Scott Cleve (born July 22, 1982) 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 competed in Bellator's

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

division and the MFC.

Background

Cleve was born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

and raised in

Escondido, California Escondido is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It has a population of 151,038 as of the 2020 census. Et ...

, attending Escondido High School where he competed in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and football. Cleve continued with

on a scholarship at

Adams State University Adams State University is a public university in Alamosa, Colorado. The university's Adams State Grizzlies athletic teams compete in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. History Adams State was founded in 1921 as a teacher's college. Billy ...

, receiving All-American honors his senior season. Two years after graduating, Cleve began training in

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Cleve compiled an amateur record of 4–1 with the lone loss being against current World Series of Fighting lightweight champion,

Justin Gaethje Justin Ray Gaethje (; born November 14, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. As o ...

, before turning professional. From August 2010 to June 2013, Cleve amassed a record of 13–3, with most of his victories coming by KO/TKO. During this time, Cleve picked up notable victories over Abel Trujillo,

Derek Campos Francisco Derek Campos (born April 1, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, Campos has competed for Bellator MMA, Shark Fights and King of ...

and

Ryan Schultz Ryan James Schultz (born July 4, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in 2013. A professional since 2003, he has competed in the WEC, IFL, and Japan's World Victory Road. He was the last International Fight League Light ...

Bellator MMA

Cleve signed with Bellator and made his promotional debut on October 4, 2013 at

Bellator 102 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

against Isaac DeJesus. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. Cleve faced

Daniel Weichel Daniel Weichel (born November 22, 1984) is a German mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2002, he has also competed in M-1 Global and Shooto. As of November 22, 2022, he i ...

in the quarterfinals of Bellator's season ten featherweight tournament at

Bellator 110 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 Heavyweight, ...

. Cleve lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round. Cleve fought

Matt Bessette Matthew James Bessette (born December 28, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist currently competing in CES MMA where he is the reigning Featherweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also competed for Bellato ...

at Bellator 123 on September 5, 2014. Cleve won the fight via unanimous decision. Cleve faced John Teixeira at Bellator 128 on October 10, 2014. He lost the fight via split decision. Cleve next faced Noad Lahat at Bellator 164 on November 10, 2016. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. Some time after this fight, Cleve exited his contract with Bellator.

After Bellator

After a nearly six-year break, Cleve was scheduled to fight under the Battle Mixed Martial Arts promotion on 19 March 2022. However, he pulled out of the fight due to injury.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 , Noad Lahat , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 164 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

, Israel , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–5 , John Macapá , Decision (split) , Bellator 128 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma. It is located in South Central Oklahoma. The population was 445 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Thackerville is located at (33. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 123 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ea ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–4 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:46 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Isaac DeJesus , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:14 ,

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Rocky Johnson , Submission (armbar) , NMEF: Annihilation 46: Made For War , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:20 , Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Gilbert Jimenez , TKO (punches) , Made For War 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:37 ,

Castle Rock, Colorado Castle Rock is a home rule town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 73,158 at the 2020 United States Census, a 51.68% increase since the 2010 United St ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 ,

, KO (punches) , SCL: Rise of the King , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:04 ,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Chris Manuel , Decision (unanimous) , Made For War 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States ,

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Manuel Gallardo , TKO (punches) , Dollar D Promotions: Melon Thump'n 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:11 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Gilbert Jimenez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UWF: Tournament of Warriors Round 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:17 , Corpus Christi, Texas, United States , UWF Light Tournament Quarterfinal. , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Steve Berger , Submission (guillotine choke) , Cage Championships 37 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

Washington, Missouri Washington is a city on the south banks of the Missouri River, 50 miles west of St. Louis, Missouri, and the largest in Franklin County, Missouri, United States. The estimated population in July 2021 was 14,916, an increase of 7% since the 2010 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Orlando Rodriguez , TKO (punches) , MFP: Vengeance , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A , Casper, Wyoming, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Johnny Torres , TKO (head kick) , ROF 42: Who's Next , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:04 ,

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a consolidated city and county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. Broomfield has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The Broomfield populati ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 ,

, Decision (split) , UWF 1: Huerta vs. War Machine , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Pharr, Texas Pharr is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 70,400, and in 2019, the estimated population was 79,112. Pharr is connected by bridge to the Mexican city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Pharr i ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 , Charles Jones , Decision (majority) , C3 Fights: Great Plains Sizzling Slamfest , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Newkirk, Oklahoma Newkirk is a city and county seat of Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,172 at the 2020 census. History Newkirk is on land known as the Cherokee Outlet (popularly called the "Cherokee Strip"), which belonged to the Chero ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Mukai Maromo , TKO (punches) , MFC 30: Up Close & Personal , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 ,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Abel Trujillo , Decision (split) , EB: Beatdown at 4 Bears 8 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

New Town, North Dakota New Town is a city in Mountrail County, North Dakota. The population was 2,764 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 18th largest city in North Dakota. New Town was platted in 1950 as a replacement site for the residents of Sanish and ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jos Eichelberger , TKO (punches) , Crowbar MMA: Winter Brawl , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:40 , Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ali Hanjani , TKO (punches) , NMEF: Annihilation 30 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:30 , Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , James Mead , TKO (punches) , Dollar D Promotions: Melon Thump'n 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:58 ,

, United States ,

References

External links

Scott Cleve Bellator profileScott Cleve on FacebookScott Cleve on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleve, Scott Living people 1982 births American male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling