David Mitchell (born October 24, 1979) 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 ...

currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Mitchell has formerly competed for 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, the

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promo ...

Tachi Palace Fights Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which hosted events at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Matchmaker for TPF was former fighter Richard Goodman. Regarded as a regional promotion, ...

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

, and the

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

Background

Mitchell was born in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

but was raised in

Laytonville, California Laytonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located north-northwest of Willits, at an elevation of . The population was 1,152 at the 2020 census, down from 1,227 at the 2010 census. Geogr ...

. Mitchell competed in soccer through high school and then went to several community colleges before dropping out and working in construction for six years. Mitchell began training under David Terrell at Terrell's gym in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...

and year later began competing in professional

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

Mitchell made his professional MMA debut in 2006 and compiled an undefeated record of 11-0 with wins over War Machine,

Bobby Green Bobby Green (born September 9, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, Green is the former King ...

Tim McKenzie Tim McKenzie (born July 21, 1982) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2011, he fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Extreme Cagefighting, Pancrase, and Tachi Palace Fig ...

, and

Poppies Martinez Poppies Martinez (born August 19, 1983) is a Native American professional mixed martial artist of the Tachi Yokuts tribe currently competing in the Lightweight division of Bellator. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also formerly com ...

before being signed by the

. Mitchell also won the Tachi Palace Fights Welterweight Championship by defeating McKenzie and then successfully defended the title against Martinez.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Mitchell made his UFC debut against

TJ Waldburger Anthony "TJ" Waldburger Jr. (born April 25, 1988) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, he competed for the UFC, Shark Fights, and HDNet Fights. Backgrou ...

on September 15, 2010 at UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares. Mitchell lost a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Mitchell was expected to fight

Mike Swick Michael Timothy Swick (born June 19, 1979) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, who spent most of his career competing for the UFC's middleweight division. Swick, who trains at American Kickboxing Academy alongside fellow we ...

on January 22, 2011 at UFC: Fight for the Troops 2. However, Mitchell was forced out of the fight with a back injury and Swick felt as if his stomach condition was not completely healed, so the bout was scrapped from the card altogether. Mitchell next 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 Fig ...

on August 27, 2011 at

UFC 134 ''UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami'' (also known as ''UFC Rio'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 27, 2011 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was the second that th ...

. Mitchell lost the fight via unanimous decision. Mitchell was expected to face UFC newcomer

Hyun Gyu Lim Lim Hyun-Gyu (born January 16, 1985), often anglicized to Hyun Gyu Lim, is a South Korean mixed martial artist, who formerly competed in the UFC Welterweight division. Mixed martial arts career Biography and early career He first experienced ...

as a late replacement for Marcelo Guimarães on November 10, 2012 at

UFC on Fuel TV 6 ''UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le'' (also known as ''UFC on Fuel TV 6'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 10, 2012, at the Macau, SAR, China. It was the first UFC event held in China. Backgr ...

. However, prior to the weigh in for the event, the bout was scrapped after Lim was declared medically unfit to compete by UFC doctors. Mitchell faced

Simeon Thoresen Simeon Thoresen (born March 14, 1984) is a Norwegian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of Cage Warriors. A professional competitor since 2006, he formerly competed for the UFC, DEEP, and BAMMA. Mixed martial ...

on January 26, 2013 at

UFC on Fox 6 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 6'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 26, 2013, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background A bout between Erik Koch and ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Mitchell faced

Mike Pierce Michael Pierce (born September 1, 1980) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. He formerly competed as a Welterweight in the UFC and also competed in a one-fight stint in the WEC. Personal life Pierce is married and has two c ...

on July 6, 2013 at

UFC 162 ''UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman'' was a mixed martial arts event on July 6, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event was a UFC Middleweight Championship bout between long time title holder Anderson Silva an ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round, marking the first time he's been finished in his professional career. Mitchell faced

Yan Cabral Yan Cabral (born 13 May 1983 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a mixed martial artist, grappler and 4th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt practitioner and instructor associated with the Nova União academy. A former UFC fighter, Cabral trained ...

on October 9, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 29. Cabral defeated Mitchell via unanimous decision. Following his loss to Cabral, Mitchell was released from the UFC.

Post-UFC career

Mitchell defeated

Fernando Gonzalez Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

in a Middleweight bout via TKO on February 15, 2014 at West Coast Fighting Championship 8. The victory marked the first time Mitchell has finished an opponent via strikes. He then faced Jaime Jara at WFC 9: Mitchell vs Jara on April 26, 2014. Mitchell won the fight via rear-naked choke submission. Mitchell was expected to take part in a one-night tournament at BattleGrounds MMA on October 3, 2014. However, he pulled out of the tournament. On February 28, 2015 in Sacramento, California, USA Mitchell defeated Dave Huckaba via rear-naked choke in the second round to win both the ISCF (International Sport Combat Federation) West Coast Heavyweight Title and the WFC Heavyweight Title.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Final Fight Championship Final Fight Championship (FFC) is an international fighting sports promotion company founded in 2003 by the FFC owner and CEO Orsat Zovko. The company has its headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, as well as a European office in Zagreb, Croat ...

** FFC Middleweight Championship (one time, current) *

** TPF Welterweight Championship (One time) ** TPF Middleweight Championship (One time; current) *West Coast Fighting Championship **WCFC Middleweight Championship (One time; current) **WCFC Heavyweight Championship (One time; current) *International Sport Combat Federation **ISCF West Coast Heavyweight Champion (One time; current)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 22–7 , Ibragim Chuzhigaev , TKO (punches) , , ACB 54: Supersonic , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:55 ,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 22–6 , Andy Manzolo , Submission (guillotine choke) , FFC 27: Night of Champions , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:30 ,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

, Croatia , , - , Win , align=center, 21–6 , Richard Blake , Submission (rear-naked choke) , KOTC: Unchallenged , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 ,

Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. The population of the city was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 2000 census. Following the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–6 , Dervin Lopez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , FFC 25: Mitchell vs. Lopez , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:09 , Springfield, Massachusetts, United States , Return to Middleweight. , - , Loss , align=center, 19–6 ,

Max Griffin Max Griffin (born November 29, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Griffin currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2009, Griffin has also ...

, KO (punch) , WFC 16: Griffin vs. Mitchell , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:43 ,

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, United States , Catchweight (175 lbs) bout. , - , Loss , align=center, 19–5 ,

Marcel Fortuna Marcel Fortuna (born October 22, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of Titan FC. A professional mixed martial artist since 2011, Fortuna has previously competed in the Ultimate Fighting Cha ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Dragon House 20 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4 , Dave Huckaba , Submission (rear-naked choke) , WCFC 13: Huckaba vs. Mitchell , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:36 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–4 , Angel DeAnda , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Tachi Palace Fights 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 25 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4 ,

Justin Baesman Justin Baesman (born June 3, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for Bellator, the World Series of Fighting, Tachi Palace F ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , WSOF 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:44 ,

, United States , Return to Middleweight. , - , Win , align=center, 16–4 , Michael Gonzalez , TKO (punches) , WFC 12: Ricetti vs. Emmett , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:42 ,

, United States ,

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 ...

bout. , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Matt Major , Submission (guillotine choke) , WFC 11: Mitchell vs. Major , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:47 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Jaime Jara , Submission (rear-naked choke) , WFC 9: Mitchell vs. Jara , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:15 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , WFC 8: Avila vs. Berkovic , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:45 ,

, United States , Middleweight bout. , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Barueri Barueri ( or ) is a Brazilian municipality in the State of São Paulo located in the northwestern part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 276,982 (2020 est.) in an area of . Its boundaries are Santana de Parnaíba to ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:55 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 ,

, Technical Submission (triangle choke) , Tachi Palace Fights 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:32 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , Tachi Palace Fights 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 ,

, Submission (heel hook) , TPF 2: Brawl in the Hall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:54 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , War Machine , Decision (split) , TPF 1: Tachi Palace Fights 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Josh Neal , Submission (armbar) , CCFC 10: Battle for NorCal , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:28 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Jeff Morris , Submission (armbar) , CCFC: Mayhem , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:47 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Andy Maccarone , Decision (unanimous) , CCFC: Meltdown , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Drew Dimanlig , Submission (armbar) , CCFC: Total Elimination , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jeff Harmon , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CCFC: Throwdown at the Pavilion , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:23 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Kenneth Johnson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Gladiator Challenge 55: Beatdown , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , John Corstorphine , Submission (triangle choke) , Gladiator Challenge 52: Deep Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:30 ,