submission (triangle armbar) , The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:49 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–6 , Keith Cunagin , Submission (guillotine choke) , Legends of Fighting 53: Memorium , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:32 ,

, United States , Catchweight (195 lbs) bout , - , Win , align=center, 19–6 ,

Eric Schambari Eric Schambari (born April 22, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Schambari has most notably fought in World Extreme Cagefighting and was a s ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Fight Game: Premier Event , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–6 , Johnny Rees , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Legends of Fighting 45: Line of Fire , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:47 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6 , Kyacey Uscola , TKO (punches) , Pure Fighting Championships 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:28 ,

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, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 16–6 , Rob Wince , Submission (triangle choke) , Ohio Fight Conference: Round 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:08 , Columbus, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–6 , Nikolaos Rueve Boscarino , Submission (americana) , CNG Promotions: Queen City Meltdown , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:35 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–6 , Lucas Lopes , KO (punches) , MMA Big Show: A Prodigy Returns , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:13 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Billy Horne , TKO (punches) , MMA Big Show: Mayhem , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:43 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5 , William Chris Spicer , Submission (rear-naked-choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:53 ,

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Alexander Shlemenko Alexander Pavlovich Shlemenko (russian: Александр Павлович Шлеменко, born 20 May 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Middleweight division. He is most notable for fighting for Bellator Fi ...

, TKO (flying knee to the body) , ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 , Hammond, Indiana, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Kala Hose , Submission (rear-naked-choke) , EliteXC: Return of the King , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:41 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Alex Cisne , TKO , KOTC: Rising Stars , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:37 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Tom Jones , Submission (north-south choke) , Freestyle Cage Fighting 17 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 , Dan Molina , Submission (heel hook) , KOTC: Arch Rivals , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:05 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Blake Norsworthy , TKO , KOTC: Jawbreaker , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:43 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Mike Queen , Submission (rear-naked-choke) , Freestyle Cage Fighting 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:03 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Cody Malicott , Submission , Big Chief Promotions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Craig Cobb , Submission (triangle choke) , Freestyle Cage Fighting 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:42 ,

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Gerald Harris Gerald Harris (born November 19, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist and current high school science teacher, who most recently fought in Bellator. He was a cast member of Spike TV's ''The Ultimate Fighter 7'' and has also compet ...

, TKO (slam) , Freestyle Cage Fighting 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:55 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Nick Budig , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Freestyle Cage Fighting: Brawl For It All 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:18 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Jeff McConnell , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Freestyle Cage Fighting: Brawl For It All , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:26 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Brandon McDowell , Submission , Ultimate Texas Showdown 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Allan McGuire , Submission (armbar) , American Cage Fighting: Showdown at Sundown , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Roger Kimes , Submission (armbar) , Xtreme Fighting League - EK 19: Battle at the Brady 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:27 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Horace Spencer , Submission (choke) , Xtreme Fighting League , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , Oklahoma, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , York Ash , Submission (armbar) , World Fighting Organization , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , Oklahoma, United States ,

Kickboxing record

, - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2017-10-21 , , Loss , , align=left,

Kevin Holland Kevin Alan Holland (born November 5, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, Holland has also competed for ...

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, , KO (Spinning Back Elbow) , , 1 , , 1:29, , 0–1 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDaniel, Bubba 1983 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Texas Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters People from Childress, Texas People from Wichita Falls, Texas