Roosevelt Roberts (born February 11, 1994) 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 ...

(MMA) who competed in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division 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 ( ...

(UFC).

Background

Roberts was born in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in 1994. After his mother left the family due to domestic violence, Roberts began living with friends and family members whenever they could take him in. Roberts began selling drugs and stealing to support himself. As a result, he ended up in a youth correctional facility in San Francisco, California for a year. Roberts started to turn his life around at 19 years old when his daughter was born and started training in MMA. He took his first amateur fight in 2014 and turned professional in 2016. Roberts trains at Adrenaline MMA in San Bernardino under head coach Adam Rothwieler and at Carlson Gracie Temecula under Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Tom Cronin.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career and appearance on Dana White's Contender Series

After a 6–1 amateur career, Roberts started his professional MMA career in 2016. He amassed a record of 5–0 prior to his appearance on Dana White's Contender Series 15 web-series program on July 21, 2018, where he faced Garrett Gross. He won the fight via a submission in the second round and was signed by UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Roberts made his UFC debut on November 20, 2018, against Darrell Horcher at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. He won the fight via a guillotine choke in round one. This win earned the Performance of the Night award. His next fight came on April 27, 2019, against Thomas Gifford at UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Roberts faced

Vinc Pichel Vincent Alan Pichel (born November 23, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, achieving a 7-5 record in the promotion. A professional since 200 ...

on June 29, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN 3 ''UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 3'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 29, 2019, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Background Th ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Roberts faced

Alexander Yakovlev Alexander Nikolayevich Yakovlev (; 2 December 1923 – 18 October 2005) was a Soviet and Russian politician, diplomat, and historian. A member of the Politburo and Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union throughout the 1980s ...

on November 9, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN+ 21 UFC Fight Night: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar (also known as UFC Fight Night: Zabit vs. Kattar, UFC Fight Night 163 and UFC on ESPN+ 21) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 9, 20 ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Roberts was scheduled to face

Matt Frevola Matthew Kenneth Frevola (born June 11, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, he has also competed for the Wor ...

on April 25, 2020. However, on April 9, promotional officials scrapped the pairing due to

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 ...

. Roberts faced Brok Weaver on May 30, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns. At the weigh-ins, Weaver weighed in at 157.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit of 156 pounds. He was fined 20 percent of his purse and the bout with Roberts proceeded at a catchweight. Roberts won the fight via submission in round two. Roberts faced Jim Miller on June 20, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov. He lost the fight in the first round after verbally submitting to an armbar. A bout with

was rescheduled and is expected to take place on September 12, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 177. On September 11, 2020, Frevola pulled out of the bout against Roberts, citing an injury. He was replaced by newcomer

Kevin Croom Kevin Croom (born July 15, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2009, he has fought in the UFC, Bellator, Titan FC, the RFA, the LFA, and CES MMA. Mixed martial arts car ...

. Roberts lost the fight via a guillotine choke in round one. On November 4, it was announced by the

Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxer ...

(NSAC) that the fight with Croom would be overturned to a no contest, after Croom tested positive for marijuana. Roberts faced

Ignacio Bahamondes Ignacio Antonio Bahamondes Carabantes (born August 27, 1997) is a Chilean professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is also the former LUX Fight League l ...

on August 21, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 29. He lost the fight via knock out in round three. On September 17, 2021, it was announced that Roberts was released by the UFC.

Eagle FC

After being released from the UFC, Roberts faced Darren Smith Jr. for the vacant LXF Welterweight Championship at Lights Out Xtreme Fighting 7 on December 10, 2021. He claimed the title via first-minute knockout. Roberts faced Alexandre de Almeida on May 20, 2022, at Eagle FC 47. At weigh ins, Alexandre Almeida missed weight for the bout. Alexandre Almeida weighed in at 158.4 pounds and was fined a percentage of his purse and the bout proceeded at catchweight. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

The Ultimate Fighter 31

In mid-March 2023, it was announced that Roberts would be competing in the thirty-first season of

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

. Roberts was selected to be a part of Team Chandler, being ranked third overall. In his first fight on the show, Roberts faced #2 ranked Nate Jennerman, and won the fight by knockout eight seconds into the first round. In the semi-final round, Roberts faced faced former LFA Lightweight Champion and fellow teammate

Austin Hubbard Austin Steven Phillip Hubbard (born December 22, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Fighting professionally since 2015, he has also competed for the Lega ...

, and lost the fight via split decistion.

Return to UFC

Roberts faced Mateusz Rębecki on November 11, 2023, at UFC 295. At the weigh-ins, Roberts came in at 158 pounds (two pounds over the lightweight non-title bout limit). His bout with Rebecki proceeded at catchweight with Roberts forfeiting 20% of his purse. He lost the bout in the first round via an armbar submission. Replacing Nikolas Motta, Roberts faced

Ľudovít Klein Ľudovít Klein (born February 22, 1995) is a Slovak mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Ľudovít Klein was born in Nové Zámky, where he also started his sports career ...

on September 28, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 243. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. On February 28, 2025, it was reported that Roberts was once again removed from the UFC roster.

Personal life

Roosevelt has two children.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (One time) *Lights Out Xtreme Fighting **LOXF Welterweight Championship (one time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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, Decision (split) , rowspan=2, The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler , (airdate) , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , rowspan=2,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Roosevelt 1994 births Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people American male mixed martial artists American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century American sportsmen