Jared Vanderaa (born May 12, 1992) 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 competed in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

division of the

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 ...

Background

Vanderaa was born in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

but moved around a lot with his mother in pursuit of opportunities, eventually settling in California. Vanderaa started training MMA in February 2010, right after wrestling season, and had his amateur first fight in October 2010. He started wrestling at 15, a sophomore in high school and then dislocated his shoulder right at the end of the season. He got it fixed and joined an MMA gym immediately after, beginning his MMA journey. He attended

California Baptist University California Baptist University (Cal Baptist or CBU) is a private Christian university in Riverside, California. Founded in 1950 as California Baptist College, it is affiliated with the California Southern Baptist Convention, an organization affil ...

but dropped out after a couple of days.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Vanderaa competed as an amateur from 2012 to 2015, in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

and

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 ...

divisions. He compiled a record of 5–4. In his professional debut, he submitted John Rizzo via rear-naked choke in the first round. Vanderaa defeated his next four foes all by stoppages. Vanderaa faced Richard Odoms at LFA 15 for the LFA Heavyweight Championship on June 30, 2017. He lost the bout via kimura in the 5th round. After tapping out Idrees Wasi in first round at Global Knockout 10, he made his Extreme Fighting Championship debut in South Africa at EFC 66, losing the split decision to Andrew van Zyl for the EFC Heavyweight Championship. After losing a short notice bout via unanimous decision to Vernon Lewis at LFA 35, Vanderaa defeated Elvis Moyo via TKO in the second round at EFC 73. Vanderaa then defeated

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 ...

veteran Ruan Potts via TKO in round two at EFC 76, winning the EFC Heavyweight Championship. At EFC 77, Vanderaa defended the title, defeating Ricky Mischolas via TKO in the second round. At LFA 74, Vanderaa lost to Renan Ferreira via triangle choke submission in the second round. He rebounded, defeating Tony Lopez via unanimous decision at SMASH Global 9, winning the Smash Global Heavyweight Championship. At Dana White's Contender Series 34, Vanderaa defeated Harry Hunsucker via TKO in the first round, securing him a contract from the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Vanderaa was scheduled to face

Sergey Spivak Sergey Spivak (born January 24, 1995, as Serghei Spivac) is a Moldovan mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2014, he has also formerly competed for Wo ...

on December 12, 2020, at

UFC 256 ''UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 12, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, Unit ...

However, Vanderaa tested positive for COVID-19 during fight week and had to withdraw. The pair eventually met on February 20, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 185. Vanderaa lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Vanderaa faced

Justin Tafa Justin Tafa (born December 13, 1993) is a New Zealand-born Australian mixed martial arts fighter of Samoan heritage, currently competing in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Tafa was born in Auckland, New ...

on May 22, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This bout earned him the'' Fight of the Night'' award. Vanderaa faced Alexander Romanov on October 9, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Vanderaa was scheduled to face Azamat Murzakanov, replacing

Philipe Lins Luiz Philipe Lins Pimentel do Amaral (born August 17, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He won the 2018 Professional Fighters League heavyweight tou ...

on December 4, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 31. However, shortly after the weigh-ins, officials announced that the bout had been canceled due to Vanderaa not being medically cleared. Vanderaa faced

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and h ...

on February 12, 2022, at UFC 271. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Vanderaa faced

Aleksei Oleinik Aleksei Alexeyevich Oleinik (born June 25, 1977, as Oleksíy Oleksíyovych Olíynyk) is a Russian mixed martial artist and combat sambo fighter who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, competing in their heavyweight division. He beg ...

, replacing

Ilir Latifi Ilir Latifi (born July 28, 1983) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who previously fought in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. A two-time national wrestling champion and a professional MMA competitor since 2008, Latifi has also competed in S ...

, on April 9, 2022, at UFC 273. He lost the fight via scarf hold submission in the first round. Vanderaa faced

Chase Sherman Chase Sherman (born November 16, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former bare-knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2014, he has competed for the UFC and Titan FC. Background Born and raised in D'Ibervill ...

on July 9, 2022, at UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev. He lost the fight via knockout in round three. As the last fight of his prevailing contract, Vanderaa faced Waldo Cortes-Acosta on October 29, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 213. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. After five straight losses, Vanderaa was released by the UFC in December 2022.

Post-UFC career

As the first bout of his post-UFC tenure Vanderaa faced Nick Costello at Gladiator Challenge – Proving Ground on March 4, 2023. He won the bout via first-minute submission. He then made his light heavyweight debut against Chuck Campbell at Lights Out Fighting 10 on August 26, 2023, losing via third-round knockout.

Personal life

Vanderaa and his fiancée Lauren have two daughters, born in 2017 and 2021. Vanderaa and his fiancée own the

Team Quest Team Quest is a mixed martial arts training camp founded by Randy Couture and Dan Henderson with facilities located in Gresham, Oregon; Murrieta, California; Encinitas, California; Redding, California; Hemet, California; and Chiang Mai, Thailand. ...

gym in

Hemet Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundi ...

, which is the successor of PrimeTime MMA where Jared began his career.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (One time) *SMASH Global **SG Heavyweight Championship (One time) * Extreme Fighting Championship ** EFC Heavyweight Championship (One time) ***One successful title defence

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–11 , Chuck Campbell , KO (punch) , LXF 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:34 , Pauma Valley, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–10 , Nick Costello , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Gladiator Challenge: Proving Ground , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:46 ,

Valley Center, California Valley Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern San Diego County, California. The population was 9,277 at the 2010 census. History Valley Center was the site of the capture of the largest California Grizzly Bear in history. In 1866, ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–10 , Waldo Cortes-Acosta , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–9 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:10 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–8 ,

, Submission (scarf hold) , UFC 273 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:39 ,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–7 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC 271 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Houston, Texas, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6 , Alexander Romanov , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:43 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–5 ,

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

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–5 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:32 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Harry Hunsucker , TKO (punches) , Dana White's Contender Series 34 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:34 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Tony Lopez , Decision (unanimous) , SMASH Global 9 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a metonymy, shorthand reference for the Cinema of the United States, U.S. film industry and the people associated with i ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 , Renan Ferreira , Submission (triangle choke) , LFA 74 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:37 ,

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Ricky Misholas , TKO (punches) , EFC 77 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:49 ,

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Ruan Potts , TKO (punches) , EFC 76 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:24 ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Elvis Moyo , TKO (punches) , EFC 73 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:00 , Sun City, South Africa , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 , Vernon Lewis , Decision (unanimous) , LFA 35 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Houston, Texas, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Andrew van Zyl , Decision (split) , EFC 66 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Idrees Wasi , Submission (straight ankle lock) , GKO 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Jackson, California Jackson (formerly, Botilleas, Botilleas Spring, Bottileas, Bottle Spring, and Botellas) is a city in and the county seat of Amador County, California. Its population was 4,651 at the 2010 census, up from 3,989 at the 2000 census. The city is acc ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , Richard Odoms , Submission (kimura) , LFA 15 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 2:45 ,

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Sean Johnson , Submission (guillotine choke) , SMASH Global 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:28 ,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Mychal Clark , TKO (punches) , BAMMA Badbeat 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:20 ,

Commerce, California Commerce is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 12,823 at the 2010 census, up from 12,568 at the 2000 census. It is usually referred to as the City of Commerce to distinguish it from the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Joe Hernandez , KO (punch) , SMASH Global 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:13 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Daylin Murray , TKO (punches) , The Main Event 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:11 ,

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , John Rizzo , Submission (rear-naked choke) , KOTC: Sanctioned , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( ; ; Spanish for " St. Hyacinth") is a city in Riverside County, California. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, to its north. The mountains associated with t ...

, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanderaa, Jared 1992 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight 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 People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu