Ricky Rainey (born June 29, 1983) is an 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 competitor since 2011, Rainey has previously competed for

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) ** ...

and in 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 ...

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After compiling a 5-0 amateur record, Rainey made his professional mixed martial arts debut in August 2011. By September 2013, he held an 8–2 record competing for various promotions, most notably

Xtreme Fighting Championships Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) is a premier international mixed martial arts (MMA) organization based in Spring Lake, Michigan, with offices throughout the United States and South America. The XFC showcases both male and female fighters, ad ...

. After a loss to

Dhiego Lima Dhiego Lima (born January 31, 1989) is a Brazilian retired Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight (MMA), welterweight division of the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Lima was born and spent his early childhood ...

, Rainey signed with

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 ...

Bellator MMA

On April 11, 2014, Rainey made his debut for Bellator against Andy Murad at

Bellator 116 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight ...

. He won the fight in the first round via TKO. Rainey faced undefeated

Michael Page Michael Jerome Reece-Pagewkaassociation.com, Retrieved 28 August 2017. (born 7 April 1987), known as Michael "Venom" Page or MVP, is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Middleweight divi ...

on Bellator's inaugural pay-per-view, Bellator 120, on May 17, 2014. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Rainey faced Johnny Cisneros on October 3, 2014, at Bellator 127. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Rainey faced

Jesse Juarez Jesse Juarez (born May 8, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut. A professional competitor since 2006, Juarez has also formerly competed for Strik ...

on May 15, 2015, at Bellator 137. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. Rainey faced

Chidi Njokuani Chidi Godson Njokuani (born December 31, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist, former Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer, who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professio ...

at Bellator 146 on November 20, 2015. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Rainey faced Gilbert Smith at Bellator 162 on October 21, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Rainey faced Marc Stevens at Bellator 182 on August 25, 2017. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rainey faced Muslim Salikhov 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 ...

, replacing Abdul Razak Alhassan who was removed from the card due to injury. He lost the fight via knockout in round two. Rainey faced

Tim Means Tim Means (born February 20, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2004, Means has also formerly competed ...

on November 30, 2018, at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. He lost the fight via a technical knockout in round one. Rainey was released by UFC in July 2019.

Professional kickboxing

Since last competing in MMA, Rainey fought twice in professional kickboxing in 2020, going 1-1.

Mixed martial arts record

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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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Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...

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Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located near the Texas state border. The population was 400 at the 2020 census. Geography Thackerville is situated near the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and State High ...

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Temecula, California Temecula (; , ; Luiseño language, Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and was Municipal corpora ...

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Southaven, Mississippi Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Memphis metropolitan area, Greater Memphis. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making it the List of municipal ...

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Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

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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 ...

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Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rainey, Ricky 1983 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Gastonia, North Carolina Mixed martial artists from North Carolina Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters