Roosevelt Roberts (born February 11, 1994)Mixed martial arts show results Date: June 6, 2020
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mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

(MMA) who competed in the

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

division in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC).

Background

Roberts was born in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

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 Darrell Joseph Horcher (born July 28, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2010, he formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator and the Cage Fury Fighting Championships, where he w ...

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 on June 29, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 3. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Roberts faced

Alexander Yakovlev Alexander Nikolayevich Yakovlev (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Я́ковлев; 2 December 1923 – 18 October 2005) was a Soviet and Russian politician, diplomat, and historian. A member of the Politburo and Secret ...

on November 9, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 21. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Roberts was scheduled to face Matt Frevola 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, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. 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 Matt Frevola was rescheduled and is expected to take place on September 12, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 177 ''UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 177'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 35'' and ''UFC Vegas 10'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 12, 2020 at the UF ...

. On September 11, 2020, Frevola pulled out of the bout against Roberts, citing an injury. He was replaced by newcomer Kevin Croom. Roberts lost the fight via a guillotine choke in round one. On November 4, it was announced by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) that the fight with Croom would be overturned to a no contest, after Croom tested positive for marijuana. Roberts faced Ignacio Bahamondes 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 ...

. 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.

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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Commerce, California Commerce is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 12,823 at the 2010 census, up from 12,568 at the 2000 census. It is usually referred to as the City of Commerce to distinguish it from the ...

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Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 97,335. Sunrise was incorporated in 1961 and founded ...

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Victorville, California Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810. History In 1858, Aaron G. Lane came to what is now known as Victorville and founded a waystation called "Lane's Cr ...

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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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