Darrell Joseph Horcher (born July 28, 1987) is an American

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

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight b ...

division. A professional since 2010, he formerly competed for the UFC,

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

and the Cage Fury Fighting Championships, where he was the Lightweight Champion.

Background

Born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and raised in Shermans Dale, Pennsylvania, Horcher began

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

during his freshman year at

West Perry High School West Perry High School is a small, rural public high school located at 2608 Shermans Valley Road, Elliottsburg, Pennsylvania. The school is the only high school operated by the West Perry School District. In 2016, enrollment was reported as 811 pu ...

, graduating in 2005. Later, he transitioned to

mixed martial arts 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 strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Horcher compiled an amateur record of 4–1 before turning professional in September 2010, Horcher fought all of his earlier fights in Pennsylvania-based promotions. With a record of 5–0, he signed with

in 2012.

Bellator MMA

Horcher made his Bellator debut against then-undefeated

E. J. Brooks Emanuel J. Brooks (born November 27, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional since 2010, he has fought in Bellator MMA. Background Brooks competed in wrestling at Cahokia High Sc ...

in a Bellator season seven lightweight tournament reserve bout on October 19, 2012 at Bellator 77. Despite coming in as an underdog, Horcher won the fight via knockout in just 21 seconds into first round. Horcher then faced Chris Liguori at Bellator 83 on December 7, 2012. Horcher won the fight via unanimous decision. Horcher was handed his first professional loss via unanimous decision to former TUF 8 contestant Phillipe Nover at Bellator 95.

Cage Fury Fighting Championships

After his stint in Bellator, Horcher was expected to face Mike Bannon at CFFC 25 on June 22, 2013. However, the bout was cancelled for unknown reasons. Horcher faced Mike Medrano at CFFC 30: Sterling vs. Roberts on November 2, 2013. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Horcher faced Gabriel Miglioli at CFFC 35: Heckman vs. Makashvili on April 26, 2014. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Horcher was expected to face Gil de Freitas at CES 25 on August 8, 2014. However, the fight was cancelled for unknown reasons. Horcher faced Alex Ricci at CFFC 40: Horcher vs. Ricci on August 23, 2014. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Horcher faced Jordan Stiner for the vacant CFFC lightweight championship at CFFC 45: Stiner vs. Horcher on February 7, 2015. He won the fight via TKO in the third round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Horcher was tabbed as a short notice replacement to face Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 16, 2016 at UFC on Fox 19. The contest took place at a catchweight of 160 lbs. He lost the fight via second-round TKO. Horcher faced

Devin Powell Devin Powell (born March 1, 1988) is a retired mixed martial arts fighter who competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA. Background A once-aspiring professional guitarist who played in a rock band ...

on June 25, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 112. He won the fight via split decision. Horcher faced Scott Holtzman on December 9, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 123. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Horcher faced promotional newcomer Roosevelt Roberts on November 30, 2018 at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. He lost the fight via a guillotine choke in round one. Horcher was released by UFC in December 2019.

Post UFC

After the release, Horcher returned to CFFC and was expected to face Vadim Ogar at CFFC 88 on November 18, 2020. However, the bout was rescheduled to CFFC 90 on December 17, 2020. In turn, the bout was postponed to take place a day later on December 18, 2020 at CFFC 91. Horcher won the fight via first-minute knockout. Horcher, as a replacement for Natan Schulte, faced Olivier Aubin-Mercier on August 13, 2021 at PFL 7. At weigh-ins, Horcher weighed in at 159.25 pounds, missing weight by 3.25 pounds. The bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20% of his purse, which went to his opponent Aubin-Mercier. Horcher lost the bout via unanimous decision. Horcher was scheduled to face Akhmed Aliev at Eagle FC 46 on March 11, 2022. The day of the event, the bout was postponed to Eagle FC 47 set for May 20. Horcher lost the fight via first-minute knockout. Horcher faced Akhmed Aliev on May 20, 2022 at Eagle FC 47. He lost the bout via knockout 30 seconds into the bout.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

*Cage Fury Fighting Championships ** CFFC Lightweight Championship (one time; former) ***One successful title defense *Complete Devastation MMA **CDMMA lightweight championship (one time; former)

Mixed martial arts record

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Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

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Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population among ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horcher, Darrell Living people 1987 births American male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu