Shamar Bailey is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Bailey has formerly 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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

M-1 Global M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year. It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with oth ...

, and was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos.

Background

The son of a devoted pastor father, Shamar Bailey was raised in a strict Christian household which moved him across state lines six times before his 20th birthday. These moves were due to his dad's full-time corporate re-locations. Bailey was homeschooled until his senior year of high school when he elected to attend the local

Greenwood, Indiana Greenwood is a city in Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 63,830 at the 2020 Census. Greenwood is located southeast of central Indianapolis between Interstate 65 and Interstate 69. It is the most populous suburban mu ...

, public school. During his senior season at

Center Grove High School Center Grove High School is a high school located in Greenwood, Indiana. A part of Center Grove Community School Corporation, it serves western Greenwood and most of Bargersville. Founded in 1884, the high school has always been located at th ...

, Bailey excelled on the varsity wrestling team, going undefeated over the course of the year.Shamar Bailey
ultimatefighter.com After high school, Bailey attended Maranatha Bible College and majored in church-ministry.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Building on his impressive senior year at Center Grove, Bailey entered Division III Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Wisconsin where he continued to thrive on the mats, earning All-Conference three times and being named NCAA National Qualifier. The Church Ministries major returned to Indianapolis after graduation and began to train with Jake O'Brien and

Chris Lytle Chris Scott Lytle (born August 18, 1974) is an American retired mixed martial artist and boxer. A professional from 1999 until 2011 and twenty-fight veteran of the UFC, Lytle also fought in Pancrase, Cage Rage, and the WEC. He held the inaugura ...

to stay active as he mulled over an offer to move to

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

to train at the Olympic Training Center with the World Team training camp. Bailey began to feel more comfortable in the sport and decided to decline the invitation in order to pursue mixed martial arts and soon after, in 2006, Bailey had his first professional fight, a first-round TKO victory over Jason Cook. For the past four years, Bailey has trained with Integrated Fighting Academy while also working part-time for the Indianapolis Fire Department with

. During this time, he has earned notable victories over

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 ...

and Waachiim Spiritwolf.

Strikeforce

Bailey made his

on November 7, 2009, when he faced

at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers. He won his debut via unanimous decision. Bailey then replaced an injured Bryan Travers, as he fought Justin Wilcox at Strikeforce Challengers 7 on March 26, 2010. He lost via unanimous decision and was subsequently released.

The Ultimate Fighter

In 2011, it was announced that Bailey had signed with the

to compete in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos. Bailey was picked first on Team dos Santos and second overall. In the first preliminary bout of the season, Bailey was selected to fight Nordin Asrih. Bailey used his wrestling to control Asrih on the ground and win a clear-cut decision. In the quarterfinals, he fought Chris Cope but lost via unanimous decision after two rounds. After the fight Shamar was visibly upset with the decision, saying numerous times, "he fought well, but not that good".

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Even though he lost in the quarterfinals, Bailey remained signed after the show. He made his official UFC debut June 4, 2011 on

The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos'' is the thirteenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The UFC and Spike TV held open tryouts on November 4, 2010 ...

card, fighting against fellow quarterfinalist and teammate, Ryan McGillivray. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Bailey dropped to Lightweight in order to face

Evan Dunham Evan Dunham (born December 18, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in the lightweight division. He is perhaps best known for 21-fight tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship which spanned over a decade. Backgro ...

UFC Fight Night 25 ''UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 25'' or ''UFC Fight Night: Battle on the Bayou'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 17, 2011 at the Ernest N. Moria ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Bailey faced Danny Castillo on November 19, 2011 at

UFC 139 ''UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 2011 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. It was the first UFC event in San Jose, the longtime home and base ar ...

. During the official weigh ins, Bailey failed to make the weight limit for the Lightweight division. Bailey came in three pounds over, which resulted being fined 20 percent of his earnings, and the bout took place at a Catchweight of 158 lb. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. After the loss to Castillo, Bailey was released from the promotion.

Post UFC

Bailey was scheduled to face UFC veteran

Karo Parisyan Karo Parisyan (born August 28, 1982) is an Armenian-American former mixed martial artist, who last competed in the welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 1999, Parisyan is a former WEC Welterweight Champion and has also compe ...

at ShoFight 20 on June 16, 2012 for the vacant ShoFight Welterweight Championship. However, due to a medical suspension, Bailey was pulled from the fight and replaced by

John Gunderson John Gunderson (born May 1, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist who used to fight with the UFC. He was once a top-ten lightweight outside the UFC. Gunderson is also an International Fight League veteran who fought out of Ken Shamroc ...

Xtreme Fighting Championships

Bailey faced Bellator veteran Luis Santos at XFC 23 on April 19, 2013. He lost the fight via TKO at just over a minute into the first round.

Retirement

On October 7, 2014, Bailey announced his retirement from MMA competition.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 16–11 , Mark Stoddard , TKO (punches) , Pinnacle Combat XVII , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:44 ,

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Gideon Ray Gideon Charles Ray (born May 27, 1973) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2000 until 2012, Ray competed for the UFC, King of the Cage, the Toronto Dragons of the IFL, and was featured on The Ultimate Fig ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–8 , David Overfield , TKO (punches) , Colosseum Combat 22 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:18 ,

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Josh Shockley Josh Shockley (born November 15, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Shockley has also previously competed for the UFC and Bellator. Mixed martial arts ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 60 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5 , Darrell Smith , Submission (D'arce choke) , Colosseum Combat XIX , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:53 ,

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

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debut. , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Ryan McGillivray , Decision (unanimous) ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 , Kurt Kinser , TKO (cut) , LOF 41: Damage Incorporated , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–2 , Justin Wilcox , Decision (unanimous) , Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs. Mahe , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Decision (unanimous) , Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Raymond Jarman , TKO (punches) , M-1 Challenge 18: Netherlands Day Two , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:15 ,

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, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Rodney Sleepers , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC: The Renewal , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , James George , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFL: Fight Night at The Murat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:04 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Roger Bowling , TKO (punches) , RFL: Hostile Takeover , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:28 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Waachiim Spiritwolf , Decision (unanimous) , Revolution Fight League 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Mike Firari , TKO (punches) , Madtown Throwdown 10 , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Salazar Sanchez , TKO (punches) , LOF 12: Black Tie Battles , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:39 ,

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Amateur mixed martial arts record

, Win , align=center, 1–0 , Rod Montoya , Decision (unanimous) , United Fight League 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Shamar 1982 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Illinois Welterweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Martial artists from Chicago People from Greenwood, Indiana Sportspeople from Johnson County, Indiana Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters