Jesse Lee Forbes (born October 24, 1984) is a retired 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 ...

. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2010, he 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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

, WEC, the MFC, and was a competitor on ''

The Ultimate Fighter 3 ''The Ultimate Fighter 3'' was the third season of the mixed martial arts reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. It premiered on April 6, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of '' Ultimate Fight Night 4''. The season featured sixt ...

.''

Background

Forbes was born in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, and moved to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. He was a two-time All-State wrestler at

Corona del Sol High School Corona del Sol High School is a high school located in Tempe, Arizona, United States. It was established in 1977 and is a part of the Tempe Union High School District. History The local architecture firm of Michael & Kemper Goodwin Ltd. was ...

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

, before going on to wrestle at

Pima Community College Pima Community College (PCC) is a Public university, public community college in Pima County, Arizona. It serves the Tucson, Arizona, Tucson metropolitan area with a community college district consisting of five campuses, four education centers, ...

, where he was a

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, State college (disambiguation), state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 sepa ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. Former

fighter

Drew Fickett Drew Fickett (born December 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, Fickett has also formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM, Cage Rage, the XFC, ...

is also an alumnus of PCC, and Forbes trained with him soon after college.

Mixed martial arts career

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Forbes signed with the

to appear on ''

''. Forbes was the first pick on Team

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock ( né Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Ken Shamrock. He is best known ...

and second overall. Shamrock explained that when

Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz () is an American politican and retired mixed martial artist and Submission grappling, submission grappler. Ortiz is best known for his career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC ...

chose

Matt Hamill Matt Hamill (born October 5, 1976) is an American former mixed martial artist and wrestler who competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. He is a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion in wrestling (167 lb class in 1997 ...

as his first pick that he would have to pick someone he thought could beat Hamill, and he thought Forbes was that person. While on the show, Forbes was the youngest in the house. Despite Shamrock's belief that Forbes was a force to be reckoned with, he lost his preliminary fight against Noah Inhofer via submission. He was brought back on the show after Inhofer asked to be sent home (therefore disqualifying him from the competition) for fear that his girlfriend believed he had cheated on her. Forbes returned with a mohawk and a second chance that put him in Inhofer's semi-finals spot. Forbes lost again in his just received semi-final spot to

Josh Haynes Joshua Lee Haynes (born July 30, 1977) is an American former mixed martial artist. He fought out of Las Vegas, Nevada, with Xtreme Couture where he was also a coach. His MMA record is 17 wins, 11 losses. He was also a contestant on the third sea ...

via guillotine choke despite dominating the first round that even Ortiz admitted could have been scored 10-8. Forbes was pitted against Team Ortiz's

at the finale of the show. Forbes lost again that night via TKO in the first round.

Post-TUF

Forbes compiled an 11-2 record after being released from the UFC, including notable wins over fellow UFC veterans

Jesse Taylor Jesse Taylor (born January 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) and 10th Planet Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt fighter who last competed in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor from 2006 to 2023, he wa ...

and James Head.

Return to UFC

Forbes made his UFC return on January 11, 2010 at

UFC Fight Night 20 ''UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 20'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 11, 2010, at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Background Headlining ...

against

Nick Catone Nicholas Catone (born September 1, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist. Catone competed from 2009 to 2015 in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Wrestling Catone began wrestling ...

, replacing an injured

Steve Steinbeiss Steve Thomas Steinbeiss (born May 5, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2011, he fought in the UFC, WEC, and Bellator. In kickboxing, he fought for K-1. Mixed martial art ...

. Forbes lost the fight via controversial split decision. Forbes faced Ryan Jensen at

UFC 114 ''UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 29, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC Fan Expo took place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Back ...

on May 29, 2010. He lost the fight via guillotine choke submission in the first round dropping his UFC record to 0-3. After his second straight loss, he was released from the UFC once again.

Post-UFC career

In his first fight since leaving the UFC, Forbes fought

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

veteran Anthony Smith at Crowbar MMA: Fall Brawl on September 11, 2010. He won via second round TKO. Forbes then faced Justin Guthrie at Crowbar MMA: Winter Brawl on December 10, 2010. He won via triangle choke submission.

Personal life

Forbes is currently a firefighter/paramedic with the Phoenix Fire Department.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 15–5 , Justin Guthrie , Submission (triangle choke) , Crowbar MMA: Winter Brawl , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:57 ,

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

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Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

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Springdale, Arkansas Springdale is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, Washington and Benton County, Arkansas, Benton counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city had a population of 84,161 at the 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns in Arkan ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Cleburn Walker , Submission (rear-naked choke) , 5150 Combat: Rumble at the Rally , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:02 ,

Sparks, Oklahoma Sparks is a town in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 169 at the 2010 census, a 23.4 percent gain from the figure of 137 in 2000. The center of population of Oklahoma is located in Spark Geography According to the Un ...

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Dave Vitkay Dave Vitkay (born May 22, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2002, he has formerly competed for Bellator MMA. Background Born and raised in the suburbs of D ...

, TKO (punches) , Wild Bill's Fight Night 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:05 ,

Duluth, Georgia Duluth ( ) is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Duluth had a population of 31,873, and the United Stat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Shane Dezee , TKO (punches) , Extreme Beatdown , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:34 ,

San Carlos, Arizona San Carlos () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Gila County, Arizona, United States. The population was 4,038 at the 2010 census, up from 3,716 in 2000. San Carlos is the largest community in and the seat of government for the San Carlos A ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , JR Schumacher , TKO (punches) , MTXAFN 2: Evolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:13 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 ,

Ryan Jimmo Ryan Jimmo (November 27, 1981 – June 26, 2016) was a Canadian mixed martial artist who competed in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He mostly fought in Canada and competed on the eighth season of ''The Ulti ...

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Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Bernard Rutherford , TKO (punches) , Wild Bill's Fight Night 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:37 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 ,

Chris Camozzi Christopher Allen Camozzi (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional Glory (kickboxing), Glory kickboxer, mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. He currently competes for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship ...

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Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 , Bryan Baker , TKO (punches) ,

WEC 30 ''WEC 30: McCullough vs. Crunkilton'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). The event took place on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and aired live on ...

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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 ...

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Tim Peacock , Submission (triangle choke) , WFC: Desert Storm , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Michael Gonzalez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CFF: Cage Fighting Federation , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

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Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Jesse American male sport wrestlers American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people Sportspeople from Portland, Maine 1984 births Mixed martial artists from Maine American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Corona del Sol High School alumni