Kyle Noke (born 18 March 1980) is an Australian 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 ...

who competed as a

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

in 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 ...

. A professional competitor since 2002, Noke has also fought for

EliteXC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decemb ...

Background

Noke, originally from Dubbo, in New South Wales, competed in various sports growing up including rugby, and began training in

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 striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

in 2002. Noke also worked in security; guarding "Crocodile Hunter"

Steve Irwin Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 19624 September 2006), known as "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist. Irwin grew up around crocodiles and ot ...

, Noke serving as Irwin's bodyguard for three years during Irwin's heyday as host of the Australian-based nature show. Noke's job was eventually changed to train "The Crocodile Hunter" between filming sessions. Noke and another bodyguard worked with Irwin on

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 ...

, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and

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 ...

. During his time with Irwin, Noke bounced between the U.S. and Australia as he continued to rack up professional victories; he found the tutelage of renowned trainer Greg Jackson. In September 2006 Noke got word that Irwin had died. He went back to security at the zoo where Irwin worked but soon afterward decided that he needed to go after his dream of being a mixed martial artist.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Noke made his professional MMA debut in November 2002. Over the next five years, Noke fought in his native Australia and amassed a record of 13–3–1. During this time, he split a pair of matches with fellow future UFC fighter George Sotiropoulos.

EliteXC

Noke made his United States MMA debut in November 2007 as he defeated Seth Kleinbeck via TKO due to cuts at EliteXC: Renegade. Noke returned to the promotion in February 2008, losing via KO to Scott Smith at EliteXC: Street Certified.

The Ultimate Fighter

Noke was a participant on the UFC reality show '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz'' in 2010. After winning his preliminary fight to enter the house, Kyle was chosen for the first fight against Team Ortiz member Clayton McKinney and won via triangle choke in the first round. In the quarter-finals, Noke was selected to face rival team member and good friend

Kris McCray Kris Eric Johannes McCray (born September 24, 1981) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He was the runner-up of ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz''. Background McCray was born in Germany to Calvin and Barba ...

. Although Noke was highly touted and favored to win, he eventually began to succumb to the multiple takedowns by McCray, which Noke had little answer to gaining position or escaping and lost the fight via unanimous decision after three rounds.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Noke made his UFC debut against TUF teammate Josh Bryant at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale. After putting in a dominant first round, Noke won via second-round TKO. Noke defeated

Rob Kimmons Rob Kimmons (born January 30, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist who last competed in the Welterweight division. A professional from 2000 until 2013, he competed for the UFC, WEC, and Titan FC. Background Raised in the small tow ...

on 13 November 2010 at

UFC 122 ''UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 13, 2010 at König Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. This event aired on the same day, via tape delay, on Spike TV in the ...

at 1:33 in the second round via rear naked choke. Noke faced

Chris Camozzi Christopher Allen Camozzi (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional Glory kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Camozzi has formerly competed in th ...

on 27 February 2011 at UFC 127. Noke defeated Camozzi in the first round with a rear-naked choke. Noke was also awarded ''Submission of the Night'' bonus. Noke was expected to face

Tom Lawlor Thomas Joseph Lawlor (born May 15, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and podcast host. He is best known for his time in Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he was a former one-time MLW World Heavyweight Cham ...

on 14 August 2011 at

UFC on Versus 5 ''UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle'' (also known as ''UFC on Versus 5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 14, 2011, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event was the first that the UFC h ...

. Lawlor, however, pulled out of the bout due to an injury in early July 2011.

Ed Herman Edward Benson Herman (born October 2, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Herman was a finalis ...

replaced Lawlor on the card. After defending multiple submission attempts from Herman, Noke finally tapped to an inverted heelhook 4:15 in the first round. Noke was clearly in pain from the submission, and he needed help to walk out of the octagon. Noke was expected to face

Jared Hamman Jared Hamman (born March 7, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist that competes in the World Series of Fighting's Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has also formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce and Sho ...

on 3 March 2012 at UFC on FX 2, but Hamman was forced to withdraw with an injury and replaced by

Andrew Craig Andrew Brandon Craig (born January 15, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, he has also competed for Bellat ...

. After a dominant first round by Noke, Craig took control in the next two rounds and Noke lost the fight via unanimous decision. Noke made his welterweight debut against

Charlie Brenneman Charles Brenneman (born February 9, 1981) is a former American mixed martial artist and currently is a motivational speaker. A professional from 2007 until 2014, he competed for the UFC, ShoXC, and was the winner of the first season of the televi ...

on 22 September at

UFC 152 ''UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 22, 2012, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background Rory MacDonald was expected to face fo ...

. Noke defeated Brenneman via TKO only 45 seconds into the first round. Noke was expected to face

Seth Baczynski Seth Baczynski (born October 26, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional since 2006, Baczynski has formerly competed for the UFC, and was a cast member ...

on 15 December 2012 at

UFC on FX 6 ''The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes'' is the second foreign version of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. Like The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, this version was filmed, in its entir ...

. However, Noke pulled out of the bout citing a shoulder injury and was replaced by Mike Pierce. In June 2013, it was announced that Noke would be coaching The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia, opposite Patrick Côté. The reality show features welterweights and Middleweights. The coaches faced each other on 16 April 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale. Noke lost the fight via unanimous decision. Noke was expected to face

Yoshihiro Akiyama , also known as and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games. A fourth-generation Japanese of ...

on 20 September 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 52 ''UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 52'') was a mixed martial arts event held on September 20, 2014, at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Background The event was the third time that the organization hoste ...

. However, Noke was forced out of the bout with a knee injury. Noke was expected to face Andreas Ståhl on 10 May 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 65 ''UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 65'') was a mixed martial arts event held on 10 May 2015 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, South Australia. Background The event was the first that the promot ...

. However, on 2 April, it was announced that Ståhl pulled out of the fight due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Jonavin Webb. Noke won the fight via split decision. Noke faced Peter Sobotta on 15 November 2015 at

UFC 193 ''UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm'' was a mixed martial arts event held on 14 November 2015, at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the most attended UFC event in the history of the company at the time, with 56,214 people filling th ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the first round after dropping Sobotta with a body kick and following up with punches on the ground. The victory also produced a ''Performance of the Night'' award for Noke. Noke was expected to face

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won '' The Ul ...

on 2 January 2016 at

UFC 195 ''UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 2, 2016, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was expected to feature a UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between then-und ...

. However 22 December, Gastelum was forced to pull out due to a wrist injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer

Alex Morono Alexander Quincy Morono (born August 16, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently fights as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, Morono has also fought for Legacy ...

. Noke lost the bout via split decision. Noke next faced

Keita Nakamura is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and grappler currently competing in the Welterweight division of RIZIN. A professional competitor since 2003, he has formerly competed for the UFC, World Victory Road, Pancrase, Shooto, DREAM, ...

on 13 July 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 91 ''UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 91'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 13, 2016, at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ba ...

. He lost the fight via submission (rear-naked choke) in the final seconds of the second round. Noke was expected to face Dominique Steele on 27 November 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 101 ''UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 101'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 27, 2016, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Bac ...

. However, Steele pulled out of the fight on 21 October and was replaced by

Omari Akhmedov Omari Akhmedov (born October 12, 1987) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Ba ...

. Noke lost the fight via unanimous decision and subsequently announced his retirement shortly after.

Retirement and comeback

In October 2017, 10 months after his retirement announcement, Noke announced plans for an attempted comeback and step into the cage again. As of March 2019, Noke does not have timetable on a possible return.

Championships and achievements

** Submission of the Night (One time) vs.

** Performance of the Night (One time) * Xtreme Fighting Championships (Australia) **XFC Middleweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, ,

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

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, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–7–1 , Patrick Côté , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale: Bisping vs. Kennedy , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Ontario, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–6–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–5–1 ,

, Submission (inverted heel hook) , UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:15 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC 127 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 18–4–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:33 , Oberhausen, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4–1 , Josh Bryant , TKO (punches) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:12 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4–1 , Kyacey Uscola , Decision (unanimous) , Top Combat Championship , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Puerto Rico , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4–1 , Yoann Gouaida , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Fighting Championships 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–4–1 , Scott Smith , KO (punch) , EliteXC: Street Certified , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:07 ,

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3–1 , Seth Kleinbeck , TKO (doctor stoppage) , EliteXC: Renegade , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:22 , Corpus Christi, Texas, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 13–3–1 ,

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, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Brian Ebersole , Decision (majority) , XFC 12: Oktoberfist , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Sydney, Australia , Won the XFC Middleweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Yusaku Tsukumo , Submission (triangle choke) , Warriors Realm 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:14 ,

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, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 , George Sotiropoulos , Decision (unanimous) , Warriors Realm 5 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Geelong Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Byron Donnelly , Decision (unanimous) , Warriors Realm 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Geelong, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , George Sotiropoulos , Decision (split) , Warriors Realm 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Geelong, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Luke Pezutti , TKO (punches) , Warriors Realm 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Katsuya Inoue , Decision (split) , Warriors Realm 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Sunshine Coast, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Rhys Whitmore , Submission (triangle choke) , Warriors Realm 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 , Sunshine Coast, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Matt Te-Paa , Decision (split) , XFC 5: When Worlds Collide , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Mike Sethna , Submission (kneebar) , Xtreme Fight Club 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:58 , Richlands, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Jimmy Raborn , Submission (rear-naked choke) , XFC 4: Australia vs. The World , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:30 ,

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Noriyuki Hayakawa , Submission (armbar) , Xtreme Fighting Championships 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:33 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Neil Swailes , TKO (punches) , Xtreme Fighting Championships 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:24 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Adrian Bolton , TKO (punches) , Xtreme Fighting Championships 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ulf Strand , TKO (punches) , Spartan Reality Fight 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:21 ,

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, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Peter Robbie , TKO (submission to punches) , Spartan Reality Fight 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:25 ,

, Australia ,

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noke, Kyle Living people Australian male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists People from Dubbo 1980 births Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Bodyguards Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportsmen from New South Wales