Ľudovít Klein (born February 22, 1995) is a Slovak

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 competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of 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 ...

Background

Ľudovít Klein was born in

Nové Zámky Nové Zámky (; hu, Érsekújvár; german: Neuhäus ; la, Novum Castrum; tr, Uyvar) is a town in Nové Zámky District in the Nitra Region of southwestern Slovakia. Geography The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on the Nitra River, ...

, where he also started his sports career. When he was about 12 years old, Klein secretly signed up for boxing training as he feared his parents' reaction. After the first training sessions he was already aware that martial arts would accompany him throughout his life. Later, the boxing club he was involved in broke up and for some time he did not know which direction to take. As he wanted to continue his hobby, he signed up for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training. He trained for a long time in the Thomas Bilishich Martial Arts Academy, which is one of the best Jiu-Jitsu clubs in the country. He later added Thai boxing to his martial arts training, which is how he first heard about the amateur MMA league. Subsequently, he started to devote himself to it. In the beginning he earned his living as a bouncer at discos, where he was often picked on because of his shorter stature.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Klein joined the professional MMA as a relatively experienced amateur. After a couple of performances on smaller Slovak shows, his potential was noticed by the Slovak MMA legend Attila Végh, who brought him to his gym based on his great performances. On the domestic scene, Lajoš went undefeated in his first six fights in smaller Slovak organizations, after which he decided to go abroad. The first match outside Slovakia did not turn out as expected. Klein lost to Igor Tarytsa at A-Fight 5 via KO. He won 2 matches in the ACB, and managed to finish both in the second round. He returned to Slovakia for one match against Moric Besztercei, which he left as the winner. He came to the British

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish owned mixed martial arts promotion, based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under the Cage Warri ...

as a favorite, but he fell short, losing to Aiden Lee . He finished Lajoš in the first round via submission and Klein decided to return home to Slovakia. With a record of 9-2, Klein transferred to Oktagon MMA. In it he fought two times, giving dominant performances and winning both fights before the limit. In the second match against Matěj Kuzník, he headlined Oktagon 5. Subsequently, he bounced for 2 matches in the competing XFN. In both, he won the bouts comfortably, but decided to return to the Oktagon due to problems in the organization. In the Oktagon 12 tournament, he defeated the Brazilian William Lima in the first round, followed by wins against João Paulo Rodrigues at Oktagon 14 and Łukasz Sajewski at Oktagon Prime 3, ending both subsequent matches with his signature head kick.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Klein, as a replacement for

Nate Landwehr Nathan Wade Landwehr (born June 7, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional mixed martial artist since 2012, he is also a former M-1 Global Feather ...

, faced Shane Young on 27 September 2020 at

UFC 253 ''UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 27, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event was or ...

. At the weigh-ins, Klein weighed in at 150 pounds, four pounds over the non-title featherweight fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Klein was fined a percentage of his purse, which went to Young. Klein won the fight via knockout in round one. Klein faced

Michael Trizano Michael Charles Trizano (born December 31, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2016, Trizano was the winner o ...

on May 8, 2021 at UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. 11 out of 14 media scores gave the fight to Klein. Klein faced

on October 16, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Ladd vs. Dumont. He lost the fight in the third round via a submission due to an anaconda choke. Klein faced Devonte Smith, replacing injured Erick Gonzalez, on March 5, 2022, at

UFC 272 ''UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 5, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

. He won the fight via split decision.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 18–4 , Devonte Smith , Decision (split) ,

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

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–4 ,

, Submission (anaconda choke) , UFC Fight Night: Ladd vs. Dumont , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:22 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–2 , Shane Young , KO (head kick and punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 , Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2 , Łukasz Sajewski , TKO (punches) , Oktagon Prime 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:49 ,

Šamorín Šamorín (; hu, Somorja, german: Sommerein) is a small town in western Slovakia, southeast of Bratislava. Etymology The name is derived from a patron saint of a local church Sancta Maria, mentioned for the first time as ''villa Sancti Marie'' ...

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 15–2 , João Paulo Rodrigues , KO (head kick) , Oktagon 14 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:46 ,

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% o ...

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Willian Lima , TKO (punches) , Oktagon 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Arbi Mezhidov , Decision (unanimous) , XFN 14 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Kamil Selwa , TKO (punches) , XFN 11 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Matěj Kuzník , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Oktagon 5 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four ri ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Krzysztof Klaczek , KO (head kick) , Oktagon 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 ,

, Slovakia , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 , Aiden Lee , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Warriors 87 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 ,

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

, Wales , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Moric Besztercei , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Dark Night Volume 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:56 ,

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Ahmed Abdulkadirov , Submission (guillotine choke) , ACB 60 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:44 ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Khusein Maltsagov , KO (knee) , ACB 56 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:29 ,

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 ...

, Belarus , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Igor Tarytsa , KO (punch) , A-Fight 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:58 ,

Nevinnomyssk Nevinnomyssk (russian: Невинномы́сск) is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on both banks of the Kuban River at its confluence with the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River, south of Stavropol. The only single-industry town in Stavro ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Aleksandar Janković , Submission (armbar) , Fight of Gladiators 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra (river), Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about ...

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Michal Stefek , Submission (guillotine choke) , Hanuman Cup 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Samuel Ribansky , Submission (armbar) , Hanuman Cup 28 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:00 ,

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Adam Németh , Submission (guillotine choke) , Hanuman Cup 27 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 , Senec, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Kamil Tarnawski , Submission (triangle choke) , PCF 12 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Poprad Poprad (; hu, Poprád; german: Deutschendorf) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the te ...

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Martin Mihálik , Submission (rear-naked choke) , PCF 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

Levoča Levoča (; hu, Lőcse; rue, Левоча) is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,700. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Gothic church with the highest wooden altar in the wor ...

, Slovakia ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Ludovit 1995 births Living people Slovak male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Slovak Muay Thai practitioners Slovak practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters People from Nové Zámky