Taylor Lapilus (born 8 April 1992) is a French

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 ...

and boxer who currently competes in

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

division of 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 ...

(UFC). He is the former TKO Major League MMA Bantamweight Championship.

Background

Born and raised in Villepinte, Lapilus competed in soccer on various levels as a youngster. Before he began training in martial arts, he briefly attended college where he studied, and worked for a time as a welder.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Lapilus followed the path of his brother Damien, who is also a professional mixed martial artist, and began training in mixed martial arts in 2010. He made his debut as a professional in 2012, competing as a featherweight for primarily for various regional promotions across France. He was able to compile a record along the way of 8–1. On the heels of his finish of Cyril Ericher in May 2014, Lapilus signed with the UFC in the fall of 2014.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Lapilus was expected to make his promotional debut on 4 October 2014 as a short notice replacement against

Dennis Siver Dennis D. Siver (Russian: Дмитрий Сивер, tr. Dmitriy Siver, born January 13, 1979) is a Russian-born German mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight, lightweight, and featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Champio ...

UFC Fight Night 53 ''UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 53'') was a mixed martial arts event held on October 4, 2014, at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Background This event was the third event that the UFC hosted in St ...

, filling in for an injured

Robert Whiteford Robert Whiteford (born 12 April 1983) is a Scottish mixed martial artist who is currently signed to Bellator MMA having spent a period of time in limbo due to contractual issues with ACB. Whiteford competed in Featherweight division of Absolute ...

. However, the Swedish Mixed Martial Arts Federation subsequently deemed Lapilus an unsuitable opponent, and in turn,

Charles Rosa Charles Rosa (born August 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Charles is of Italian descent and, the son of Chucky and ...

was tabbed as the last-minute replacement. Lapilus eventually made his debut against Rocky Lee on 11 April 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 64 ''UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 64'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 11, 2015, at the Tauron Arena Kraków in Kraków, Poland. Background The event was the first that the organization has ...

. Lapilus won the fight via unanimous decision. Lapilus faced Yuta Sasaki on 20 June 2015 at UFC Fight Night 69. Lapilus won the fight via TKO in the second round. Lapilus faced

Érik Pérez Érik Gregorio Pérez Ruvalcaba (born November 19, 1989) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Bellator MMA promotion. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for Shark Fights, BAMMA, ...

on 21 November 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Lapilus next faced

Leandro Issa Leandro Issa (born September 19, 1983) is a mixed martial artist from Brazil. Issa is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has won numerous BJJ competitions and tournaments including the Mundials and the Brazilian national championships. He ...

on September 3, 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 93 ''UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 93'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 3, 2016, at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Background After h ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Post-UFC career

After the sole boxing bout in 2017, Lapilus racked Bantamweight Championships in both TKO Major League MMA and German MMA Championships. In November 2019, it was revealed that Lapilus has signed with a new, Afro-European MMA promotion ARES Fighting Championship. Lapilus was expected to make his promotional debut in the promotion's inaugural event on December 14, 2019 against

Bryan Caraway Bryan Caraway (born August 4, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Battlefield Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Caraway has fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, EliteXC, and the WEC. He wa ...

. However, Caraway withdrew from the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Marcos Breno. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Lapilus faced

Wilson Reis Wilson Reis Monte Alto Gonçalves (born January 6, 1985, in Januária) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. Reis is the former EliteXC Bantamweight Champion and has also competed for UFC, Bellator, ShoXC ...

at Ares FC 2 on December 12, 2021. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Lapilus faced Demarte Pena for the vacant AFC Bantamweight Championship on April 16, 2022 at Ares FC 5. He won the bout and title via TKO stoppage in the first round.

Return to UFC

Lapilus was scheduled to face Khalid Taha on September 3, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 209 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 209'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 3, 2022, at Accor Arena in Paris, Fra ...

. However, Lapilus withdrew a week before the event due to a broken hand and was later replaced by Cristian Quiñónez.

Mixed martial arts style

Taylor Lapilus has 18 wins out of 21 fights with a 56% finish rate, including 8 by decision, 6 by submission and 4 by knockout. He has never been knocked out or submitted. Having started his martial arts career with

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling ...

and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he is a very comfortable grappler. Lapilus is also a good striker, being a long time Muay Thai practitioner. Furthermore, he is interested in Israeli fighting system

Krav Maga Krav Maga ( ; , ; ) is an Israeli martial art. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is derived from a combination of techniques used in aikido, judo, karate, boxing, and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situation ...

and participated in several induction trainings and programmes.

Professional boxing career

After a 3–1 run in the UFC Lapilus opted to try his hands at boxing, facing Heri Andriyanto on May 27, 2017. He won by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Demarte Pena , TKO (elbows and punches) , Ares FC 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:33 ,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , Ares FC 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 , Marcos Breno , Decision (unanimous) , Ares FC 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

, Senegal , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 ,

Nate Maness Nate Maness (born June 27, 1991), is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Maness made his amateur debut in 2013, winning four bou ...

, TKO (side kick) , TKO 48: Sousa vs Gane , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:22 ,

Gatineau, Quebec Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Josh Hill , Decision (split) , TKO 45: Jourdain Vs Morgan , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 , Denis Lavrentyev , Decision (unanimous) , RCC: Intro , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Ekaterinburg, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Farbod Nezhad , TKO (punches) , German MMA Championship 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:16 ,

Castrop-Rauxel Castrop-Rauxel (), often simply referred to as Castrop by locals, is a former coal mining city in the eastern part of the Ruhr Area in Germany. Geography Castrop-Rauxel is located in Germany between Dortmund to the southeast, Bochum to the sou ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Omer Solmaz , Decision (split) , German MMA Championship 13 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale: Magny vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Monterrey, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

Ulka Sasaki Ulka may refer to: * Ulka Gupta (born 1997), Indian film and television actress * Ulka Sasaki (born 1989), Japanese mixed martial artist * DRDO Ulka Ulka (Sanskrit: meteor or firebrand) is an air-launched expendable target drone of India. Desc ...

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk vs. Penne , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:26 ,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Rocky Lee , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Cyril Ericher , Submission (guillotine choke) , 100% Fight 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

Aubervilliers Aubervilliers () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Albertivillariens'' or ''Albertivillariennes''. Geography Localisati ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Osman Minbatirov , Decision (split) , Honor and Glory Fight Night 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Béziers, France , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Cyrille Dimbas , Submission (armbar) , 100% Fight 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:41 ,

, France , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

Magomed Bibulatov Magomed Khasanovich Bibulatov (born August 22, 1988) is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting for ACA in the Bantamweight division. He competed in the flyweight division in Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former World Ser ...

, Decision (unanimous) , GEFC - Urban Legend Prestige 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Villepinte, France , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Nicolas Joannes , Submission , Knock Out Championship 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:50 ,

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Chresus Mokima , Submission (armbar) , 100% Fight 13 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:32 ,

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Steve Polifonte , Decision (unanimous) , 100% Fight - Contenders 16 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Souksavanh Khampasath , Submission (triangle choke) , 100% Fight - Contenders 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:43 ,

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Isa Abiev , Submission (triangle choke) , OFC 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:35 , Hainaut, Belgium , , -

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapilus, Taylor 1992 births French male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Living people Sportspeople from Paris French practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu French mixed martial artists of Black African descent Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu