Nhat Nam Si Phan (born March 13, 1983), better known as Nam Phan, is an American retired

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

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. A professional in mixed martial arts since 2001, Phan has also competed for 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 ...

, WEC, Strikeforce,

World Victory Road World Victory Road (WVR) is a defunct Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in ...

, and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck. He has competed in Japanese MMA organization

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

and won the title of King of Pancrase in the featherweight division in 2015.

Background

Born and raised in California, Phan began training in

Tae Kwon Do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

at the age of four. A few years later, Phan began karate and did that for eight years earning his black belt. By the age of 16, he had earned a second degree black belt in Việt Quyền Đạo, a Vietnamese combat martial art. Phan then began studying Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the year 2000 earning his black belt He is also a professional boxer with a record of 3-8-1.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Phan made his professional mixed martial arts debut against Jason Maxwell in October 2001, and won due to a second-round TKO. He then won his following three fights also, before tasting defeat at the hands of

Rob McCullough Robert Alexander McCullough IV (born May 26, 1977) is an American former Muay Thai kickboxer and professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2001-2011 in MMA, McCullough has formerly competed for the WEC, Bellator, DREAM, the Wor ...

in April 2003. In December 2006, and now with a 12-2 record, he made his promotional debut with Strikeforce against

Josh Thomson Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1977) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, ...

at '' Strikeforce: Triple Threat''. He lost via unanimous decision, however, and was also defeated in his next, and last, Strikeforce fight against

Billy Evangelista Billy Evangelista (born October 7, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist. A professional from 2006 until 2014, he fought for World Extreme Cagefighting, Strikeforce (mixed martial arts), Strikeforce, and the Palace Fighting Championsh ...

at '' Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson''. He then won the Extreme Fighters World Championships by defeating Shad Smith via TKO at 1:11 of the first round on October 6, 2007. In 2009, he took part in the Sengoku Raiden Championship's Featherweight Grand Prix where he defeated

Hideki Kadowaki (born 28 May 1976) is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2000, he has competed for Shooto, DEEP, and World Victory Road. He is the former Shooto Lightweight (143 lbs) Champion. Biography Hideki Kadowaki was bo ...

in the opening round. In the second round, at '' Sengoku 8'', Phan was defeated by

Michihiro Omigawa is a retrired Japanese mixed martial artist, judoka and submission grappler, who mainly competed in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Omigawa competed in the UFC, PRIDE, Cage Rage, World Victory Road, D ...

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Phan signed with 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 ...

to appear on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck''. On the debut episode, Phan defeated Mike Budnik via TKO after a liver shot and follow-up punches. Phan therefore earned entrance into the house, where he would be picked for Team Koscheck as Koscheck's fifth pick (ninth overall). In the preliminary fight, Phan fought Spencer Paige, winning via unanimous decision to give Koscheck's team their first win. The first round was closely contested until the final seconds where Phan got a takedown, ground and pounded, and then applied a kimura. In between rounds, Paige told his corner that his left foot was broken. Phan would go on to continue pressuring Paige in the second round to win the fight. For his quarter-final fight, Phan was selected to fight Cody McKenzie. Phan defeated McKenzie via TKO (punches) in round 2, securing his spot in the semi-finals. In the semi-final round, Phan faced Michael Johnson. In a back-and-forth fight, Johnson scored takedowns. The consensus at the fight was that Johnson won the opening round, whilst Phan won the second. The third round, however, was argued over, with the coach of each respective fighter believing that their fighter took it. Johnson was declared the winner via split decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Phan was expected to face

Alex Caceres Alex Caceres (born June 20, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division of the UFC. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Caceres mostly competed in his regional circuit, before signing with the Ultim ...

on December 4, 2010 at The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale. However, Caceres was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by

Leonard Garcia Leonard Garcia (born July 14, 1979, in Plainview, Texas) is an American former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Featherweight division of the Legacy Fighting Championship, and is the former Legacy FC Featherweight Champion. ...

. Phan lost the fight against Garcia via a controversial split decision. Due to the controversy surrounding the decision, both fighters were awarded a win bonus by the UFC and the fight earned ''Fight of the Night'' honors. The loss was named as 2010 Robbery of the Year by many MMA websites, most notably by Sherdog.com. A rematch with Garcia was expected on March 26, 2011 at

UFC Fight Night 24 ''UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 24'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 26, 2011 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. Background The event did not lea ...

. However, Phan was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by Chan Sung Jung. Phan faced Mike Brown on August 6, 2011 at UFC 133. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Phan was expected to face

Matt Grice Donald Matthew Grice (born July 29, 1981) is an American police officer and retired mixed martial artist. He was in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in the featherweight division before suffering a traumatic brain injury in a traffic ...

on October 8, 2011 at

UFC 136 ''UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 8, 2011, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo held at the George R. Brown ...

, replacing an injured

Josh Grispi Josh Richard Grispi (born October 14, 1988) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2006 until 2014, he has competed for the UFC and WEC. Background Grispi, a talented hockey player, was kicked ...

. However, Grice was forced out of the bout with an injury with Leonard Garcia stepping in to replace him. Phan won via unanimous decision, also earning both fighters ''Fight of the Night'' bonuses. Phan next faced Jimy Hettes on December 30, 2011 at

UFC 141 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 ...

. Phan was dominated by Hettes throughout the fight, unable to stop the many takedowns of his opponent and losing via unanimous decision. Phan was briefly linked to a bout with Zhang Tie Quan on February 26, 2012 at

UFC 144 ''UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 26, 2012 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Venue UFC 144 was held at the Saitama Super Arena in the ...

. However, for unknown reasons, the bout never materialized. Phan faced

Cole Miller Cole Miller (born April 26, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the featherweight division in the UFC. His nickname "Magrinho" means "skinny" in Portuguese. Mixed martial arts career Before giving ...

on August 4, 2012 at

UFC on FOX 4 ''UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 4'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 4, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Background Chad Griggs was expected to fa ...

and won a split decision. Phan faced

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 ...

on December 8, 2012 at

UFC on Fox 5 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 ...

, replacing an injured Eddie Yagin. Nam went into the fight with a passive posture, and proceeded to be dominated through the entire three rounds in both stand up and ground games, ultimately losing by unanimous decision. One of the judges scored 10-8 in favor of Siver on all three rounds. Phan fought

Takeya Mizugaki (born December 16, 1983) is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor from 2005 to 2020, Mizugaki also competed for Absolute ...

in a Bantamweight bout on December 7, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 33. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Phan faced Vaughan Lee on March 1, 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter: China Finale. He lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Post-UFC career

In his first fight post-UFC, Phan faced Kenichi Ito at Grandslam MMA: Way of the Cage on July 13, 2014. He won the fight via first-round TKO. Phan then faced Yuki Baba at Pancrase 261 on October 5, 2014. Phan won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Bellator MMA

On October 17, 2014, it was announced that Phan has signed with Bellator. He made his debut for the promotion against

Mike Richman Michael Richman (born June 23, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Legacy Fighting Alliance. A professional competitor in mixed martial arts since 2008, Richman has competed for Bella ...

on November 15, 2014 at Bellator 131. Phan lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Retirement

On March 12th, 2017 after his loss to Whiteford, Phan announced his retirement from MMA competition.

Personal life

Phan takes pride in his Vietnamese heritage and is part of the

Vietnamese-American Vietnamese Americans ( vi, Người Mỹ gốc Việt, lit=Viet-origin American people) are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group after Chinese ...

community. He proudly displays both the American and South Vietnamese flags on his '' gi'' as a symbol of his pride in the freedom of his current home and of his lost homeland. Phan owns and runs the Madu Academy, where he teaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu as well as boxing and Muay Thai. In 2005, Phan co-founded Ma Du Entertainment, a business to promote mixed martial arts fighters.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (Two times) vs.

* Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling ** King of Pancrase Featherweight Championship (1 Time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 21–17 , Robert Whiteford , Technical Submission (front choke) , , ACB 54: Supersonic , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 ,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–16 ,

Masakazu Imanari is a Japanese former professional wrestler and current mixed martial artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. A professional competitor since 2000, he is a veteran of ONE Championship, DEEP, ZST, Pa ...

, Submission (heel hook) , DEEP Cage Impact 2016 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:35 ,

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, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–15 , Andy Main , Submission (triangle choke) , Pancrase 270 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 3:41 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 21–14 ,

Takumi Nakayama is a Japanese mixed martial artist and former King of Pancrase Featherweight Champion. He is also the former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion. "Takumi"(タクミ, all katakana) ring name of Nakayama in Japan. Biography Nakayama was in ...

, Decision (split) , Pancrase 264 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, KO (punches) , Bellator 131 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:46 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–13 , Yuki Baba , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pancrase 261 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:05 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 19–13 , Kenichi Ito , TKO (punches) , Grandslam MMA: Way of the Cage , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:27 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–13 , Vaughan Lee , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter China Finale: Kim vs. Hathaway , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, SAR, China , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–12 ,

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

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, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–11 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–10 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–10 , Jimy Hettes , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–9 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Houston, Texas, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–9 , Mike Brown , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 133 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–8 ,

, Decision (split) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–7 , Rodney Rhoden , Submission (armbar) , Civic Disobedience 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:20 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–7 , Isaac DeJesus , TKO (punches) , TPF 3: Champions Collide , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:55 , Lemoore, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 ,

, TKO (punches) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:52 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 ,

, TKO (punches) , World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:09 ,

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, Decision (split) , Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Saad Awad Saad Awad ( ar, سعد عوض , born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist competing in Bellator's lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Awad has formerly competed for Strikeforce and King of the Cage. Backg ...

, TKO (punches) , GC 74: Evolution , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:52 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Shad Smith , TKO (punches) , EFWC: The Untamed , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:11 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,

Gesias Cavalcante Gesias Cavalcante (born July 6, 1983) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. He was the 2006 and 2007 K-1 HERO Middleweight Champion, and has also fought for Strikeforce, DREAM, Shooto, ...

, TKO (punches) , Dynamite!! USA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:26 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Strikeforce: Triple Threat , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Ryan Diaz , Decision (split) , KOTC: Rapid Fire , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Albert Hill , Submission (armbar) , KOTC 63: Final Conflict , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:12 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Joe Frainee , Submission (armbar) , KOTC 58: Prime Time , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:28 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Sost Infante , TKO (cut) , KOTC 54: Mucho Machismo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:51 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Joey Alvarado , KO (punches) , KOTC 49: Soboba , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Mike Valdez , Submission (triangle choke) , KOTC 47: Uprising , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:41 , Lemoore, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 , Nick Ertl , Decision (split) ,

WEC 11 WEC 11: Evolution was a mixed martial arts event promoted by World Extreme Cagefighting on August 20, 2004 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. The main event saw Shonie Carter take on Jason Biswell. Results ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Eben Kaneshiro , Decision (unanimous) , Pit Fighting Championship , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , PFC: Knucklefest , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Patrick Hoang , Decision (unanimous) , PFC: Knucklefest , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Brad Levy , Decision (split) , PFC: Knucklefest , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Brad McCall , Submission (guillotine choke) , California Pancration Championships , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:42 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jason Maxwell , TKO (punches) , Cobra Classic 2001 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A , Anza, California, United States ,

References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phan, Nam American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Bantamweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Boxers from California Light-middleweight boxers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male karateka Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1983 births Living people American sportspeople of Vietnamese descent Sportspeople of Vietnamese descent People from Westminster, California American male boxers Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters