Kelvin Tiller (born June 26, 1990) 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 ...

currently competing in the

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 ...

division. A professional competitor since 2011, Tiller has also formerly competed for Bellator,

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 ...

and

Shark Fights Shark Fights was a mixed martial arts promotion based in Amarillo, Texas. It made its debut on October 24, 2008. On September 11, 2010 Shark Fights had its biggest card in Shark Fights history by having past and present UFC fighters Jorge Masv ...

Background

Born and raised in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, Tiller was often involved in street fights while growing up and also briefly trained in

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

. Tiller later attended Highland Park High School where he competed in track and won a city championship for the 100-meter dash in his senior year.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Tiller competed as an amateur from 2009 until 2011, compiling a record of 7–3. On September 10, 2011, Tiller made his professional MMA debut against Jeb Chiles at Shark Fights 19. Tiller won the fight by submission at the end of the first round.

Bellator

Tiller made his Bellator debut on October 29, 2011, at Bellator 56 against Daniel Spohn. Tiller defeated Spohn via split decision. In his next appearance for Bellator, Tiller faced Jeremiah Riggs at Bellator 70 on May 25, 2012. Tiller won the fight by submission in the third round. Tiller then stepped in as a replacement for an injured Marcus "Lelo" Aurelio and defeated Amaechi Oselukwue via second-round TKO at Bellator 73 on August 24, 2012. Tiller was expected to face Dave Vitkay at Bellator 88 on February 7, 2013. However, when Tiller failed to make weight for the third consecutive time, the bout was cancelled and Tiller was subsequently released from his Bellator contract.

Post-Bellator

After parting ways with Bellator, Tiller faced Chris Henning on June 29, 2013, at Epic Fight Night 1: Stinson vs. Kimmons. Tiller won via submission in round one.

World Series of Fighting/ Professional Fighters League

In November 2013, Tiller signed a multi-fight deal with

. Tiller was scheduled to face

Ronny Markes Ronny Markes (born April 21, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Markes has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fig ...

at WSOF 12 on August 9, 2014, but when Krasimir Mladenov pulled out of his fight with Elvis Mutapčić due to injury on the same card, Tiller stepped in as a replacement. As a result, Markes ended up fighting promotional newcomer Cully Butterfield. Tiller was handed his first professional defeat by Mutapcic via three-round unanimous decision. Following his first loss, Tiller rebounded with a win against Marcus Sursa by submission via a rear-naked choke at Shamrock FC: Heavy Artillery on March 7, 2015, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. His win streak continued against Kevin Ray Sears by TKO due to punches at Shamrock FC 282 on January 14, 2017, which marked his heavyweight debut.

2018 Season

Later, he make his PFL debut against Caio Alencar, winning by knockout at PFL 1 on June 7, 2018, in New York City, New York. This was followed by a win against

Jared Rosholt Jared Rosholt is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor from 2011 to 2019, Rosholt competed for the UFC, Titan FC, Professional Fighters League, and Legacy FC. He is the y ...

by guillotine choke at PFL 4 on July 19, 2018, in Uniondale, New York. However, his winning streak ended when he rematched

, losing by unanimous decision at PFL 8 on October 5, 2018, in New Orleans, Louisiana, which was the 2018 PFL Heavyweight Quarterfinal bout.

2019 Season

He bounced back with a win against Muhammed Dereese by kimura in the first round at PFL 3 on June 6, 2019, in Uniondale, New York. Unfortunately, his career took a downturn with three consecutive losses. First, he was defeated by

Denis Goltsov Denis Alexandrovich Goltsov (; born 10 June 1990) is a Russian sambo competitor, mixed martial artist, and former amateur boxer. As a sambist, Goltsov is a two-time world champion, two-time European champion, and three-time Russian champion. As a ...

via ezekiel choke at PFL 6 on August 8, 2019, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Then, he lost to

Ali Isaev Ali Isaevich Isaev (; born 18 December 1983) is a Russian-Azerbaijani professional mixed martial artist and former amateur wrestler who competed in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division. He has also formerly competed for Bellator MMA, Figh ...

by unanimous decision in the 2019 PFL Heavyweight Quarterfinal bout. His third consecutive loss was against

by unanimous decision at PFL 9 on October 31, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the 2019 PFL Heavyweight Semifinal bout, where he replaced the injured Francimar Barroso.

Post PFL

Tiller, as a replacement for Steve Mowry, was scheduled to face Marcelo Golm on August 20, 2021, at Bellator 265. The week of the event, Tiller had to pull out of the bout due to undisclosed reasons. Despite the string of losses, he managed to pull off a win against Rudy Schaffroth by KO with a knee at Tuff-N-Uff 129 on August 12, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Personal life

Tiller went to Topeka High high school and Highland Park High in Topeka, Ks after high school he went to Allen County Community College for track. He was raised by a single mother Patricia Rains as they moves around between Kansas City and Topeka most of his childhood. He is the youngest of 4 children and has 3 older sisters Patricia (Nikki) Tiller, Tierra Tiller, and Autumn Tiller. He has always been a family oriented man with his Grandmother ( Ellenor Irons) Grandfather (Harrison Irons Sr.) and Uncle (Harrison (Dunnie) Irons Jr.) helping with his up bringing . Tiller himself has 3 sons and 4 daughters having his first child at the age of 16. While growing up on the streets of

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

he had to grow up fast so fighting became natural for him. His mission in life is to make sure his family is taken care of. On October 4, 2018, Tiller lost a major factor in his life, the man that thought him everything in life his grandfather Harrison Irons Sr. the day before his October 5 fight for PFL. Tiller is a major influencer in his community. He mentors the young kids, telling them that there is more out there in life; and that you can be what ever you want to be in life as long as you put your all into it.

Mixed martial arts record

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Jake Collier Jake Collier (born October 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division and competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background With no background in ...

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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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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiller, Kelvin Living people American male mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing American male karateka 1990 births 21st-century American sportsmen