Jared Alexander Gooden (born December 5, 1993) is an American retired

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 competed in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of 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 ( ...

. A professional since 2015, Gooden has also competed for

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

and

Titan Fighting Championships Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC) is an American mixed martial arts promotion based out of Pompano Beach, Florida. Their shows were originally run in and near Kansas City and have since expanded to include venues all over North America and e ...

Background

When Jared was 16 years old, he came across Matt Hughes and BJ Penn while flipping channels at his dad's house. He fell in love with the sport after watching the fight. A few years later, Jared saw a MMA fight poster come up on his Facebook feed and emailed the address that appeared on it. He would get a reply from the promoter, David Oblas, asking for his gym, length of training time and MMA record, all of which Jared did not have. David then sent him to a nearby gym run by Phillipe Gentry instead. He walked into Coach Phillipe's gym and started training at 17 years old on June 2, 2011.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Gooden made his MMA debut at NFC 76, where he submitted Bobby Tucker via rear-naked choke in the second round. Gooden would win his next 5 bouts, before losing to Dave Vitkay at NFC 86 for the NFC Welterweight Championship via unanimous decision. Rebounding with a win via unanimous decision at NFC 89 against Micah Miller, he would lose to Julien Williams at NFC 94 via unanimous decision. Winning his next 7 bouts, culminating his one and only outing with

at LFA 59, where he faced Steven Newell and went on to defeat him via unanimous decision. He would then fight at Titan FC 53: Bad Blood, where he faced

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, and principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Group and ...

for the interim Titan FC Welterweight Championship, however he lost the bout via unanimous decision. After defeating Will Santiago Jr via TKO in the first round at Jackson Wink Fight Night 5., he would return to

Titan FC Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC) is an American mixed martial arts promotion based out of Pompano Beach, Florida. Their shows were originally run in and near Kansas City and have since expanded to include venues all over North America and e ...

at Titan FC 55 against Bruno Oliveira, losing again but this time by TKO in the first round. He would win the next three bouts; tapping out Marcel Stamps in the second round via guillotine at Island Fights 60, Jay Jackson via rear-naked choke in the first at Empire FC 5 and finally Trent McCown via TKO in the 2nd round at Titan FC 62.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Gooden made his UFC debut against

Alan Jouban Alan Michael Jouban (born November 25, 1982) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor from 2010 to 2021, Jouban has also formerly competed for the Ultimate Fight ...

on November 21, 2020, at UFC 255. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Gooden faced

Abubakar Nurmagomedov Abubakar Magomedovich Nurmagomedov (born November 13, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who was formerly competing in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has also previously competed for the Professio ...

on March 27, 2021, at

UFC 260 ''UFC 260: Miocic vs. Ngannou 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 27, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United Sta ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Gooden, as a replacement for Mounir Lazzez, faced Niklas Stolze on July 31, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland. He won the fight via knockout in round one. Gooden faced Randy Brown on October 9, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 194. At the weight-ins, Jared Gooden weighted 174 pounds, three pounds over the limit of non-championship welterweight bouts. The bout proceeded to a catchweight bout. Gooden was fined 20% of his purse and it went to his opponent Randy Brown. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. On January 12, 2022, it was announced that Gooden's contract was not renewed.

Post-UFC

Gooden made his first appearance post-release at iKON FC 1 on January 21, 2022, against Aaron Highbaugh for the iKON FC middleweight title. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Gooden faced

Curtis Millender Curtis Millender (born December 1, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2013, Millender has formerly competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA ...

on April 2, 2022, at XMMA 4. He won the bout after dropping Millender in the second round with a leg kick and finishing him with ground and pound. Gooden faced Impa Kasanganay at XMMA 5 on July 23, 2022. He lost the fight by a first-round TKO stoppage. Gooden returned in October to face Doug Usher at NFC 150 for the NFC Middleweight Championship, winning the bout in the second round after Usher was unable to continue due to injury. Gooden faced Demarques Jackson in the Quarter-finals of the Welterweight Grand Prix on February 18, 2023, at United Fight League 1, winning the bout in the second round via TKO stoppage.

Return to UFC

Gooden stepped in on three days notice to face Carlston Harris, replacing

, on March 11, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 221. At the weigh-ins, Gooden weighed in at 177 pounds, six pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 30% of his purse, which went to Harris. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Gooden faced Wellington Turman on December 2, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 52. He won the fight via rear-naked choke in round two, and this fight earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Gooden was scheduled to face Kevin Jousset on May 11, 2024 UFC on ESPN 56. However, for medical reasons, Gooden was unable to compete and the bout was cancelled. Gooden faced

Chidi Njokuani Chidi Godson Njokuani (born December 31, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist, former Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer, who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professio ...

on October 12, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 244. At the weigh-ins, Gooden weighed in at 172.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Gooden was fined 20 percent of his purse which went to Njokuani. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. On December 21, 2024, it was reported that Gooden was removed from the UFC roster. On March 31, 2025, it was reported that Gooden had retired from mixed martial arts competition.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

*National Fighting Championship **NFC Welterweight Championship (One time) ***One successful title defence **NFC Middleweight Championship (One time) *

** Performance of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gooden, Jared 1993 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American people of Jamaican descent 21st-century American sportsmen