Eric Benjamin Spicely (born September 29, 1986) is an American

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 ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

competing 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. A professional competitor since 2012, he formerly competed for 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 ( ...

, RFA, CES MMA and was a

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia.

Background

Spicely was raised primarily by his grandmother in New York state. Prior to his career in MMA, Spicely was a

, and was also a talented

skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United Stat ...

. Trained as a professional wrestler by Biff Busick, he competed for Beyond Wrestling often teaming with Chuck O'Neil and

Matt Riddle Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is the reigning MLW World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Spicely compiled an amateur record of 2–1 before turning professional in 2013, competing exclusively for CES MMA in his native Rhode Island. He compiled an undefeated record of 8–0 before being added as one of the 16 Light Heavyweight fighters invited to the cast The Ultimate Fighter 23. He won his entry fight against Kenneth Bergh via first round submission. Next up, he defeated Elias Urbina via unanimous decision. In the semifinals, he was eliminated from the competition by eventual season winner Andrew Sanchez by knockout in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Spicely made his promotional debut against Sam Alvey on July 13, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 91. He lost the fight via submission in first round. Spicely next faced Thiago Santos on September 24, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 95. In a large upset, he won the fight by submission in the first round. This fight earned him the ''Performance of the Night'' award. Spicely faced Alessio Di Chirico on January 28, 2017, at UFC on Fox 23. He won the fight via submission in the first round. Spicely faced Antônio Carlos Júnior on June 3, 2017, at UFC 212. He lost the fight by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the second round. Spicely fought

Gerald Meerschaert Gerald Edward Meerschaert III (born December 18, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he holds the record for most finishes i ...

on December 1, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale. He lost the bout via TKO in the second round. Spicely faced Darren Stewart on May 27, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 130. He lost the fight via technical knock out in the second round. On August 14, 2018, it was announced that Spicely was released from UFC.

Post-UFC career

Spicely was expected to face Stephen Regman at CES 54 on January 19, 2019. Regman withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Leo Pla. Spicely won the bout via TKO in the first round.

Return to UFC

On the heels of two first round finishes on the regional circuit, Spicely was re-signed by the promotion for four fights and tabbed as a short notice replacement against promotional newcomer Deron Winn on June 22, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 154. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. This fight earned him the ''Fight of the Night'' award. Spicely was scheduled to face Brendan Allen on October 18, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 6. However, Spicely was forced to withdraw from the event for undisclosed reason. Spicely was scheduled to face Punahele Soriano on March 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik. However, Soriano was removed from the card for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Roman Kopylov. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the event was eventually postponed . Spicely was scheduled to face Markus Perez on August 1, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. However, Spicely was removed from the fight (and subsequently released from the promotion) on the day of the event's weigh-in for health issues related to his weight cut.

Taura MMA

In late August 2020, Spicely signed with Taura MMA and scheduled to make his debut on November 22, 2020. However, due to hardships with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

restrictions the event was postponed.

Other regional circuit

Spicely next faced Rinat Fakhretdinov at UAE Warriors 15 on January 15, 2021. He lost the fight via first-minute knockout. Spicely faced Marcin Naruszczka at OKTAGON 24 on May 29, 2021. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Spicely faced Zdenek Polivka at OKTAGON 28 on September 25, 2021. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the first round.

Awards and recognition

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (One time) ** Performance of the Night (One time) vs Thiago Santos **UFC.com Awards ***2016: Ranked #9 Submission of the Year & Ranked #2 Upset of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–9 , Justin Sumter , Submission (neck crank) , CES 75 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:32 ,

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Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–7 , Marcin Naruszczka , TKO (punches) , OKTAGON 24 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:25 ,

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6 , Rinat Fakhretdinov , KO (punch) , UAE Warriors 15 & EFC 32 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 ,

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, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 , Deron Winn , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Korean Zombie , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Caio Magalhães , TKO (punches) , CES 55 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:00 ,

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Leo Pla , TKO (punches) , CES 54 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:53 ,

Lincoln, Rhode Island Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,529 at the 2020 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence. Lincoln is part of the Providence metropolitan statistica ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 , Darren Stewart , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:47 ,

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, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, TKO (body kick) , The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion Finale , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:18 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , Antônio Carlos Júnior , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC 212 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:49 ,

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, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Alessio Di Chirico , Submission (triangle choke) , UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Peña , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:14 ,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Thiago Santos , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

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, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 , Sam Alvey , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:43 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Aaron Johnson , Decision (unanimous) , CES MMA 31 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Harley Beekman , Submission (armbar) , CES MMA 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4;40 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Kevin Haley , Submission (heel hook) , CES MMA 27 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Nuri Shakur , TKO (punches and elbows) , CES MMA 25 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:34 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , David Jordan , Submission (guillotine choke) , CES MMA 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:38 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Tyler Rose , TKO (injury) , CES MMA 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5;00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Tunde Odumuso , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CES MMA New Blood , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:41 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Kemran Lachinov , Decision (unanimous) , CES MMA Undisputed , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5;00 ,

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Andrew Sanchez , KO (punches) , rowspan=3, The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:47 , rowspan=3,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Elias Urbina , Decision (unanimous) , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Kenneth Bergh , Submission (rear-naked choke) , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:10 ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spicely, Eric Living people American male mixed martial artists American male professional wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Providence County, Rhode Island Sportspeople from Providence, Rhode Island Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Rhode Island 1986 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters