Luke Daniel Sanders (born December 12, 1985) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competed in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

division. A professional competitor since 2011, he also competed for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC), Strikeforce and the RFA.

Background

Born in

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, Texas, Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County, Texas, Washington County. Washi ...

and raised in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, Sanders was athletic from a young age; he won national titles in

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

and finished fourth at the grand nationals event in 1992 at the age of seven. He started

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

in the second grade, winning a state championship for

Montgomery Central High School Montgomery Central High School is a high school located in Cunningham, Tennessee, an unincorporated suburban community outside Clarksville. It is part of the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. It has a GreatSchools rating of 8 out of 1 ...

in 2004 at 145 lbs. Sanders also played

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

, winning two state championships in 2001 and 2002. He began competing in

Toughman The Toughman Contest, founded in 1979 in Bay City, Michigan by late boxing promoter Art Dore (1936-2022), is a chance for the novice amateur boxers (those with no more than five sanctioned wins in the past five years) to test themselves in the ...

contests at the age of 17, winning several tournaments, and holds an amateur boxing record of 9–0.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Sanders compiled an amateur record of 4-0 before making his professional debut for Strikeforce in 2011. Sanders won via TKO in the first round. He then continued his unbeaten streak, compiling a record of 10-0 before being signed by the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Sanders made his promotional debut as a short notice injury replacement on January 17, 2016, against

Maximo Blanco Maximo Blanco (born October 16, 1983) is a Venezuelan professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2008, Blanco is the former Lightweight ...

UFC Fight Night 81 ''UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 81'') was a mixed martial arts event held on January 17, 2016, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between defending c ...

. He won the fight via submission in the first round and was awarded a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Sanders next faced

Iuri Alcântara Iuri Alcântara (born 4 August 1980) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the UFC bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2003, Alcântara mostly fought in Brazil before signing with World Extreme Cagefight ...

on March 4, 2017, at

UFC 209 ''UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 4, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Background The event was ...

. He was handed his first professional loss via submission (kneebar) in the second round. Sanders was scheduled to face

Felipe Arantes Felipe Arantes (born 9 February 1988) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competed in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Arantes mostly fought in Brazil before signing with the U ...

on September 16, 2017, at

UFC Fight Night 116 ''UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 116'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 16, 2017 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Backgr ...

. However, the fight was scrapped after Arantes fell sick on September 14 from an undisclosed illness. Sanders was expected to face

Bryan Caraway Bryan Caraway (born August 4, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Battlefield Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Caraway has fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, EliteXC, and the WEC. He wa ...

on December 9, 2017, at

UFC Fight Night 123 ''UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 123'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on December 9, 2017, at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. Background ...

. However, on November 20, Caraway pulled out from the fight with undisclosed reason and he was replaced by

Andre Soukhamthath Andre Soukhamthath ( lo, ອານເດຣ ສຸຄຳທັດ, born October 23, 1988) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional mixed martial artist from 2011 until 2022, he had compe ...

. Sanders lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

California State Athletic Commission The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) regulates amateur and professional boxing, amateur and professional kickboxing and professional mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds ...

(CSAC) flagged Sanders, after the event, of gaining more than 10% of weight from weight-in weight against on fight day weight, from 135.6 Ibs to 154.5 Ibs, which well over the commission regulation contracted weight of staying within 10% body weight gain for CSAC would not license to Sanders to fight in bantamweight bout in California. Sanders faced Patrick Williams on April 14, 2018, at

UFC on Fox 29 ''UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje'' (also known as ''UFC on FOX 29'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on April 14, 2018, at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Background After pr ...

. Despite knocking Williams down in the first round, Sanders went on to win the fight via unanimous decision. The bout marked the last of Sanders' prevailing contract and after entertaining other offers, he opted to re-sign with the UFC. Sanders faced

Rani Yahya Rani Ahmad Yahya (born September 12, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and BJJ practitioner. He won the 66 kg division of the prestigious ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in April 2007. He currently fights in ...

on August 25, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 135 ''UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Vick'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 135'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on August 25, 2018 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, United State ...

. He lost the fight via heel hook submission in the first round. Sanders faced

Renan Barão Renan Mota do Nascimento Pegado (born 31 January 1987), better known as Renan Barão, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the former UFC Bantamweight Champion. He held one of the longest unbeaten streaks in MMA history - follo ...

on February 17, 2018, at

UFC on ESPN 1 ''UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 1'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 17, 2019 at Talking Stick Resort Arena, now known as Footprint Center ...

. At the weigh-ins, Barão weighed in at 138 pounds, 2 pounds over the Bantamweight non-title fight upper limit of 136 lbs. As a result, the bout proceeded at catchweight and Barão was fined 20% of his purse which went to Sanders. Sanders won the fight via knockout in the second round. This fight earned him the ''Performance of the Night'' award. Sanders was scheduled to face

Chris Gutiérrez Christopher Gutiérrez (born April 22, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist and currently competing in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 6, 2022, he is #12 in the UFC bantamweight rankings. ...

on August 1, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. However, Sanders was removed from the bout in mid-July for undisclosed reasons and replaced by promotional newcomer

Cody Durden Cody Durden (born March 29, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background A 2009 graduate of Eastside High School, he wrestled under coach Michael Smith-Foot, l ...

. Sanders faced

Nate Maness Nate Maness (born June 27, 1991), is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Maness made his amateur debut in 2013, winning four bou ...

on November 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Lewis. He lost the fight via second round submission. Sanders was initially scheduled to face

Damon Jackson Damon Blake Jackson (born August 8, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2012, Jackson competed for Bellator MMA and King of the Cag ...

on May 1, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka. However, Jackson withdrew from the bout and was replaced by

Felipe Colares Luis Felipe Dias Colares (born 31 March 1994) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist in the Bantamweight division. A professional since 2013, he most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Growing up in Macapa, ...

– whose opponent also withdrew from the event – in a featherweight bout. Despite knocking Colares down multiple times in the first round, Sanders lost the bout via unanimous decision. The bout was the last of his prevailing contract and it was not renewed, making Sanders a free agent. On May 8, 2021, It was announced that Sanders has retired from mixed martial arts.

Personal life

Sanders has a daughter Riley from his previous relationship and a son Jagger (born 2020).

Championships and accomplishments

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(Two times) vs.

Resurrection Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

**RFA Bantamweight Championship (One time; former) ***One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

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Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United St ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Patrick Williams , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the late 1800s the area that is now Glendale was all deser ...

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Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

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Terrion Ware Terrion Jamar Ware (born March 31, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Growing up in Los Angeles, Terrion's original dream was to play for the Los ...

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Robinsonville, Mississippi Tunica Resorts, formerly known as Robinsonville until 2005,

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Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a consolidated city and county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. Broomfield has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The Broomfield populat ...

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Darrick Minner Darrick Minner (born April 28, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born in Auburn, Nebraska and raised in Nebraska City, Minner wrestled at Nebras ...

, TKO (punches) , RFA 17 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:15 ,

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Luke Living people American male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists from Tennessee People from Clarksville, Tennessee 1985 births People from Brenham, Texas Sportspeople from Nashville, Tennessee Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male boxers American male sport wrestlers