Jason Witt | |
---|---|
Born | Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | November 7, 1986
Other names | The Vanilla Gorilla |
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) |
Division | Welterweight |
Reach | 70 in (178 cm)[1] |
Stance | Orthodox |
Fighting out of | Kansas City, Missouri |
Team | Submission Inc. (formerly)[2] HD MMA (formerly)[2] Glory MMA and Fitness (2014–present)[3] |
Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Jason Bircher[4] |
Years active | 2013–2022 |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 28 |
Wins | 19 |
By knockout | 3 |
By submission | 8 |
By decision | 7 |
By disqualification | 1 |
Losses | 9 |
By knockout | 7 |
By submission | 2 |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
Jason Witt (born November 7, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial artist who last competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
[edit]Witt started training around 2009 with his uncle, who used to be a professional kickboxer.[5]
Mixed martial arts career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Witt fought locally in the Missouri regionals, debuting on April 3, 2009. His debut in the amateur ranks was a loss against Tyler Johnson. He turned professional in March 2013 and won his first match on April 26 in Shamrock Fighting Championships, defeating Nick Felix. Witt would then compete in such organizations as Shamrock FC, Titan FC, and Bellator MMA, and Legacy Fighting Alliance.[6]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
[edit]Witt made his UFC debut as a welterweight on June 27, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs Hooker, replacing Ramiz Brahimaj as the opponent of Takashi Sato.[7] He lost the fight via TKO in round one.[8][9]
Witt faced Cole Williams on October 31, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva. At the weigh-ins, Cole Williams missed weight, weighing in at 175.5 pounds, four and a half pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Williams was fined a percentage of his individual purse, Jason Witt.[10] Witt dominated the bout and secured a second round submission win.[11]
Witt faced Matthew Semelsberger on March 13, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad.[12] He lost the fight via knockout in round one.[13]
As the last bout of his rookie contract, Witt faced Bryan Barberena on July 31, 2021 at UFC on ESPN 28.[14][15] He won the fight via majority decision.[16] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.[17]
As the first bout of his new, four-fight contract Witt faced Philip Rowe on February 5, 2022 at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Strickland.[18][15] He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.[19]
Witt was scheduled to face Josh Quinlan on August 6, 2022 at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill.[20] but was pushed back one week to UFC on ESPN 41 due to Josh Quinlan being pulled from the event for an atypical drug finding; long-term metabolite (or M3 metabolite) of the steroid dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) in a urine sample.[21] Witt lost the fight via knockout in round one.[22]
On October 30, 2022, Witt announced his retirement from MMA.[23]
Championships and achievements
[edit]- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Bryan Barberena[17]
- Kansas City Fighting Alliance
- KC Fighting Alliance Welterweight Championship (One time) [24]
- Four successful title defenses
- KC Fighting Alliance Welterweight Championship (One time) [24]
Mixed martial arts record
[edit]28 matches | 19 wins | 9 losses |
By knockout | 3 | 7 |
By submission | 8 | 2 |
By decision | 7 | 0 |
By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 19–9 | Josh Quinlan | KO (punch) | UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Cruz | August 13, 2022 | 1 | 2:09 | San Diego, California, United States | Catchweight (180 lb) bout. |
Loss | 19–8 | Philip Rowe | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Strickland | February 5, 2022 | 2 | 2:15 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 19–7 | Bryan Barberena | Decision (majority) | UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland | July 31, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
Loss | 18–7 | Matthew Semelsberger | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad | March 13, 2021 | 1 | 0:16 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 18–6 | Cole Williams | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva | October 31, 2020 | 2 | 2:09 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (175.5 lb) bout; Williams missed weight. |
Loss | 17–6 | Takashi Sato | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker | June 27, 2020 | 1 | 0:48 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 17–5 | Zak Bucia | Decision (unanimous) | Fighting Alliance Championship 2 | February 22, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Independence, Missouri, United States | |
Win | 16–5 | Roberto Neves | Decision (unanimous) | Final Fight Championship 40 | September 5, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 15–5 | Cliff Wright | Decision (unanimous) | Kansas City Fighting Alliance 34 | July 27, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Independence, Missouri, United States | Defended the KC Fighting Alliance Welterweight Championship. |
Win | 14–5 | Ashkan Morvari | Submission (rear-naked choke) | LFA 50 | September 21, 2018 | 3 | 1:01 | Prior Lake, Minnesota, United States | Catchweight (165 lb) bout. |
Loss | 13–5 | Hugh Pulley | TKO (punches) | Stronger Men's Conference 2018 | April 13, 2018 | 2 | 1:44 | Springfield, Missouri, United States | |
Win | 13–4 | Mark Lemminger | TKO (punches) | Chosen Few FC 13 | January 27, 2018 | 3 | 1:38 | Madison, Wisconsin, United States | Catchweight (175 lb) bout. |
Win | 12–4 | Ty Freeman | Decision (unanimous) | LFA 29 | December 15, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Prior Lake, Minnesota, United States | |
Win | 11–4 | Jake Lindsey | Decision (unanimous) | Kansas City Fighting Alliance 25 | September 30, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Independence, Missouri, United States | Defended the KC Fighting Alliance Welterweight Championship. |
Win | 10–4 | Kenny Licea | KO (punch) | Carden Combat Sports 2 | June 24, 2017 | 2 | 0:09 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | |
Win | 9–4 | Wade Johnson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Pyramid Fights 2 | May 13, 2017 | 1 | 2:37 | Searcy, Arkansas, United States | |
Loss | 8–4 | Justin Patterson | TKO (punches) | Bellator 174 | March 3, 2017 | 3 | 0:13 | Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States | Catchweight (175 lb) bout. |
Win | 8–3 | Craig Eckelberg | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Kansas City Fighting Alliance 21 | December 9, 2016 | 1 | 4:31 | Independence, Missouri, United States | Defended the KC Fighting Alliance Welterweight Championship. |
Loss | 7–3 | Dakota Cochrane | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Victory FC 52 | July 16, 2016 | 2 | 3:17 | Omaha, Nebraska, United States | |
Win | 7–2 | Isaac Vallie-Flagg | DQ (illegal knee) | Titan FC 34 | July 18, 2015 | 3 | 1:54 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | Catchweight (160 lb) bout. |
Win | 6–2 | Ryan Dickson | TKO (punches) | GWFC 2 | May 30, 2015 | 1 | 1:00 | Burlington, Ontario, Canada | Catchweight (163 lb) bout. |
Win | 5–2 | Josh Tulley | Decision (unanimous) | Kansas City Fighting Alliance 14 | April 25, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Independence, Missouri, United States | Defended the KC Fighting Alliance Welterweight Championship. |
Win | 4–2 | Jeremy Small | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Kansas City Fighting Alliance 13 | January 31, 2015 | 1 | 1:16 | Independence, Missouri, United States | Won the KC Fighting Alliance Welterweight Championship. |
Loss | 3–2 | Jeremiah Denson | Submission (guillotine choke) | Shamrock FC: High Stakes | May 17, 2014 | 1 | 2:54 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | Middleweight bout. |
Win | 3–1 | Tommy O'Neal | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Epic Fight Night 2 | December 14, 2013 | 1 | 0:42 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | |
Loss | 2–1 | Chance Rencountre | TKO (punches) | Titan FC 26 | August 30, 2013 | 2 | 0:56 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | |
Win | 2–0 | Nick Felix | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Shamrock FC: Fight Night | April 26, 2013 | 1 | 1:37 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | |
Win | 1–0 | Henry Lindsay | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Centurion Fights | March 1, 2013 | 1 | 2:09 | St. Joseph, Missouri, United States |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
- ^ a b Brady Briggs (August 3, 2021). "Jason Witt speaks volumes of James Krause as head coach following UFC Vegas 33". mymmanews.com.
- ^ "Interview with Glory MMA Pro Fighter Jason Witt". MMA Latest. January 26, 2015 – via YouTube.
- ^ @the_vanillagorilla (February 24, 2022). ""(...) It's absolute honor to go from white belt to black belt under @nosajitsu. (...)"". Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via Instagram.
- ^ "Jason Witt | UFC". www.ufc.com. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Jason Witt ("The Vanilla Gorilla") | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology.
- ^ Jay Pettry (June 26, 2020), Jason Witt In Against Takashi Sato After Ramiz Brahimaj's Corner Tests Positive for COVID-19, Sherdog
- ^ Andrew McNicol (June 28, 2020), Sato shrugs off coronavirus drama, South China Morning Post
- ^ Thomas Albano (June 28, 2020), Takashi Sato spoils Jason Witts Cinderella story, Fansided
- ^ Staff (2020-10-30). "UFC on ESPN+ 39 weigh-in results: Silva, Hall official, but two are heavy and one fight scrapped". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (31 October 2020). "UFC Vegas 12 Results: Jason Witt Pulls Off Halloween Massacre Against Cole Williams". Cageside Press. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ Jamal Boussenaf (2020-12-25). "Jason Witt treft Matthew Semelsberger op 13 maart". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-02-10.
- ^ Behunin, Alex (2021-03-13). "UFC Vegas 21 Results: Matthew Semelsberger Needs Just 16 Seconds to Knock Out Jason Witt". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
- ^ Marcel Dorff (2021-05-08). "BREAKING: Bryan Barberena vs. Jason Witt toegevoegd aan UFC evenement op 31 juli". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-02-10.
- ^ a b Daniel Vreeland (January 27, 2022). "Episode 310: Blood Diamond, Jason Witt and Eagle FC 44" (Podcast).
- ^ Gibbons, Justin (2021-07-31). "UFC Vegas 33 Results: Jason Witt Gets by Bryan Barberena Via Majority Decision". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
- ^ a b "UFC on ESPN 28 bonuses: Melsik Baghdasaryan's head-kick statement worth $50,000". MMA Junkie. 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
- ^ Marcel Dorff (2021-10-08). "Jason Witt vs. Phil Rowe toegevoegd aan UFC evenement op 5 februari". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-02-10.
- ^ Evanoff, Josh (2022-02-05). "UFC Vegas 47: Phil Rowe Stops Jason Witt, Claims Second Straight Second Round Finish". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
- ^ Anderson, Jay (2022-06-14). "Jason Witt Welcomes Josh Quinlan to the UFC on August 6". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
- ^ Newswire, MMA Fighting (2022-08-06). "Josh Quinlan not cleared for UFC Vegas 59 after steroid metabolite turns up in drug test". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
- ^ Bitter, Shawn (2022-08-13). "UFC San Diego: Josh Quinlan Lands One-Punch KO on Jason Witt". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
- ^ Nag, Sayan. "BREAKING: UFC welterweight Jason Witt announces retirement from MMA; fighters and former opponents pay tribute". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
- ^ "Jason Witt | UFC". www.ufc.com. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Jason Witt". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-08-07.