Nicholas Catone (born September 1, 1981) 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 ...

. Catone competed from 2009 to 2015 in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division of 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 ( ...

Mixed martial arts career

Wrestling

Catone began wrestling in middle school. Catone stayed with the sport all through his middle and high school years. While at Brick Memorial High School in

Brick Township, New Jersey Brick Township is a township situated on the Jersey Shore within Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city retained its position as the state's 13th-most-populous municipality,

, Catone won numerous awards and titles in wrestling. He was a ''New Jersey State place winner'', ''Three-time Division I national qualifier'', ''2x Division I conference champion'' and ''100 Division I career wins''. He was rewarded with a scholarship to wrestle for

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

but did not like the lifestyle of a large college. After spending a year at Rutgers, Catone transferred to

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, United States. It consists of three academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which includes Westminster Choir Coll ...

where he won ''Male Athlete of the Year'' in 2004. Catone graduated from Rider with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Early mixed martial arts career

After college, Catone realized that he did not want to give up the sport of wrestling. So he found a mixed martial arts training facility in 2005 and started working very hard on his

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills to become a successful professional mixed martial artist.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Catone's first UFC fight was scheduled to be against

TUF 7 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest'' was the seventh season of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter'', and premiered on April 2, 2008 on Spike (TV network), Spike, a ...

winner Amir Sadollah at

UFC 91 ''UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on November 15, 2008, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event featured the return of UFC Heavy ...

. However, due to a leg infection, Sadollah withdrew from the match. A replacement for Sadollah could not be found so the match was scrapped from the card. The match against Sadollah was rescheduled for February 7, 2009, at

UFC Fight Night 17 ''UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 17'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on February 7, 2009. Background The main event was originally scheduled to be between ...

. On January 23, Sadollah was, again, forced to withdraw from the fight due, this time to a fractured clavicle. Catone finally made his UFC debut, defeating Derek Downey via keylock in the second round at UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens. Catone's second fight for the UFC, he fought

Tim Credeur Tim Credeur (born July 9, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's ''The Ultimate Fighter 7'' and was defeated by fellow cast member Jesse Taylor in the semi-finals. He was then bro ...

UFC Fight Night 18 ''UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 18'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on April 1, 2009. Background The event was broadcast on Spike TV and served as a lead ...

. Catone lost for the first time in his career by submission due to a guillotine choke in the second round. The fight later went on to be shown on an episode of UFC Unleashed. At UFC 102, Catone took his second consecutive loss against

Mark Muñoz Mark Kenery Muñoz (born February 9, 1978) is a Filipino-American former professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor from 2007 until 2015, Muno ...

. The fight was full of intense sprawls and exciting stand up battles. Catone lost the fight by a very close split decision (28–29, 30–27 and 29–28). Despite the loss, Catone signed a new four fight deal with the promotion. Catone was originally scheduled to face

Steve Steinbeiss Steve Thomas Steinbeiss (born May 5, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2011, he fought in the UFC, WEC, and Bellator. In kickboxing, he fought for K-1. Mixed martial art ...

UFC Fight Night 20 ''UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 20'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 11, 2010, at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Background Headlining ...

. However, Steinbess pulled out of the fight because of an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Jesse Forbes. Catone returned to his winning ways by defeating Forbes via split decision (28–29, 29–28, 29–28). Catone was scheduled to face John Salter on May 8, 2010, at

UFC 113 ''UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 8, 2010, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background UFC 113 featured the rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauríci ...

, but Catone was forced from the card with a back injury. He was replaced by

Jason MacDonald Jason Anthony MacDonald (born June 3, 1975) is a Canadian former mixed martial artist. A professional from 1999 until 2013, he is perhaps best remembered for his two stints in the UFC, but also fought for King of the Cage, and the Maximum Fight ...

. After suffering two injuries, Catone was expected to drop down to the welterweight division. Instead, he was expected face

Tomasz Drwal Tomasz Witold Drwal (; born January 22, 1982) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist and boxer who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of KSW. A professional competitor since 2004, Drwal has also competed for the UFC. Mi ...

on September 15, 2010, at UFC Fight Night 22. However, Catone withdrew from the fight against Drwal due to injury. Catone was expected to face Dan Miller on March 19, 2011, at

UFC 128 ''UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 19, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background This event was expected to take place in Abu Dhab ...

in a catchweight bout of 195 lbs. However, Miller was pulled from the bout to fill in for

Yoshihiro Akiyama , also known as and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games. He is the former K-1 HERO's Light Heavyw ...

against

Nate Marquardt Nathan Joel Marquardt (born April 20, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the middleweight and welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 1999, he is a former Strikeforce W ...

and was replaced by UFC newcomer Costas Philippou. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Catone was expected to face Aaron Simpson on October 8, 2011, at

UFC 136 ''UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 8, 2011, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo held at the George R. Brown ...

