Rick Story (born August 28, 1984) 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 ...

. A professional from 2007 to 2018, he last competed for the Professional Fighters League, but is better known for his 19-fight tenure with the UFC.

Background

Story was born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, and, at the age of three, his parents divorced. Story grew up in Spanaway, Washington, with his grandmother and his older sister, Elizabeth. Story began wrestling when he was around 12 years old and also began watching UFC fights. Story attended Bethel High School in Spanaway, Washington where he was a standout in both

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 ...

and football. Story continued his wrestling career at

Southern Oregon University Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public university in Ashland, Oregon. It was founded in 1872 as the Ashland Academy, has been in its current location since 1926, and was known by nine other names before assuming its current name in 1997.Kre ...

, where he was a runner-up in the 2006 NAIA National Championships, and began learning submission grappling from a friend during his sophomore year. After graduating with a degree in health education, Story embarked on a career in mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Story signed a four-fight deal with the UFC and made his promotional debut, losing to John Hathaway via unanimous decision on the UFC 99 card. Story had his second UFC fight at UFC 103 after stepping in for Paul Daley against debuting Brian Foster. Story defeated Foster via arm-triangle choke submission at 1:09 of round two and earned ''Submission of the Night'' and ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Story won his fight against Jesse Lennox at UFC Fight Night 20 held on January 11, 2010. The fight was a three-round war in which Story was given the unanimous decision win. In January 2010, he was resigned to a new four-fight deal with the UFC. His first fight with the brand new contract was against Englishman, Nick Osipczak at UFC 112, the UFC's first trip to

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. Story won the fight via controversial split decision. Story fought Dustin Hazelett on August 7, 2010, at UFC 117. After winning the first round, Story won via second-round TKO. Story faced future title holder Johny Hendricks on December 4, 2010, at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale and won the fight via unanimous decision. After his win over Hendricks, Story called out former number one contender, Thiago Alves. Alves accepted the fight, which took place on May 28, 2011, at UFC 130. Story outworked Alves with his grappling and ring control for the majority of the fight. By the 3rd round, Alves began to connect with Story repeatedly but it wasn't enough. Story won via unanimous decision. Story was expected to face Nate Marquardt on June 26, 2011, at UFC on Versus 4, replacing an injured Anthony Johnson. Marquardt, however, pulled out of the fight the day of the weigh-ins and Story instead faced Charlie Brenneman. Story lost in a huge upset via unanimous decision. Story lost to Martin Kampmann via split decision on November 19, 2011, at UFC 139. Dana White incorrectly reported at the post fight press conference that a judge's scores had been tabulated incorrectly and should have been announced as unanimous decision in favor of Kampmann. According to the California State Athletic Commission's website and confirmed by MMADecisions.com, judge Susan Thomas-Gitlin in fact scored the fight in favor of Story. Story was expected to face Rich Attonito on June 22, 2012, at UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida. However, Attonito was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Papy Abedi. Abedi himself was also forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Brock Jardine. Story won the fight via unanimous decision. Story faced Demian Maia on October 13, 2012, at

UFC 153 ''UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 13, 2012, at the HSBC Arena (Rio de Janeiro), HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background Vitor Belfort was expec ...

. He lost the bout via first round submission due to a neck crank, this was his first submission and stoppage loss in his career. Story was expected to face Sean Pierson on March 16, 2013, at UFC 158. However, Pierson was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Quinn Mulhern. Story defeated Mulhern in the first round via TKO after landing a flurry of punches. Story faced Mike Pyle on May 25, 2013, at UFC 160, replacing an injured Gunnar Nelson. He lost the fight via controversial split decision despite controlling most of the action and dropping Pyle with punches in the first round. Story faced Brian Ebersole on November 16, 2013, at UFC 167. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Story faced '' The Ultimate Fighter 17'' winner Kelvin Gastelum on March 15, 2014, at UFC 171. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Story was expected to face John Howard at UFC Fight Night 45 on July 16, 2014. However, Howard was forced out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by returning veteran Leonardo Mafra. Story defeated Mafra via submission in the second round. Story faced Gunnar Nelson on October 4, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 53. Despite suffering a fracture in his left

tibia The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...

in the second round, he won the fight via split decision. Story was expected to face Erick Silva on June 27, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 70. However, Silva was removed from the card on June 19, after visa issues restricted his entry to the United States. In turn, Story was removed from the card as well. The bout with Story was rescheduled and was expected to take place on August 23, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 74. Subsequently, Story pulled out of the bout on August 11 citing injury and was replaced by Neil Magny. Story returned from an 18-month layoff to face Tarec Saffiedine on May 29, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 88. He won the fight by unanimous decision. In the ultimate fight in UFC, Story faced Donald Cerrone on August 20, 2016, at UFC 202. He lost the fight by TKO in the second round.

Post-UFC career

On March 12, 2018, Story announced that he has signed a contract with Professional Fighters League albeit UFC had offered a contract extension. On November 8, 2018, Story announced his retirement from professional competition.

Personal life

Aside from being a professional fighter, Story is also a member of the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

Championships and accomplishments

* Ultimate Fighting Championships ** Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Brian Foster ** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Brian Foster **UFC.com Awards ***2009: Ranked #6 Submission of the Year & Ranked #7 Fight of the Year ***2010: Ranked #10 Fighter of the Year ***2011: Ranked #8 Upset of the Year ***2014: Ranked #3 Upset of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 21–10 , Handesson Ferreira , TKO (arm injury) , PFL 10 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

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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 ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–9 , Donald Cerrone , TKO (knee and punches) , UFC 202 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 ,

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 ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–8 , Gunnar Nelson , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–8 , Kelvin Gastelum , Decision (split) , UFC 171 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–7 , Brian Ebersole , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 167 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–7 , Mike Pyle , Decision (split) , UFC 160 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–6 , Quinn Mulhern , TKO (punches) , UFC 158 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:05 ,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–6 , Demian Maia , Submission (neck crank) ,

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Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Brock Jardine , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 , Martin Kampmann , Decision (split) , UFC 139 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 , Charlie Brenneman , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Thiago Alves , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 130 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Johny Hendricks , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Dustin Hazelett , TKO (punches) , UFC 117 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:15 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Nick Osipczak , Decision (split) , UFC 112 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Jesse Lennox , 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 , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Brian Foster , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC 103 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:09 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–3 , John Hathaway , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 99 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Brandon Melendez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EWC: Vancouver , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:17 ,

Ridgefield, Washington Ridgefield is a city in northern Clark County, Washington, Clark County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 10,319 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and according to 2023 census estimates, the city is e ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Wesley Welch , KO (punch) , Carnage at the Creek 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , Shelton, Washington, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Jake Ellenberger , Decision (unanimous) , SportFight 23 , , 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 , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Ryan Healy , Decision (unanimous) , EWC: May Massacre , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2 , James Dodge , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EWC: Welterweight War , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:37 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–2 , Jake Paul , TKO (punches) , EWC: Capital Invasion , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:03 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , Nathan Coy , Decision (unanimous) , SportFight 21: Seasons Beatings , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Julio Paulino , Decision (unanimous) , AFC 41: Thankful Throwdowns , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Mario Miranda , Decision (unanimous) , Conquest of the Cage , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Airway Heights, Washington, United States ,

References

External links

*
UFC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Story, Rick 1984 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Washington (state) People from Spanaway, Washington Sportspeople from Pierce County, Washington Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Southern Oregon University alumni Sportspeople from Tacoma, Washington Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers