Lance Benoist (born August 26, 1988) 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 ...

. He competed for the

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 ( ...

in their

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.

Mixed Martial Arts career

Early career

Benoist went undefeated in his amateur career and compiled a record of 14-0-1, finishing almost all of his opponents in the first round. He had his first professional fight on January 30, 2010 and won the bout via triangle choke submission.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In June 2011, Benoist signed a multi-fight contract with 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 ...

. He faced

Matthew Riddle Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is the reigning MLW World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He a ...

in his Octagon debut. He won the fight via unanimous decision in a bout that earned ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Benoist next faced

Seth Baczynski Seth Baczynski (born October 26, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional since 2006, Baczynski has formerly competed for the UFC, and was a cast member of ...

on June 8, 2012 at UFC on FX 3. He lost for the first time in his career via split decision. Benoist faced

Sean Pierson Sean Ian Pierson (born March 10, 1976) is a retired Canadian mixed martial artist. A professional from 1999 until 2013, he fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator. Background Pierson began wrestling in the fourth grade a ...

on September 22, 2012 at

UFC 152 ''UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort '' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 22, 2012, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background Rory MacDonald was expected to face fo ...

, replacing Dan Miller. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Benoist was expected to face

Paulo Thiago Paulo Thiago Alencar Antunes (; born January 25, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of KSW. A professional competitor since 2005, he has also competed for the UFC and Jungle Fight ...

on May 18, 2013 at

UFC on FX 8 ''UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold'' (also known as ''UFC on FX 8'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 18, 2013, at the Arena Jaraguá in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. The event was broadcast live on FUEL TV and FX (TV channel), FX. Backgrou ...

. However, Benoist was forced out of the bout with a broken leg and was replaced by promotional newcomer Michel Prazeres. Benoist faced

Bobby Voelker Robert "Bobby" James Voelker (born April 26, 1979) is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in their Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Voelker has formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator MMA, Strikefor ...

on June 7, 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 42 ''UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 42'') was a mixed martial arts event held on June 7, 2014, at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Background The event was the first that the organization hoste ...

. He won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 7–2 ,

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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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Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 97,335 at the time of the 2020 census. History Early history In ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 ,

Matt Riddle Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is the reigning MLW World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He ...

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

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Ryne Vincent , Submission (triangle choke) , CCCW: Fight Night 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:56 ,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Dustin Baker , Submission (rear-naked choke) , PCL: Cage Madness , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:36 ,

Glen Carbon, Illinois Glen Carbon is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States, northeast of St. Louis. It is part of the St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 13,842 at the 2020 census. History In 1801, Colonel Samuel Judy received a milita ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Miguel Rios , Submission (guillotine choke) , MCC 30: Thanksgiving Throwdown , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:57 ,

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

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St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 70,493 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making St. Charles the List of cities in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jamell Austin , Submission (triangle choke) , Devastation Fight Club , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:53 ,

Cape Girardeau, Missouri Cape Girardeau ( , ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, Cape Girardeau and Scott County, Missouri, Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the ...

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Personal life

Lance's identical twin brother, Logan Benoist, was killed in a tragic vehicle accident on Monday, April 23, 2012. Logan was a U.S. Marine and an Iraq War combat veteran. Lance attended Festus high school. Benoist also has a sister.

References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* *
MMA Record

Cage Championships Title History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benoist, Lance Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1988 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu