Mark Godbeer (born 22 November 1983) is an English bare-knuckle boxer and former

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 ...

. A professional MMA competitor from 2009 until 2018, he competed for 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 ...

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

Absolute Championship Akhmat Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA), formerly known as Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), is a Chechen mixed martial arts, kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization and one of the leading promotions in Europe. To date, most events have been h ...

, and

BAMMA BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and I ...

. He is a former BAMMA heavyweight champion. In bare-knuckle boxing, he is a former Valor heavyweight champion, and a BKB British heavyweight champion.

Early life

Starting training in MMA relatively late at the age of 25, Godbeer originally ran his own plastering business before focusing on mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Godbeer made his professional MMA debut on 7 August 2009 with a TKO victory over Sam Hooker. While fighting for numerous regional promotions, he amassed a record of 7–1 with all victories coming by way of knockout or submission. Following this, he was signed by

in 2012 to compete in their heavyweight division.

BAMMA and Bellator MMA

Between March 2012 and May 2016, Godbeer would remain undefeated in the

cage. During this time, he also signed on with

and would make a single appearance for the promotion, facing notable heavyweight

Cheick Kongo Cheick Kongo (born May 17, 1975) is a French mixed martial artist and former kickboxer who fights in the Heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2001, he has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator. ...

on 4 October 2013 at Bellator 102. Following that loss, Godbeer would claim three straight victories in

, including winning the world heavyweight title against Paul Taylor on 13 June 2015. During this run he would announce a brief retirement from MMA due to injury, but ended that retirement in May 2016 to defend the BAMMA heavyweight title.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Godbeer signed with the

in September 2016. He made his promotional debut on 19 November 2016 against Justin Ledet at UFC Fight Night 99. He would lose the bout via submission in the first round. Godbeer was expected to face

Todd Duffee Todd Duffee (born December 6, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). He trains predominantly with the Combat Sports Academy and the American Kickboxing Academy in Cal ...

on 4 March 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 ...

. However, Duffee pulled out of the fight in mid-February for undisclosed reasons. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Daniel Spitz. Godbeer would win the bout via unanimous decision. Godbeer was expected to face Walt Harris on 7 October 2017 at

UFC 216 ''UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 7, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Background A UFC Heavyweight Ch ...

before a fight-day injury to

Derrick Lewis Derrick James Lewis (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts i ...

took him out of his scheduled fight with Fabricio Werdum. As a result, Harris was moved on to face Werdum, and Godbeer was pulled from the event. The bout with Harris was rescheduled for 4 November 2017 at

UFC 217 ''UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 4, 2017, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Background The event was the second that the promot ...

. Godbeer won the fight via disqualification after Harris hit Godbeer with a head kick following the referee called a time out due to a groin strike. Godbeer was expected to face promotional newcomer Dmitry Poberezhets on 17 March 2018 at UFC Fight Night 127. However, it was announced on 25 January 2018 Poberezhets was injured and he was replaced by Dmitriy Sosnovskiy. Godbeer lost the fight via submission in the second round. Godbeer was briefly scheduled to face Luis Henrique in his return to light heavyweight division on 22 September 2018 at UFC Fight Night 137. However, Godbeer pulled out of the fight in early August, citing injury, and was replaced by promotional newcomer Ryan Spann. Godbeer announced his retirement on 25 September 2018 .

Bare-knuckle boxing

Valor Bare Knuckle

Mark Godbeer, while retired from MMA, transitioned over to bare-knuckle boxing and entered

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock ( né Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Ken Shamrock. He is best known ...

's newly founded Valor Bare Knuckle for its debut event, VBK: 1. Godbeer knocked out former fellow UFC,

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

, &

veteran Jack "The Outlaw" May. Goddbeer knocked May out in less than a minute. He then faced current

Road FC Road Fighting Championship (Road FC; ) is a South Korean-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which was officially launched in 2010. Prior to December 2016, Road FC had held 52 events in three countries - South Korea, Japan, and China. Abou ...

Open-weight Champion Mighty Mo in the main event for the tournament championship. Godbeer defeated Mo when after a series of punches Mo was knocked down and unable to get up in time for the 10 count, winning the VBK tournament.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship

On September 5, 2020, it was announced that Godbeer had signed with the

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. The promotion was founded in April 2018, and is presided over by David Feldman. BKFC is the first promotion to hold an official st ...

. Godbeer was scheduled to face Sam Shewmaker at BKFC 15 on December 11, 2020. However, after testing positive for COVID-19, Godbeer withdrew from the fight and was replaced by Bobo O'Bannon. He was then scheduled to face Mick Terrill at BKFC 17 on April 30, 2021. However, Godbeer withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons.

BYB Extreme

Mark Godbeer was set to face

Josh Burns Josh Burns (born May 15, 1978) is an Americans, American professional bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. Since 2022, he has competed for BYB Extreme Fighting Series, BYB Extreme. Burns currently competes for Bare Knuckle Fightin ...

for the Police Gazette World Diamond super heavyweight belt at BYB 9 on March 12, 2022. However, Godbeer withdrew for unknown reasons.

Gromda

In 2022, it was announced that Godbeer had signed with Polish bare-knuckle promotion Gromda. He made his debut on June 10, 2022 against Bartłomiej Domalik for the Gromda International Openweight Championship, losing by second-round TKO.

Return to Valor Bare Knuckle

Godbeer was scheduled to face Lavar Johnson in his return to Valor Bare Knuckle at Valor Bare Knuckle 2 on October 27, 2023. However, Godbeer withdrew for personal reasons.

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

**BAMMA World Heavyweight Champion (One time) **BAMMA British Heavyweight Champion (One time)

Bare-knuckle boxing

*Valor Bare Knuckle **Valor Heavyweight Tournament Champion (One time) *BKB **BKB British Heavyweight Champion (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 , Sergey Bilostenniy , TKO (punches) , ACA 95: Tumenov vs. Abdulaev , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:04 ,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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, England , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Walt Harris , DQ (illegal kick) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:29 ,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 , Justin Ledet , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:16 ,

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Stuart Austin , TKO (punches) , BAMMA 25: Champion vs. Champion , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:24 ,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Paul Taylor , TKO (retirement) , BAMMA 21: DeVent vs. Kone , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:43 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Thomas Denham , TKO (punches) , BAMMA 19: Petley vs. Stapleton , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:33 ,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, TKO (knees and punches) , Bellator 102 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:04 ,

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-most populous city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 38th most populous in California, and 183 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Catalin Zmarandescu , TKO (corner stoppage) , BAMMA 9: Watson vs. Marshman , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Anthony Taylor , TKO (punches) , Supremacy Fight Challenge 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:22 ,

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, England , Return to

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

, - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Tomas Vaicickas , TKO (punches) , Pain Pit Fight Night 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:19 , Newport, Wales , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Malik Merad , Submission (guillotine choke) , Head to Head: The Big Guns , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:00 ,

North Petherton North Petherton is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The town has a population of 6,730 as of 2014. The parish includes Ha ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Chris Konieczny , TKO (kick to the body and punches) , Tear Up 4: Clash of the Giants , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:46 ,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Fraser Opie , Submission (guillotine choke) , South West FC 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:26 ,

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

England , Return to

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 ...

, - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Paul Pestell , TKO (punches) , All or Nothing: Head to Head , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 ,

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

, England ,

debut , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ibrar Malik , TKO (punches) , Bristol Fight Club: Fight Night , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:20 ,

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern p ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Sam Hooker , TKO (punches) , KnuckleUp MMA 2: Beer vs. Jazbutis , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:00 , Wells, England ,

Bare-knuckle boxing record

, - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Bartłomiej Domalik , TKO (punches) , Gromda 9: Balboa vs. Godbeer , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:55 ,

Pionki Pionki is a town in Radom County, Masovian Voivodeship, central Poland with 18,846 inhabitants (2016). Surrounded by the ''Kozienice'' Wilderness, Pionki is located in northern part of historic province of Lesser Poland, from Radom, and from Wa ...

, Poland, Gromda Fight Club , For Gromda International Openweight Championship , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Mighty Mo , TKO (stoppage) , VBK-Valor Bare Knuckle 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:56 , New Town, ND, USA, 4 Bears Casino and Lodge , Heavyweight Tournament Final , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Jack "The Outlaw" May , KO (punch) , VBK-Valor Bare Knuckle 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 , New Town, ND, USA, 4 Bears Casino and Lodge , Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Final , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Mickey Parker , Decision (Unanimous) , BKB 16 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 2:00 ,

, England,

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena, London * O2 Arena, Prague *The 3Arena, Dublin, formerly known as The O2 *The Uber Arena, Berlin, formerly known as O2 World *The Barclays Arena Barclays Arena (originally known as the Color Line Arena an ...

, Won BKB British Heavyweight Championship , -

References

External links

Official UFC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Godbeer, Mark Living people 1983 births English male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Taunton English bare-knuckle boxers 21st-century English sportsmen

Early life

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

BAMMA and Bellator MMA

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bare-knuckle boxing

Valor Bare Knuckle

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship

BYB Extreme

Gromda

Return to Valor Bare Knuckle

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

Bare-knuckle boxing

Mixed martial arts record

Bare-knuckle boxing record

See also

References

External links