Brandon Michael Mathew Thatch (born July 11, 1985) is an American professional

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 most recently competed in the

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 ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Background

Thatch was adopted at age five by his mother's partner, Clarence Thatch, a former

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

champion and MMA specialist. Thatch's grandfather was also a professional boxer. Thatch began training in karate at the age of three, and fought in his first

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

bout at age 17. He later transitioned into a career in

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

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Thatch started his amateur MMA career on March 31, 2007, against Jesse Brown, which he won via second round submission. Thatch went undefeated as amateur in 2007 with a 3–0 record. He made his pro debut in June 2008 against Mike Crisman at Ring of Fire 32. Thatch won the fight via TKO 38 seconds into the fight. Thatch made his

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 *' ...

debut against Brandon Magana at Strikeforce: At The Mansion II. He lost the fight via split decision. He would bounce back with an 18-second head kick knockout win over Michael Arrant at Ring of Fire 33. In Thatch's next fight, he took on Danny Davis Jr, winning via submission in the first round. Thatchthen faced Chris Holland at Ring of Fire 40, winning via KO in 19 seconds. Next for Thatch was a bout with

Chidi Njokuani Chidi Godson Njokuani (born December 31, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist, former Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer, who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professio ...

at Ring of Fire 41, which he won by TKO in the first minute. In his next fight, Thatch took on Patrick Vallee at Instinct MMA 2 on December 2, 2011, winning via TKO in 15 seconds. Thatch was named

Bloody Elbow ''Bloody Elbow'' is a news website that covers the sports of mixed martial arts (MMA), boxing, kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and other traditional martial arts and combat sports. Founded in 2007, the site has been notable for its investigat ...

's #3 welterweight prospect in their annual scouting report. Four months later, Thatch fought Jory Erickson at Instinct MMA 3. He won the fight by KO in 18 seconds. Thatch next faced Martin Grandmont at Instinct MMA 4 on June 29, 2012. He won the fight via submission in the first round. In Thatch's next fight, he headlined Resurrection Fighting Alliance 7 against Mike Rhodes. Thatch won the bout via submission in the first round. Before and after the fight, Thatch believed that he was going to get a call from 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 ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On May 8, 2013, Thatch signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC. Thatch faced Justin Edwards on August 28, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 27. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. The win earned him his first ''Knockout of the Night'' bonus award. In his second UFC fight, Thatch faced

Paulo Thiago Paulo Thiago Alencar Antunes (; born January 25, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of KSW. A professional competitor since 2005, he has also competed for the UFC and Jungle Fight ...

at UFC Fight Night 32 on November 9, 2013. He won the fight via TKO in the first round, forcing Thiago to submit after landing a knee to the liver. With the win, Thatch extended his first round finish streak to ten. Thatch was expected to face Jordan Mein on August 23, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 49, replacing an injured Thiago Alves. Subsequently, Thatch pulled out of the bout with Mein, citing a toe injury. Thatch was expected to face Stephen Thompson on February 14, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 60. However, Thompson pulled out of the fight on January 30, citing a rib injury. Subsequently, Thatch faced former

UFC Lightweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Benson Henderson Benson Henderson (born November 16, 1983) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Lightweight division for Bellator MMA. He is a former UFC Lightweight Champion and WEC Lightweight Champion. H ...

at the event. Thatch lost the back and forth fight via submission in the fourth round. Their performance earned both participants ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Thatch was expected to face

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

on July 11, 2015, at

UFC 189 ''UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor'' was a mixed martial arts event held on July 11, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event took place during the UFC's annual International Fight Week. The event was expected t ...

. However, on June 23, Thatch was pulled from that bout in favor of a fight with Gunnar Nelson, as his scheduled opponent,

John Hathaway John Lawrence Hathaway (born 1 July 1987) is an English mixed martial artist and wrestler who competes in the welterweight division. He is one of the most accomplished modern-day catch wrestlers, having won three Snake Pit World Championship ...

, was forced out with an injury. Thatch lost the fight by submission in the first round after getting knocked down by Nelson. Thatch next faced

Siyar Bahadurzada Siyar Bahadurzada (; born 17 April 1984) is a retired Afghan-born Dutch mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, making him the first Afghan to compete in the promotion. He currently w ...

on March 5, 2016, at UFC 196. He lost the fight via submission in the third round. Thatch was expected to face

Erick Silva Erick Silva (born June 21, 1984) is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A professional from 2005 till 2019, he competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator MMA, and Jungle Fight, where he ...

on September 24, 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 95 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 large ...

. However, Thatch pulled out of the fight with an undisclosed injury and was subsequently replaced by Luan Chagas. Thatch was expected to face Sabah Homasi on December 30, 2016, at UFC 207. However, Homasi pulled out of the fight, citing injury, and was subsequently replaced by promotional newcomer Niko Price. Thatch lost the fight by submission in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Championships and accomplishments

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

** Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Justin Edawrds **UFC.com Awards ***2013: Newcomer of the Year *Ring of Fire **Young Guns Welterweight Championship (One time) *

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

**2015 Best Fight of the Half-Year vs.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–5 , Niko Price , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC 207 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:30 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 ,

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, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 3:58 ,

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, TKO (submission to knee to the body) , UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:10 ,

Goiânia Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Justin Edwards , TKO (knees and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2 , August 28, 2013 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Mike Rhodes , Submission (rear-naked choke) , RFA 7 , March 22, 2013 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:22 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Martin Grandmont , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Instinct MMA: Instinct Fighting 4 , June 29, 2012 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:55 ,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Jory Erickson , KO (knee) , Instinct MMA: Instinct Fighting 3 , March 31, 2012 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:18 ,

Sherbrooke, Quebec Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Patrick Vallee , TKO (punches) , Instinct MMA: Instinct Fighting 2 , December 2, 2011 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:15 ,

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, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , Ring of Fire 41: Bragging Rights , August 20, 2011 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:53 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Chris Holland , KO (punches) , Ring of Fire 40: Backlash , April 16, 2011 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:19 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Danny Davis Jr. , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ring of Fire 39: Summer Brawl 2 , August 27, 2010 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:12 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Michael Arrant , KO (head kick) , Ring of Fire 33: Adrenaline , January 10, 2009 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:18 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Brandon Magana , Decision (split) , Strikeforce: At The Mansion II , September 20, 2008 , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Mike Crisman , TKO (knees) , Ring of Fire 32: Respect , June 13, 2008 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 ,

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References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thatch, Brandon 1985 births American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Colorado Living people Martial artists from Denver Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male karateka