Jesse Taylor (born January 2, 1983) is an American professional

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA) and 10th Planet Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt fighter who last 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. A professional competitor from 2006 to 2023, he was a cast member of SpikeTV's '' The Ultimate Fighter 7'', winning his entry, preliminary,

quarterfinal A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

and

semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

matches, and then became infamous for being the only fighter to ever be removed from finals due to events that occurred after filming was completed. Taylor later won The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Welterweight Tournament, and has also fought for top promotions such as UFC,

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 *' ...

DREAM A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...

, MFC, AFC, Impact FC, Shark Fights,

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under ...

and

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

Background

Jesse Taylor also known as "JT Money", graduated Poway High School where he was a wrestler. After high school Jesse attended San Francisco State university. He took

Jiu-Jitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

classes but decided to stick to wrestling. When things did not work out in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

he moved back down to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, where he then attended

Palomar College Palomar College is a public community college in San Diego County, California. The main campus is in San Marcos and three centers and four education sites are located elsewhere throughout north San Diego County. Academics Palomar College off ...

near

. In junior college, Taylor became a two-time JC

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 ...

, CCCAA State runner-up in 2003, and crowned California Junior College State Champion in 2004, only losing three matches. Taylor was then rewarded with a scholarship to

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

. After the birth of his son, it became harder for Taylor to concentrate on

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and school while adjusting to the family life. Taylor still managed to qualify for the Division 1

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Tournament and was 3rd in the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

's. He was also college teammates with 2x UFC champion TJ Dillashaw at Cal State-Fullerton. After realizing there was no money in wrestling after college (a sentiment echoed by many former collegiate wrestlers, including Matt Hughes,

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American mixed martial arts commentator, actor, former United States Army sergeant, former professional mixed martial artist, and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestlin ...

, and

Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Hurt Syndicate and is one-half of the AEW World Tag Team C ...

), Taylor tried to think of a way to still compete and make a living for him and his son. He then decided to give

a real try. An old wrestling friend of his invited him for a Team Quest workout, where Taylor was able to spar with fighters such as

Dan Henderson Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American former mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champi ...

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Nkamhoua (; born April 18, 1984), mostly billed simply as Sokoudjou, is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2006, Sokoudjou is the former Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, KSW Light He ...

, and Jason Miller. He picked up

Jiu Jitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

quickly, and worked to improve his striking. After only about a month of training, Taylor took a fight against a much more established fighter and was victorious. A few years later Jesse got the chance to be on the seventh season of the hit reality television series ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

Mixed martial arts career

''The Ultimate Fighter''

In the second episode Jesse Taylor won his entry match against Nick Rossborough by

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

. After all entry matches were done the teams were to pick the fighters that they wanted. Taylor was picked sixth overall by Forrest Griffin. With

Quinton Jackson Quinton Ramone Jackson (born June 20, 1978), known by his ring name of Rampage Jackson, is an American rapper, former mixed martial artist, actor, kickboxer, and professional wrestler. During the course of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, ...

getting the first pick for fighters, Griffin was to choose the first preliminary fight. Griffin chose Taylor to take on Mike Dolce; In the second round, Taylor won the fight again via a

. Taylor's quarterfinal fight was against Dante Rivera, which Taylor also won, this time via unanimous decision. Taylor had now advanced to the semi-finals against his close friend

Tim Credeur Tim Credeur (born July 9, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's ''The Ultimate Fighter 7'' and was defeated by fellow cast member Jesse Taylor in the semi-finals. He was then bro ...

, a fight which Taylor won by unanimous decision, putting him into the finals.

Removal from finale

Taylor was removed from the finals after a security recording was presented to

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

. He was shown kicking out one of the side windows of a rented limousine. The staff of the hotel where the incident occurred reported that a drunken Taylor had frightened female patrons and confronted hotel security by acting aggressively and screaming that he was a UFC fighter. White told Taylor that this type of behavior was unacceptable, and that he believed Taylor did not possess the mental discipline to deal with the pressures of fame and popularity that being in the UFC would put on him. White told Taylor that because of his actions he had forfeited his place in the final match, a decision that an emotional Taylor did not try to protest. However, White went on to thank Taylor for his efforts in the show, and advised him to "go home, get your life together, call me in a few months". Later, in the July fight promo footage for UFC: Silva vs. Irvin, White recounted a conversation he had with Taylor:

UFC career

Following his removal from The Ultimate Fighter, Taylor was offered a fight against C.B. Dollaway at UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin on July 19, 2008. He lost the fight via a Peruvian necktie submission in the first round. On July 29 the

Wrestling Observer The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

reported that Taylor had been released from the UFC.

Post UFC

In his first fight since his release from the UFC, Taylor fought Drew Fickett at a catchweight of 175 pounds. Taylor upset the more experienced Fickett, winning by TKO due to strikes in 1 minutes and 42 seconds. After the fight, Taylor then dropped down from

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 ...

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 ...

. He later fought on January 15, where he was set to fight unbeaten Pat Minihan, instead Taylor fought Rico Altamirano, he defeated Altamirano via

in the second round. Taylor fought on February 14, 2009, in

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

. He was set to go up against Esteban Ramos. Taylor ended up fighting and beating (1-0) fighter Gert Kocani. Taylor again won via

in the second round. Jesse fought on March 28, 2009, in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. He took on Chris Camozzi, defeating him by decision. Jesse won the King of Champions belt held by Camozzi. On May 2, 2009, Taylor defeated MMA veteran Eric DaVila at Shark Fight 4. Taylor then won his sixth straight fight since being released from the UFC after defeating Rubén Darío at ''Total Combat 33''. The fight was for the Total Combat

title.

DREAM

One day after his win over Darío, Taylor was offered a fight for

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

promotion,

. He made his debut on July 20, 2009, at DREAM 10 against Korean

Judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

, Dong Sik Yoon. Taylor won after Yoon injured his ankle and was not able to continue.

Strikeforce

Nick Diaz Nicholas Robert Diaz (born August 2, 1983) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Diaz is a former Strikeforce, WEC and ...

was slated to face

Jay Hieron Jay Hieron (born July 29, 1976) is an American actor, stuntman and former mixed martial artist. Hieron was the final IFL Welterweight Champion, competing for the Los Angeles Anacondas, and has also competed in the UFC, WEC, Affliction, ...

for the

Championship belt. However, Diaz missed a pre-fight drug test mandated by the California State Athletic Commission and was denied a license to compete. Diaz was replaced by Taylor, who moved down to welterweight, and the fight was changed to a non-title bout. Taylor lost the match via unanimous decision. Taylor had his second fight for the

promotion on November 6, 2009, on the main card of the Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Evangelista event. He lost to Luke Rockhold (5-1) in a

contest.

Maximum Fighting Championship

Taylor signed a two-fight deal with Canadian-based promotion,

Maximum Fighting Championship Maximum Fighting Championship was a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta. MFC events were broadcast on The Fight Network, AXS TV (formerly HDnet) in North America and most recently TSN2. FC’s former home, in C ...

. His first fight was on the MFC 25 card against

Thales Leites Thales Leites Lourenço (; born 6 September 1981) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist best known for competing in the Middleweight (MMA), middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial art ...

, losing in the first round by

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

. Before taking another fight with the MFC, Taylor fought former UFC

champion

Murilo Bustamante Murilo Bustamante (; born 30 July 1966) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion. He is one of the founders of the '' Brazilian Top Team'' and is the current leader. In addition to competing for the UFC, ...

. In the second round of the fight, referee John McCarthy stood the pair up and as the fight was about to continue, Bustamante seemingly lost equilibrium and could not continue, giving Taylor the TKO victory. His second fight for MFC took place on the main card of the MFC 26 card against Tom Watson. Taylor won via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26).

Independent promotions

Taylor was signed to fight

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

artist, Dylan Andrews, at the inaugural

Australian Fighting Championship Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) was an Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation based in Melbourne. In 2013, AFC was described as Australia's leading MMA organisation by MMA Kanvas and was part of Sherdog's list of top 50 global ...

event. The fight took place in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

on November 12, 2010. Taylor won the fight midway into round one, choking Andrews unconscious from a guillotine choke. Taylor was scheduled to fight

PRIDE FC PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

, UFC, and

veteran,

Denis Kang Denis Kang (, born September 17, 1977) is a retired Canadian professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 1998, Kang has formerly competed for the UFC, PRIDE, DREAM, ...

at Battlefield Fight League 7. Kang later pulled out of the fight, and Jesse moved up to

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 ...

to fight Clay Davidson, defeating him in a unanimous decision. The fight with Kang was rescheduled for May 28, 2011, at Battlefield Fight League 8. Taylor won by

in the first round, getting Kang in a

. Taylor fought Bellator Middleweight champion Hector Lombard on September 3, 2011, in the main event at the Australian Fighting Championships. Taylor replaced an injured

Paulo Filho Paulo Filho (; born May 24, 1978), is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist who last competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor from 2000 until 2014, Filho was the last WEC Middleweight Champion, and also comp ...

at KSW XVII and faced

Mamed Khalidov Mamed Khalidov ( rus, Мамед Магомедович Халидов, Mamed Magomedovich Khalidov, mɐˈmʲɛt maɣɔmʲɛdɔvʲit͡ʂ xɐˈlʲidəf; ; born 17 July 1980) is a Polish mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the ...

. He lost the fight via kneebar

early in the first round.

Cage Warriors

Taylor faced

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

black belt Gaël Grimaud on May 24, 2012, in

Isa Town Isa Town (, ''Madīnat ʿĪsā'') is a middle class town located in Bahrain, in the north central part of the country. Etymology The name ''Isa'' refers to Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, a former ruler of Bahrain, from 1961 to 1999. History Isa To ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

at Cage Warriors Fight Night 6 for Grimaud's

championship. Taylor dominated the first two rounds by utilizing his

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

to take Grimaud down and control him throughout the round while also peppering Grimaud with short strikes. Early in the third round Grimaud took Taylor's back. As Taylor was attempting to escape back control, Grimaud trapped Taylor's arm and transitioned to an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...

, forcing Taylor to submit and thus retaining his

title. On December 31, 2012, Jesse Taylor defeated former champion Chris Fields in Fields's hometown of

Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

51 to win the CWFC

title. Just two months removed from winning the Cage Warriors middleweight title, Taylor fought The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner, Kendall Grove. The fight was for Taylor's K-OZ Entertainment middleweight title he had won back in November 2012. The contest took place on February 23, 2013, in

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Taylor controlled the fight for five consecutive rounds, winning the fight via unanimous decision, and defending his middleweight title. Taylor had his first Cage Warriors Middleweight title defense on May 4, 2013, on the Cage Warriors 54 card. Taylor fought, and defeated, "The White Tyson" John Phillips via submission early in the first round.

World Series of Fighting

A few weeks after his first successful Cage Warriors title defense, it was announced Taylor had signed an exclusive deal with 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) promot ...

. Taylor will take part in the promotion's four-man middleweight tournament set to determine the first WSOF middleweight champion. Besides Taylor, the participants are Elvis Mutapčić, David Branch and Danillo Villefort. Taylor was expected to fight Elvis Mutapčić in the opening round at WSOF 5. The New Jersey Athletic Commission cancelled the fight after seeing Mutapcic take an unknown and unapproved medication backstage before the fight. The fight was rescheduled for WSOF 7. Taylor won the fight via unanimous decision. In the Middleweight tournament final, Taylor faced David Branch at World Series of Fighting 10 on June 21, 2014. He lost the fight via D'arce choke submission in the first round.

Battlegrounds

Taylor fought in the BattleGrounds MMA in a Single Night 8-Man Tournament on October 3, 2014. He lost his quarterfinal fight against Trey Houston via submission in the first round.

Arena Tour 6

Taylor had an upcoming fight against fellow UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao for Argentinian mma promotion Arena Tour on April 18, 2015. Taylor lost the fight against Falcao by guillotine choke in the first round at 3:13.

League S-70

Taylor fought Michail Tsarev on August 29, 2015, at League S-70: Russia vs. World. He won the fight via Submission (guillotine choke).

Absolute Championship Berkut

Taylor lost in the first fight in the ACB lost to Aslambek Saidov at the ACB 40: Battleground on June 3, 2016, via submission (guillotine choke) in the first round. Taylor faced Mukhamed Berkhamov on October 22, 2016, at ACB 48. He lost the fight via submission (armbar) in the first round. Taylor had been expected to face Guillerme Martinez on January 13, 2017, at ACB 51 but Martinez instead faced Ivan Castillo.

''The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption''

On February 15 it was announced that Taylor would be joining the cast of Season 25 of The Ultimate Fighter. During team picks in episode one Taylor joined team Dillashaw as T.J. Dillashaw's second pick, after former UFC Fighter James Krause. In episode 3, Taylor faced former training partner Mehdi Baghdad and won by unanimous decision to advance to the quarter-finals. He next faced Hayder Hassan and won the bout via submission in the first round. Taylor faced James Krause in the semi-finals and won via submission in the third round to advance to the finals.

UFC return

Nine years after his first stint on the show, Taylor fought Dhiego Lima in the finals on July 7, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale. Taylor won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round. Taylor was expected to face

Belal Muhammad Belal Muhammad (born July 9, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Welterweight Cha ...

on November 19, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 121. However on September 13, it was announced that Taylor was pulled from the card after being notified by USADA of a potential doping violation. He was flagged after an out-of-competition drug test conducted August 22. On October 13, USADA officially suspended Taylor one year for testing positive for anti-estrogen agent

clomiphene Clomifene, also known as clomiphene, is a medication used to treat infertility in women who anovulation, do not ovulate, including those with polycystic ovary syndrome. It is taken by mouth. Common side effects include pelvic pain and hot f ...

. One month after the suspension was lifted, Taylor was released from his UFC contract.

Post UFC

Taylor went 2-1 on the regional scene, losing via first-round guillotine choke against Mukhamed Berkhamov at ACA 100 and then rebounding against fellow UFC vet Seth Baczynski at NWFA 1: Retribution and Daniel McWilliams at J Street Fights 2, submitting both with a rear-naked choke. He was booked against reigning champion Christian Leroy Duncan at Cage Warriors 148 for the CWFC Middleweight Championship on December 31, 2022, however he was involved in a hit and run the day before the event and had to pull out of the bout. Taylor faced Jared Revel for the BFL Middleweight Championship on March 30, 2023, at BFL 76, getting submitted in the first round via triangle choke.

Personal life

Taylor has two sons and a daughter. Before becoming a professional fighter, Taylor worked various jobs, including construction and personal training.

Championships and accomplishments

* Cage Warriors Fighting Championship ** CWFC Middleweight Championship (One time) ** One successful title defense * K-Oz Entertainment Fights ** K-Oz Entertainment Middleweight Championship (One time; current) ** One successful title defense * King of Champions ** King of Champions Middleweight Championship (One time) * Total Combat ** Total Combat Middleweight Championship (One time) *

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 ( ...

** Winner of '' The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption'' (2017) ** Most wins on ''

'' (7-0)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 33–17 , Jared Revel , Submission (triangle choke) , BFL 76 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:00 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 33–16 , Daniel McWilliams , Submission (rear-naked choke) , J Street Fights 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:28 ,

Bentonville, Arkansas Bentonville is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers, Arkansas, Rogers adjacent to the east. The city proper had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 Unite ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 32–16 , Seth Baczynski , Submission (rear-naked choke) , NWFA 1: Retribution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:46 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 31–16 , Mukhamed Berkhamov , Submission (guillotine choke) , ACA 100 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:13 ,

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 31–15 , Dhiego Lima , Submission (rear-naked choke) , The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:43 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 30–15 , Mukhamed Berkhamov , Submission (armbar) , , ACB 48 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 30–14 , Seth Baczynski , Decision (unanimous) , TFE MMA: Vengeance , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 29–14 , Aslambek Saidov , Submission (guillotine choke) , , ACB 40 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 ,

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

, Russia , , - , Loss , align=center, 29–13 , Borys Mańkowski , Submission (guillotine choke) , KSW 32: Road to Wembley , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:02 ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 29–12 , Michail Tsarev , Submission (guillotine choke) , League S-70: Russia vs. World , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 28–12 , Nick Barnes , Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , Smash Global: The Main Event , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:59 ,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 27–12 , Maiquel Falcão , Submission (guillotine choke) , Arena Tour 5: Falcao vs. Taylor , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:13 ,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina , , - , Loss , align=center, 27–11 , Trey Houston , Submission (armbar) , BattleGrounds MMA 5 - O.N.E. , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:10 ,

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 27–10 , David Branch , Submission (D'Arce choke) , WSOF 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:41 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 27–9 , Elvis Mutapčić , Decision (unanimous) , WSOF 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 26–9 , John Phillips , Submission (guillotine choke) , Cage Warriors 54 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:43 ,

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales , , - , Win , align=center, 25–9 , Kendall Grove , Decision (unanimous) , K-Oz Entertainment: Bragging Rights 5 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 24–9 , Chris Fields , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Warriors: 51 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:06 ,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 23–9 , Steve Kennedy , Submission (rear-naked choke) , K-Oz Entertainment: Bragging Rights 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:01 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 22–9 , Marcel Fortuna , Decision (unanimous) , Dragon House MMA 11: Taylor vs. Fortuna , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–9 , Christopher Ortega , Submission (guillotine choke) , CG: Cage Gladiator 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:13 ,

Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Baja California. The city, which is the seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali, Cale ...

, Mexico , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–9 , Gaël Grimaud , Submission (armbar) , Cage Warriors Fight Night 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:55 ,

, Bahrain , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–8 ,

, Submission (kneebar) , KSW 17: Revenge , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:42 ,

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 20–7 , Mario Trujillo , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ultimate Combat Challenge , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:30 ,

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

, Panama , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–7 , Hector Lombard , Submission (heel hook) , Australian FC 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:26 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 19–6 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Battlefield Fight League 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

Nanaimo, British Columbia Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 18–6 , Clay Davidson , Decision (unanimous) , Battlefield Fight League 7 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6 , Dylan Andrews , Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , Australian FC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:33 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 16–6 , Tom Watson , Decision (unanimous) , MFC 26 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 15–6 ,

, TKO (retirement) , Impact FC 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:10 ,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–6 ,

, Submission (triangle choke) , MFC 25 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

Edmonton, Alberta 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 ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Jason Day , Submission (rear-naked choke) , AMMA 2: Vengeance , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:14 ,

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 , Luke Rockhold , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Evangelista , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:42 ,

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

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

, Decision (unanimous) , Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 ,

Yoon Dong-Sik Yoon Dong-Sik (, born August 24, 1972, in Seoul), often anglicised to Dong-Sik Yoon, is a South Korean judoka, and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. Career Judo Before competing in MMA, Yoon was a well-known judoka with over 50 int ...

, TKO (ankle injury) , DREAM 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Rubén Barboza , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Total Combat 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:13 ,

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Eric Davila , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Shark Fights 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:29 ,

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Chris Camozzi , Decision (unanimous) , King of Champions 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, 9–3 , Gert Kocani , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Xtreme Cagefighting Federation 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:45 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Rico Altamirano , Submission (rear-naked choke) , The Warriors Cage 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:00 ,

Porterville, California Porterville is a city at the base of Southern Sierra Nevada mountains on the eastern side of San Joaquin Valley, in Tulare County, California, United States. It is part of the Visalia-Porterville metropolitan statistical area. Serving as the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Drew Fickett , TKO (punches and elbows) , Total Combat 32 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:42 ,

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish language, Spanish: El Cajón, lit. 'the box') is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajon, Rancho El Cajón, which was named for the ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 , C.B. Dollaway , Submission (Peruvian necktie) , UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:58 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Jorge Ramirez , TKO (punches) , MMA Xtreme 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:42 ,

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Matt Major , Decision (unanimous) , Melee on the Mountain , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Friant, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 , Kenny Ento , Submission (triangle choke) , PRIMAL MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 ,

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Jorge Ortiz , TKO (punches) , Total Combat 21 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:49 ,

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Jesse Forbes , Submission (armbar) , Tuff-N-Uff 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:21 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Noel Rodriguez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , MMA Xtreme 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:03 ,

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Chris Chiasson , TKO (punches) , No Limits MMA , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:28 ,

San Clemente, California San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement" ) is a coastal city in southern Orange County, California, United States. It was named in 1925 after the Spanish colonial island (which was named after a Pope from the first century). Located in the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Robert Sarkozi , Decision (unanimous) , KOTC: Rapid Fire , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...

, United States , , Win , align=center, 7–0 , James Krause , Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , rowspan=3, The Ultimate Fighter 25 , (airdate) , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:32 , rowspan=7,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Hayder Hassan , Submission (rear-naked choke) , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:24 , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Mehdi Baghdad , Decision (unanimous) , (airdate) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , rowspan=4, The Ultimate Fighter 7 , (airdate) , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Dante Rivera , Decision (unanimous) , (airdate) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Mike Dolce , Submission (rear-naked choke) , (airdate) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:47 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Nick Rossborough , Submission (rear-naked choke) , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:50 ,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Jesse 1983 births Living people American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male mixed martial artists American sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in mixed martial arts Sportspeople from Murrieta, California Mixed martial artists from California Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu San Francisco State University alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers

Background

Mixed martial arts career

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Removal from finale

UFC career

Post UFC

DREAM

Strikeforce

Maximum Fighting Championship

Independent promotions

Cage Warriors

World Series of Fighting

Battlegrounds

Arena Tour 6

League S-70

Absolute Championship Berkut

''The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption''

UFC return

Post UFC

Personal life

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links