Matt Grice (born July 29, 1981) is an American retired

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 was in 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 ( ...

, fighting in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division before suffering a

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity ranging from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI/concussion) to severe traumati ...

in a traffic accident in

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee () is a city in and the county seat of Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklah ...

on September 8, 2013. Grice returned to his old job with the Oklahoma City Police Department in October 2014.

Wrestling

At Harrah High school, Grice was a 4-time Oklahoma State Wrestling Champion, winning Outstanding Wrestler 3 times, a feat which has never been accomplished by any other competitor. After his senior season, Grice was the most highly recruited wrestler in the nation at his weight. He chose the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

to attend college. The 2000-2001 season Grice was redshirted after suffering an elbow injury that required surgery, keeping him out of action for the season. Grice again was redshirted in the 2001-2002 season after a serious auto accident, during which he went through a windshield and required 12 surgeries. Grice graduated from Oklahoma with a bachelor's degree in sociology.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After graduating from college and giving up on his wrestling career, Grice decided to start in

MMA 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 ...

. Grice started his professional career in 2005, winning nine straight fights between 2005 and 2007 before getting a call to compete in the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Grice made his UFC debut at

UFC 70 ''UFC 70: Nations Collide'' was the second UFC event held in the United Kingdom, and the first in Manchester on Saturday, April 21, 2007. ''UFC 70'' was also only the seventh UFC event held outside the United States, and the first since '' UFC ...

on April 21, 2007 against Terry Etim. The card took place in

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. Grice lost the fight via submission (guillotine choke) in the first round. He had his second UFC outing at UFC 77 on October 20, 2007 against Jason Black. Grice won the fight via split decision. After his win over Black, Grice took two years to attend and graduate from the Oklahoma City Police Department Academy where he is currently an officer. On February 7, 2009 Grice returned to fighting to fight Matt Veach at UFC Fight Night 17 in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. Grice lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Grice competed on the UFC's 100th PPV show, UFC 100, that took place July 11, 2009. He fought Shannon Gugerty and lost via first round submission. After a 1-3 record in the UFC, he was released from the promotion.

Return to the UFC

After going 4-0 outside the UFC, Grice dropped to featherweight in his return fight against Ricardo Lamas on June 26, 2011 at UFC on Versus 4. He lost via first round TKO to Lamas with a head kick and punches. Grice was scheduled to face Josh Grispi on October 6, 2011 at UFC 136. However, Grispi was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Nam Phan. Then Grice himself was forced out with an injury and replaced by Leonard Garcia. Grice next faced Leonard Garcia on June 8, 2012 at UFC on FX 3, who he defeated via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Grice faced

Dennis Bermudez Dennis Ross Bermudez (born December 13, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC. Bermudez has been a professi ...

on February 23, 2013 at

UFC 157 ''UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 23, 2013, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background The headline bout between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche w ...

. Grice lost to Bermudez by split decision. The back and forth action earned both fighters ''Fight of the Night'' honors and much praise from MMA observers. Grice was expected to face Jeremy Larsen on October 19, 2013 at UFC 166. However, Grice was forced out of the bout after sustaining serious injuries in a September 8 car accident in his home state of Oklahoma.

Championships & accomplishments

** Fight of the Night (Two times) **UFC.com Awards ***2007: Ranked #10 Fight of the Year ***2013: Ranked #6 Fight of the Year

Personal life

Matt is married and has two daughters. On April 4 Matt's home town, Harrah, Oklahoma, celebrates the annual Matt Grice Day. Matt is active coaching today and is the head MMA coach at American Elite MMA in

Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States. It is a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, located in Central Oklahoma. Its population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States census, a 16% increase from 2010. maki ...

Mixed martial arts record

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Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

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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 ...

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

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Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

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Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

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Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

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Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

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Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater is the tenth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, Payne County. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177#Oklahoma, U.S. Route 177 and Oklahoma S ...

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Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

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References

External links

Official UFC ProfileThe Forge Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grice, Matt American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Oklahoma Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people 1981 births American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Midwest City, Oklahoma Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters