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

who competed in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

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) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(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 *' ...

and the

RFA RFA may refer to: Groups, organizations * Radio Free Asia, a private news broadcaster and publisher in East Asia, funded in part by the U.S. government * Renewable Fuels Agency, a former UK renewable fuel regulatory agency * Renewable Fuels A ...

Background

Born in

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas, United States, and the county seat of Washington County, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. Brenham is also known for its annual German heritage festival that takes pl ...

and raised in

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is a city in Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tennessee, fifth-most populo ...

, 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 ea ...

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

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 ...

in the second grade, winning a state championship for Montgomery Central High School in 2004 at 145 lbs. Sanders also played

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

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

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 from 2008 to 2018, Arantes mostly fought in Brazil before signing with ...

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 was ...

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 (, 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 competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and ...

. 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 (MMA) throughout the State by licensing all participants and supervising the event ...

(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 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in April 2007. He currently fights in the Bantam ...

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 do Nascimento Mota Pegado (born 31 January 1987), known as Renan Barão, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. According to Fight Matrix, Barão holds the third longest unbeaten streak i ...

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 professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Gutiérrez is an American born to a Guate ...

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 Marcus Brian Durden (born March 29, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Playing multiple sports since early childhood, Durden was an aspiring bas ...

. Sanders faced

Nate Maness Nate Maness (born June 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Maness played basketball throughout high school, aspiring to continue playing in coll ...

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 former professional mixed martial artist having previously competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Jackson competed ...

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 (31 March 1994 – 1 May 2023) was 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 ...

– 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

As of 2023, Luke is happily married and continuing to grow his family with his wife.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (Two times) vs.

Resurrection Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merger in 2016. History Resu ...

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

Mixed martial arts record

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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 Sportspeople from Clarksville, Tennessee 1985 births Sportspeople from Brenham, Texas Sportspeople from Washington County, Texas Sportspeople from Nashville, Tennessee Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male boxers American male sport wrestlers