. However, Catone was forced out of the bout after tearing an Achilles tendon, and was replaced by

Eric Schafer Eric John Schafer (born September 20, 1977) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 until 2016, he competed for the UFC. Background Schafer attended the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. Schafer is a black belt in ...

. Catone faced

Chris Camozzi Christopher Allen Camozzi (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional Glory (kickboxing), Glory kickboxer, mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. He currently competes for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship ...

on June 22, 2012, at

UFC on FX 4 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

. Catone was up the first two rounds on the scorecards until a knee by Camozzi caused a large cut on the forehead of Catone, resulting in a doctor stoppage in the third round. Catone made his welterweight debut against

TJ Waldburger Anthony "TJ" Waldburger Jr. (born April 25, 1988) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, he competed for the UFC, Shark Fights, and HDNet Fights. Backgroun ...

on December 15, 2012, at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale. He lost the fight via technical submission in the second round after he passed out in Waldburger's triangle choke. Catone was expected to face James Head on April 27, 2013, at

UFC 159 ''UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen'' was a mixed martial arts event held on April 27, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background Jimy Hettes was expected to face Steven Siler at the event; however, Hettes was forced out of the bou ...

. However, at the weigh ins Catone missed weight and the bout was subsequently pulled from the card the day of the show after Catone went to the hospital for dehydration. Catone faced Tom Watson in a middleweight bout on February 1, 2014, at UFC 169. He won the fight via split decision. Catone was expected to face

Vitor Miranda Vitor Bruno Soares Miranda (born March 10, 1979) is a Brazilian former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He was the K-1 Brazil 2005 and K-1 Fighting Network Turkey 2007, K-1 Turkey 2007 super heavyweight tournament champion. Biography Vitor ...

on April 18, 2015, at

UFC on Fox 15 ''UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 15'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 18, 2015, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background The event was the sixth event that the UFC has hosted in New ...

. However, Catone abruptly announced his retirement on March 25, citing a litany of injuries and a history of chronic back pain.

Championships and accomplishments

* United States Kickboxing Association ** USKBA Middleweight Championship (one time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Tom Watson , Decision (split) , UFC 169 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 ,

, Technical Submission (triangle choke) ,

The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson'' is the sixteenth main installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. This season reverted to the taped format, after The ...

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:04 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:51 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Costas Philippou , Decision (unanimous) ,

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

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Jesse Forbes , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC 102 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:45 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Derek Downey , Submission (keylock) , UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:15 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Eric Tavares , TKO (punches) , Ring of Combat 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Mitch Whitesel , TKO (punches) , Ring of Combat 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Ben Knight , TKO (elbows) , Ring of Combat 17 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Dan Whalen , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ring of Combat 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:58 ,

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John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

, Decision (unanimous) , CFFC 5: Two Worlds, One Cage , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Dan Karnbauer , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Reality Fighting 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:23 ,

, United States ,

Post-UFC career and anti-vaccine activism

After retiring from competition, Catone opened a gym in

Ocean County, New Jersey Ocean County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the southernmost county in the New York metropolitan area. The county borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and in terms of total area is the ...

, in 2018. Some of the athletes he is currently coaching include

Lance Palmer Lance Palmer (born February 7, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former collegiate wrestler, who currently competes in the featherweight division. A professional since 2011, he is most notable for competing in Professi ...

and Timur Valiev. He and his wife Marjorie Madison-Catone became involved in the anti-vaccination movement after his 20-month-old Nicolas died unexpectedly. A medical expert who conducted an autopsy on the body attributed the death to

sudden unexplained death in childhood Sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) is the death of a child over the age of 12 months which remains unexplained after a thorough investigation and autopsy. There has not been enough research to identify risk factors, common characteristic ...

, a disease which has no known causes, but the parents blamed recent vaccinations for the tragedy. Catone became vocal on social media about his anti-vaccination theories and the story of his child was used in a billboard campaign by the anti-vaccination group Learn The Risk. In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Facebook deleted Catone's account, as part of its efforts to reduce the amount of misinformation about medical topics on the network. Catone threatened to sue Facebook for an amount exceeding $5 billion for depriving him of a mean to promote his business and the loss of personal pictures.

References

External links

*
Bio

UFC Profile

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catone, Nick 1981 births Living people Brick Memorial High School alumni American people of Italian descent American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from New Jersey Sportspeople from Brick Township, New Jersey Rider University alumni Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Ocean County, New Jersey American anti-vaccination activists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters