Chris Honeycutt (born July 25, 1988) 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 in

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

's Middleweight division.

Background

Born in

Brook Park, Ohio Brook Park is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 18,595 . Geography Brook Park is located at (41.399550, −81.818423). According to the United States Cens ...

, Honeycutt began

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 ...

at the age of four. Honeycutt attended

North Andover High School North Andover High School is a public high school in the town of North Andover, Massachusetts, United States. The school is a part of the North Andover Public School System, and is the only high school in the district. Construction on the school ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

for two years before moving and transferring schools to St. Edward High School in

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, being coached by Greg Urbas. At North Andover, Honeycutt finished second in the state tournament and finished the season with a record of 32–1 with the loss coming in the state final. As a sophomore, Honeycutt won the Massachusetts state championship. At St. Edward's, Honeycutt placed third in the state tournament and then went undefeated and won the state championship again for his senior season. Honeycutt finished with an overall high school record of 154-10 and was also a member of the 2006 Junior National team. Honeycutt continued his wrestling career at

Edinboro University PennWest Edinboro is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University, a multi-campus public university in Pennsylvania. Located in the town of Edinboro, the campus has more than 4,600 enrolled students. History Edinboro University was founded ...

where he was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American. A fan of

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 strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

, Honeycutt soon began his career after college. Honeycutt also had brief training in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

as well as

Tae Kwon Do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

before embarking on a career in MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career: Up and Comers Unlimited

Honeycutt made his professional MMA debut on January 26, 2013, defeating Jesse Torres via first-round TKO in the Up and Comers Unlimited promotion. After another first-round stoppage win, Honeycutt faced Manny Murillo for the vacant UPC middleweight championship at UPC Unlimited: Up & Comers 16 on July 20, 2013. He won the fight via unanimous decision after five rounds to become the UPC middleweight champion. Honeycutt successfully defended his title once, defeating Jake Gallagher via TKO due to punches in the first round at UPC Unlimited: Up & Comers 18 on January 4, 2014.

Battlegrounds MMA

Honeycutt was expected to compete in the Battlegrounds MMA single night 8-man tournament on October 3, 2014. However, in September it was announced that him, along with Dennis Hallman, were removed from the welterweight bracket and replaced by Jesse Taylor and Joe Ray.

Bellator MMA

Welterweight

Honeycutt made his welterweight and Bellator debut at

Bellator 125 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 ...

against Ultimate Fighter 12 contestant Aaron Wilkinson on September 19, 2014. Honeycutt won the fight via TKO in the second round. Honeycutt faced Clayton MacFarlane at Bellator 133 on February 13, 2015. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. In his third fight for the promotion, Honeycutt faced Paul Bradley at Bellator 140 on July 17, 2015. The fight ended midway through the second round after an accidental clash of heads between the two fighters, resulting in a cut on Bradley that the doctor deemed too bad to allow the fighter to continue. The official result was a No Contest. A rematch with Bradley was held on January 29, 2016, at Bellator 148. Despite again being the betting favorite, Honeycutt lost the bout via TKO early in the first round, resulting in the first loss of his MMA career. After his first loss, Honeycutt returned to face Matt Secor at Bellator 153 on April 22, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Return to middleweight

Honeycutt returned to the middleweight division and faced Mikkel Parlo at Bellator 156 on June 17, 2016. Honeycutt won the fight via unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced

Ben Reiter Ben Reiter (born June 27, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2011, he has competed for Bellator. Background Raised in Smithtown, New York, Reiter attended Smithtown H ...

Bellator 166 2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016. Background 2016 is notable for the launch of sibling promotion Bellator Kickboxi ...

on December 2, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Kevin Casey at Bellator 182 on August 25, 2017. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. Honeycutt faced

Rafael Lovato Jr. Rafael Lovato Jr. (born June 25, 1983) is a 4th degree black belt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner (8x world medallist) and a retired mixed martial artist who last competed in the Middleweight division of Bella ...

at Bellator 189 on December 1, 2017. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Leo Leite at Bellator 202 on July 13, 2018. He won the fight via unanimous decision, getting three 30–25 score cards from the judges.

Absolute Championship Akhmat

Honeycutt faced Alexander Shlemenko at Eastern Economic Forum: Roscongress Vladivostok Combat Night on September 15, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Azamat Bekoev on April 23, 2021, at ACA 122. He lost the bout via rear-naked choke in the second round. Honeycutt faced Arbi Agujev on September 11, 2021, at ACA 128. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Nikola Dipchikov at November 18, 2021 at ACA 132: Johnson vs. Vakhaev. He lost the bout after getting knocked out via elbows from the bottom.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

*Up and Comers Unlimited **UPC Middleweight Championship (one time) **One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 (1) , Nikola Dipchikov , KO (elbows) , ACA 132: Johnson vs. Vakhaev , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:31 ,

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

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Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

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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 (3 ...

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Verona, New York Verona (called ''Te-o-na-ta-le'', "''pine forest''" by the Haudenosaunee) is a town in southwestern Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 6,293 at the 2010 census. The town was named after Verona, Italy. Verona is located s ...

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Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

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Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and located ...

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Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by la ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honeycutt, Chris Living people 1988 births American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American male taekwondo practitioners People from Cuyahoga County, Ohio