Ryan Drew Thomas (born November 5, 1984) is a black belt under Ricardo Liborio and an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 most recently competed in the

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. He has a degree from

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

in elementary education. He also wrestled at Eastern Illinois University.

Mixed martial arts Career

Ryan started his career at

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 ...

(185 pounds), but dropped to

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 the ...

(170 pounds) after only a few fights. Ryan has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championships, Bellator Fighting Championships, Courage Fighting Championships, Dragons Cage, Genesis MMA, Colosseum Combat, World Fighting Championships, and he also won the "Iowa Meanest Man Tournament" (a sixteen-man tournament) in Davenport, Iowa.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On August 9, 2008, Thomas made his

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 ...

debut at

UFC 87 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 ...

against Ben Saunders, losing via submission in round two. His next fight was against TUF Alumni Matt Brown at

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 Heavywe ...

, again, losing via submission in round two. He was then cut from the promotion.

Bellator Fighting Championships

In April 2010, Thomas signed with upstart promotion

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Global. ...

. He took part in the promotions Season Two Welterweight Tournament, losing to

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 ...

in a Quarterfinal bout via stoppage in the first round. After

Jim Wallhead Jim Wallhead (born 14 March 1984) is an English professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. He has competed for BAMMA, Bellator, and M-1 Challenge and the UFC . Wallhead is a member of Team Rough House and Lei ...

was pulled from the tournament, Thomas was given another Quarterfinal bout at

Bellator 15 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010 and ended June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and m ...

against Jacob McClintock, Thomas defeated McClintock by TKO in the first round to receive a rematch with Askren. On May 20, 2010, Thomas got a rematch with

in a Semifinal bout at

Bellator 19 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010 and ended June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the Featherweight (MMA), featherweight, Lightweigh ...

, Thomas lost via unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the contest 30-27 in favor of Askren. Thomas eventually faced

on October 14, 2010 at

Bellator 32 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010 and ended June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and ...

He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

*Colosseum Combat **CC Welterweight Championship (Two time) **Interim CC Welterweight Championship (One time) *Courage Fighting Championships **CFC Welterweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Dominique Steele Dominique Steele (born January 25, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has also competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Fight Ni ...

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John Kolosci John Kolosci (born November 26, 1974) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 2003 until 2011, he competed for the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, the XFC, and was a competitor on ''The Ultimate Fighter'', fighting for Team ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Jacob McClintock , TKO (punches) ,

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, Technical Submission (guillotine choke) ,

Bellator 14 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010 and ended June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and m ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Ryan Stout , Submission (triangle choke) , War in the Yard , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ryan 1984 births American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Danville, Illinois Living people People from Coconut Creek, Florida Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Eastern Illinois Panthers athletes Mixed martial artists from Illinois