Clint Hester (born November 21, 1986) is an American professional boxer and

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 last competed in 2016. A professional competitor since 2008, he fought in the UFC and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen.

Background

Hester is from Atlanta, Georgia. He often got into fights growing up, but was not an instigator rather defended several of his friends. Hester, who played football, had planned to play college football but decided to take a different path when he was not offered a scholarship.

Boxing career

Hester thought of joining the military after high school, but ultimately chose to start training in

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 ...

and was coached by Willie D'Antignac, amassing an amateur record of 13–3. Hester turned professional in 2007 and lost his first bout by first-round knockout. Hester fought six more times until his final fight in 2013. When Hester's boxing gym closed down he searched for another gym to train at before finding X3 Sports MMA. Hester decided to make the switch to MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Hester started his professional MMA career out at 2-0 before being offered a spot in an upcoming local Grand Prix. Hester won his opening round matchup via

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. He lost in the next round of the tournament to future

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Global. ...

welterweight title contender, Douglas Lima, via unanimous decision.

''The Ultimate Fighter''

In January 2013, it was announced that Hester was selected for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen. Hester defeated Fraser Opie by decision to earn his way into the house. He was then selected as Jon Jones's first pick and second pick overall. Hester had his preliminary fight against Team Sonnen's Jimmy Quinlan. Hester was upset in the second round via submission. Though Hester was a candidate for the wildcard, his coach,

Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC ...

, ultimately picked

Bubba McDaniel Robert "Bubba" McDaniel (born May 3, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly fought as a Middleweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Despite losing in the preliminaries, Hester was given a fight at the finale. Hester faced

Bristol Marunde Bristol Marunde (born April 20, 1982) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. He was a contestant on ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson'', and has competed for the ...

The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter 17'') is the seventeenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The series ...

. Hester won the back-and-forth fight via KO from a standing elbow in the third round. Hester was expected to face

Cezar Ferreira Cezar Jesus Ferreira (born February 15, 1985), better known in his home country Brazil as Cezar Mutante, is a mixed martial artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, he has competed fo ...

on August 3, 2013, at

UFC 163 ''UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 3, 2013, at the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Background The main event was expected to feature current UFC Featherweight Champion, José Aldo taking on f ...

. However, on July 18, it was announced he was taken out of the bout due to an injury. For his second UFC fight, Hester faced Dylan Andrews on December 7, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 33. He won the fight via TKO due to injury after Andrews dislocated his shoulder in the second round. Hester faced Andy Enz on February 1, 2014, at

UFC 169 ''UFC 169: Barão vs. Faber 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held on February 1, 2014, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The event was released on DVD on May 6, 2014. The DVD was distributed by the label ''Anchor Bay Entertainment ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Hester faced Antônio Braga Neto on June 28, 2014, at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens. He won the back and forth fight via split decision. Hester faced

Robert Whittaker Robert Whitaker or Whittaker may refer to: *Robert Whittaker (fighter) (born 1990), Australian mixed martial artist *Robert Whitaker (equestrian) (born 1983), British showjumper *Robert Whitaker (author) (active since 1989), American author *Robert ...

November 8, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 55. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round; the first loss of his UFC career. Despite the loss, Hester was awarded his first ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award for the bout. Hester was expected to face Luke Barnatt on April 4, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 63. However, Hester pulled out of the fight in early March due to a broken foot. Hester faced Vitor Miranda on August 1, 2015, at UFC 190. He lost the fight by TKO in the second round due to punches and elbows. Hester next faced

Marcos Rogério de Lima Marcos Rogério de Lima (born May 25, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2009, he formerly competed for Strikeforce, Shooto, and was a ...

in a light heavyweight bout on April 23, 2016, at

UFC 197 ''UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux'' was a mixed martial arts event held on April 23, 2016, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event's number was initially planned for an event taking place on March 5, 2016 at HSBC Are ...

. He lost the one sided fight via submission in the first round. On June 3 Hester was released from the promotion.

Championships and accomplishments

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 ...

** Fight of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruis ...

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Professional boxing record

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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hester, Clint Sportspeople from Marietta, Georgia American male mixed martial artists 1986 births Living people Mixed martial artists from Georgia (U.S. state) Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters