Chris Honeycutt (born July 25, 1988) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 competes in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division of the

Absolute Championship Akhmat Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), formerly known as Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), is a Chechen mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization and one of the leading promotions in Europe. To date, most events have been h ...

(ACA).

Background

Born in

Brook Park, Ohio Brook Park is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,595. History Brook Park became a city in 1960. The city attracted national attention when 21 Marines of the 3rd ...

, Honeycutt began

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

at the age of four. Honeycutt attended North Andover High School in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

for two years before moving and transferring schools to St. Edward High School in

Lakewood, Ohio Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. The popula ...

, being coached by

Greg Urbas Greg Urbas is a former teacher and head wrestling coach at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. Military career From 1973–1977, Urbas was an officer in the United States Marine Corps. Teaching career While at St. Edward High School, Urbas ...

. At North Andover, Honeycutt finished second in the state tournament and finished the season with a record of 32–1 with the loss coming in the state final. As a sophomore, Honeycutt won the Massachusetts state championship. At St. Edward's, Honeycutt placed third in the state tournament and then went undefeated and won the state championship again for his senior season. Honeycutt finished with an overall high school record of 154-10 and was also a member of the 2006 Junior National team. Honeycutt continued his wrestling career at

Edinboro University Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro (abbreviated as PennWest Edinboro) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The campus had an enrollment of 2,259 as of fall 2024. History PennWest Edinboro was foun ...

where he was a two-time NCAA Division I

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. A fan of

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 ...

, Honeycutt soon began his career after college. Honeycutt also had brief training in

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

as well as

Tae Kwon Do Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In a ...

before embarking on a career in MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career: Up and Comers Unlimited

Honeycutt made his professional MMA debut on January 26, 2013, defeating Jesse Torres via first-round TKO in the Up and Comers Unlimited promotion. After another first-round stoppage win, Honeycutt faced Manny Murillo for the vacant UPC middleweight championship at UPC Unlimited: Up & Comers 16 on July 20, 2013. He won the fight via unanimous decision after five rounds to become the UPC middleweight champion. Honeycutt successfully defended his title once, defeating Jake Gallagher via TKO due to punches in the first round at UPC Unlimited: Up & Comers 18 on January 4, 2014.

Battlegrounds MMA

Honeycutt was expected to compete in the Battlegrounds MMA single night 8-man tournament on October 3, 2014. However, in September it was announced that him, along with

Dennis Hallman Dennis Lloyd Hallman (born December 2, 1975) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed from 1996 to 2015. A veteran of 75 fights, he competed in various promotions including the UFC, Strikeforce, IFL, the World Series ...

, were removed from the welterweight bracket and replaced by

Jesse Taylor Jesse Taylor (born January 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) and 10th Planet Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt fighter who last competed in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor from 2006 to 2023, he wa ...

and Joe Ray.

Bellator MMA

Welterweight

Honeycutt made his welterweight and Bellator debut at Bellator 125 against Ultimate Fighter 12 contestant Aaron Wilkinson on September 19, 2014. Honeycutt won the fight via TKO in the second round. Honeycutt faced Clayton MacFarlane at

Bellator 133 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

on February 13, 2015. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. In his third fight for the promotion, Honeycutt faced Paul Bradley at Bellator 140 on July 17, 2015. The fight ended midway through the second round after an accidental clash of heads between the two fighters, resulting in a cut on Bradley that the doctor deemed too bad to allow the fighter to continue. The official result was a No Contest. A rematch with Bradley was held on January 29, 2016, at Bellator 148. Despite again being the betting favorite, Honeycutt lost the bout via TKO early in the first round, resulting in the first loss of his MMA career. After his first loss, Honeycutt returned to face Matt Secor at Bellator 153 on April 22, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Return to middleweight

Honeycutt returned to the middleweight division and faced

Mikkel Parlo Mikkel Parlo (born May 3, 1990) is a Danish retired mixed martial artist who last competed in the Middleweight division of Bellator MMA. Mixed martial arts career Early career Parlo began competing as an amateur in 2008, compiling a record of 3- ...

Bellator 156 2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016. Background 2016 is notable for the launch of sibling promotion Bellator Kickboxin ...

on June 17, 2016. Honeycutt won the fight via unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Ben Reiter at Bellator 166 on December 2, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Kevin Casey at Bellator 182 on August 25, 2017. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. Honeycutt faced

Rafael Lovato Jr. Rafael Lovato Jr. (born June 25, 1983) is an American retired mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor. At the time of his original retirement, he was the Bellator MMA Middleweight World Champion and was ranked the no. 4 middlewe ...

at Bellator 189 on December 1, 2017. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Leo Leite at Bellator 202 on July 13, 2018. He won the fight via unanimous decision, getting three 30–25 score cards from the judges.

Absolute Championship Akhmat

Honeycutt faced

Alexander Shlemenko Alexander Pavlovich Shlemenko (, born 20 May 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Middleweight division. He is most notable for fighting for Bellator Fighting Championships, where he is the former Bellator Middlew ...

at Eastern Economic Forum: Roscongress Vladivostok Combat Night on September 15, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Azamat Bekoev on April 23, 2021, at ACA 122. He lost the bout via rear-naked choke in the second round. Honeycutt faced Arbi Agujev on September 11, 2021, at ACA 128. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Nikola Dipchikov at November 18, 2021 at ACA 132. He lost the bout after getting knocked out via elbows from the bottom. Honeycutt faced Vasily Kurochkin on March 9, 2023 at ACA 153, winning the bout via unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Abdul-Rakhman Dzhanaev in the Quarter-final of the 2023 ACA Middleweight Grand Prix on August 11, 2023 at ACA 161, losing the bout via TKO stoppage in the first round. Honeycutt faced former champion Salamu Abdurakhmanov on November 24, 2023 at ACA 166, losing the bout via unanimous decision. Honeycutt faced Mikhail Dolgov on April 19, 2024 at ACA 174, losing via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

*Up and Comers Unlimited **UPC Middleweight Championship (one time) **One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

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Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

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, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 (1) , Nikola Dipchikov , KO (elbows) , ACA 132 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:31 ,

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and 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 status in Belarus and is the administra ...

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Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 (1) , Costello van Steenis , Decision (split) , Bellator 210 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located near the Texas state border. The population was 400 at the 2020 census. Geography Thackerville is situated near the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and State High ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honeycutt, Chris Living people 1988 births American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American male taekwondo practitioners Sportspeople from Cuyahoga County, Ohio Edinboro Fighting Scots wrestlers