Chris Holdsworth (born October 24, 1987) is an American former

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

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 ( ...

. He was the winner of '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate''.

Mixed martial arts career

Background

His father was a martial artist and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

veteran, his mother is a breast cancer survivor and his grandfather was a Golden Gloves boxer. When he was eight years old, his elder brother was shot and killed. At his brother’s funeral, his sensei posthumously awarded him his black belt in American kickboxing. Holdsworth, aged 8, told his mother he wanted to be a martial artist just like his brother so he excelled in several martial arts, especially BJJ. He was awarded his blue belt from the legendary Royce Gracie, his purple belt by Rener, Ryron and Rorion Gracie, and was awarded his brown and black belt by Marc Laimon. At age 21 he was one of the youngest BJJ black belts in the US.

Amateur career

Holdsworth signed with the Tuff-N-Uff promotion in August 2009, and made his debut as an amateur against Justin Linn. He won his debut by triangle choke submission. He made a quick turnaround and faced Cameron Ramirez on September 18, 2009, and won the fight by TKO (punches). After taking a small hiatus, Holdsworth returned on February 26, 2010, facing Gor Mnatsakanyan. He won by TKO, extending his undefeated record to 3-0. In his last amateur fight before turning pro, Holdsworth faced Anthony Gutierrez at Tuff-N-Uff: Xtreme Couture vs. Team Quest on August 6, 2010. He won by armbar, and turned pro in October of that year.

Professional MMA career

Holdsworth made his professional MMA debut in October 2010. He's a member of 'Team Alpha Male' and had four fights before joining the Ultimate Fighter. He won all of them by submission.

''The Ultimate Fighter''

In August 2013, it was announced that Holdsworth was one of the fighters selected to be on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate''. Holdsworth faced Louis Fisette in the elimination fight to get into the house. He defeated him via arm-triangle choke in the first round. Holdsworth was the second pick of Team Tate. During the first tournament fight in the house, Holdsworth faced team Rousey's #1 pick Chris Beal. Miesha Tate selected this match up because of a possible advantage when they heard that Beal probably had an injured hand. The consensus was that Beal would have the better of the striking while Holdsworth would be dominant in the ground, but Beal was dominated in the striking, even being knocked down and then submitted via

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compared to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

in the first round. In the semifinals, Holdsworth faced off against Michael Wooten. He won the fight via

rear-naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Holdsworth faced

Davey Grant David Jeremy Grant (born 18 December 1985) is an English mixed martial artist. He was one of the cast members for UFC TV series The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate and currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate ...

in the finals on November 30, 2013 at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale. He won the bout via rear-naked choke in the second round. Holdsworth was expected to face Kang Kyung-ho on May 24, 2014 at UFC 173. However, Kang pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Chico Camus. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Holdsworth has been absent from competitive fighting since 2014, with Holdsworth taking an indefinite hiatus from competition due to

post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome (PCS), also known as persisting symptoms after concussion, is a set of symptoms that may continue for weeks, months, or years after a concussion. PCS is medically classified as a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). About ...

Personal life

Holdsworth works as a coach for Team Alpha Male.

Championships and accomplishments

** The Ultimate Fighter 18 Tournament Winner ** Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Davey Grant **UFC.com Awards ***2013: Ranked #8 Newcomer of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Chico Camus , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 173 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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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, Submission (rear-naked choke) , The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Tyler Shinn , Submission (triangle choke) , RFA 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:32 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Juan Rivas , Submission (armbar) , KOTC: Next Generation , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:29 ,

Highland, California Highland (inc. East Highlands) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States located 65 miles east of Downtown Los Angeles and roughly 50 miles west of Palm Springs, California. The city's population, inclusive to its neighbor ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Gustavo Limon , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Gladiator Challenge: Legends Collide 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Randy Villarreal , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Xtreme Knockout 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:05 ,

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Michael Wootten , Submission (rear-naked choke) , rowspan=3, The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:11 , rowspan=3,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Chris Beal , Submission (guillotine choke) , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:16 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Louis Fisette , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:09 ,

Amateur mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Anthony Gutierrez , Submission (armbar) , Tuff-N-Uff - Xtreme Couture vs. Team Quest , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:32 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Gor Mnatsakanyan , TKO (punches) , Tuff-N-Uff - Future Stars of MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Cameron Ramirez , TKO (punches) , Tuff-N-Uff - Future Stars of MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:31 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Justin Linn , Submission (triangle choke) , Tuff-N-Uff - Back2Back , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:58 ,