Jillian DeCoursey (born July 26, 1984) 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 ...

. She currently competes in the

atomweight Atomweight (also referred to as light minimumweight, junior strawweight, junior mini-flyweight and pinweight) is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In women's boxing and junior amateur boxing pinweight is, or has been, a weight class for boxe ...

division of the

Invicta FC Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

, where she is a former atomweight champion. As of November 21, 2022,

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

ranks DeCoursey as the #4 atomweight in the world.

Background

DeCoursey was born and grew up in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, United States. DeCoursey started undergraduate studies at

University of Bridgeport The University of Bridgeport (UB or UBPT) is a private university in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2021, the university was purchased by Goodwin Unive ...

and graduated from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

. She started

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 ...

after she finished competing in collegiate basketball at Hunter College. She later picked up

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

and eventually transitioned to mixed martial arts. DeCoursey also eventually finished her postgraduate studies at

Iona University Iona University () is a private Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York, United States. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bro ...

, earning a master's degree and owns her counselling practice in mental health.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

DeCoursey was signed by Invicta after amassing an amateur record of 8–1. She was an

IBJJF The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments in the world, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World No-Gi Championship, Pan Jiu-Jitsu ...

brown belt medalist.

Invicta Fighting Championships

DeCoursey made her promotional debut on August 31, 2017 at Invicta FC 25: Kunitskaya vs. Pa'aluhi against Ashley Medina. She won the fight via split decision. Her next fight came on March 24, 2018 at Invicta FC 28: Mizuki vs. Jandiroba against Rebekah Levine. She won the fight via unanimous decision. On July 21, 2018, DeCoursey faced

Alesha Zappitella Alesha Zappitella (born February 28, 1995) 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 ...

, replacing Shino VanHoose, at Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander. For her next fight, DeCoursey fought outside of Invicta, being scheduled to face Katie Perez at CFFC 80. She won the fight by a third-round technical knockout. DeCoursey returned to Invicta to face Linda Mihalec at Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II. DeCoursey won the fight by unanimous decision. DeCoursey was scheduled to challenge the reigning Cage Fury FC Strawweight champion Elise Reed at CFFC 91. Reed won the fight by unanimous decision. DeCoursey was scheduled to participate in a one-night Invicta Phoenix Tournament to determine the next atomweight title challenger. DeCoursey lost the quarterfinal bout against Linda Mihalec by split decision. DeCoursey faced Lindsey VanZandt on May 11, 2022 at Invicta FC 47. She won the bout after knocking out VanZandt in the first round.

Invicta FC Atomweight Champion

DeCoursey was booked to challenge the reigning Invicta Atomweight champion

Jéssica Delboni Jéssica Correa Delboni (born 7 September 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the atomweight and strawweight divisions of Invicta FC, where she is a former Atomweight champion. Mixed martial arts career Early career ...

at Invicta FC 49: Delboni vs. DeCoursey on September 28, 2022. DeCoursey won the fight by a first-round submission. DeCoursey was scheduled to defend the title against Rayanne dos Santos on May 3, 2023, at Invicta FC 53: DeCoursey vs. Dos Santos. She lost the title fight by unanimous decision.

Professional grappling career

DeCoursey was invited to compete in the flyweight division of the Combat Jiu-Jitsu world championship on December 20, 2020. She withdrew from the event. DeCoursey is scheduled to compete in a superfight at Rise Invitational 11 on April 1, 2023 against Chelsea Mapa. Neither woman was able to secure a submission and the match ended in a draw.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

** Invicta FC Atomweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Hinton, Oklahoma Hinton is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,196 as of the 2010 census, up from 2,175 in 2000. It is approximately west of Oklahoma City. Geography Hinton is located in northeastern Caddo County at an elevat ...

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Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

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Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

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Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

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Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

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Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 252 ...

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References

External links

*
Jillian DeCoursey
at

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:DeCoursey, Jillian 1984 births Living people American female mixed martial artists Atomweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American female Muay Thai practitioners American female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century American women