Ryan LaFlare (born October 1, 1983) is an American retired

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 ...

who formerly competed in the UFC's

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.

Background

LaFlare was born and raised in Lindenhurst, New York, attending Lindenhurst High School where he was a League I runner-up, and placed 6th at the Suffolk County/Section XI Championships in

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 ...

. LaFlare then continued his career at

Nassau Community College Nassau Community College (NCC) is a Public college, public community college in the East Garden City, New York, East Garden City section of Uniondale, New York, Uniondale, Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, New York (state), N ...

, but shifted his attention to lacrosse after a snowboarding accident. He later transferred to Farmingdale State College where he became the school's all-time leading goal scorer and was also an honorable mention

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. LaFlare began practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu upon graduation, before transitioning into mixed martial arts. He also previously worked for the MMA stats website Compustrike, which he claims gave him a better understanding of the sport.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

LaFlare compiled an undefeated 6–0 record with all finishes with all of his bouts taking place in the New Jersey–based promotion Ring of Combat. There was a 2.5 year gap between his last two wins due to a plethora of injuries and the successful return got him a call up to

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

. However the organization would be absorbed by the UFC shortly after signing him and he would never compete. Believing that he was free to sign elsewhere he signed with

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

at was tentatively booked to face Josh Burkman at WSOF 2. However two weeks after the bout was announced LaFlare was called by the UFC and informed that he was under contract with them due to his previous Strikeforce contract being absorbed.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

LaFlare made his promotional debut on April 6, 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 9 against Ben Alloway. He won the fight via unanimous decision. LaFlare faced promotional newcomer Santiago Ponzinibbio on November 9, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 32. He won the fight via unanimous decision. LaFlare faced Court McGee on December 14, 2013, at

UFC on Fox 9 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 9'') was a mixed martial arts event held on December 14, 2013, at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. It was the UFC's third visit to the venue, after UFC 65 and UFC ...

, replacing an injured Kelvin Gastelum. He won the fight via unanimous decision. LaFlare faced John Howard at UFC Fight Night 39. He won the fight by unanimous decision. LaFlare was expected to face Gunnar Nelson on July 19, 2014, at

UFC Fight Night 46 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 large ...

. However, he was sidelined due to injury and replaced by Zak Cummings. LaFlare faced Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 62 on March 21, 2015. LaFlare lost the fight by unanimous decision. LaFlare faced Mike Pierce on December 11, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale. He won the fight by unanimous decision. LaFlare was scheduled to face

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 July 23, 2016, at UFC on Fox 20. However, LaFlare pulled out of the fight in early June after sustaining an undisclosed injury and replaced by

Kamaru Usman Kamarudeen Usman (born May 11, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler, and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...

. LaFlare faced Roan Carneiro on February 11, 2017, at

UFC 208 ''UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on February 11, 2017, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Background The event was originally scheduled to take p ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. LaFlare faced Alex Oliveira on July 22, 2017, at UFC on Fox 25. After winning the first round with his wrestling, he lost the fight via knockout in the second round, marking the first time he's been stopped in his MMA career. LaFlare faced Alex Garcia on April 21, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 128. He won the fight via unanimous decision. LaFlare faced Anthony Rocco Martin on October 6, 2018, at UFC 229. He lost the fight via knockout in the third round after being dropped by a head kick and finished with punches. On October 10, 2018, LaFlare announced his retirement from professional MMA competition.

Championships and accomplishments

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.com Awards ***2013: Ranked #4 Newcomer of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, Loss , align=center, 14–3 , Anthony Rocco Martin , KO (head kick and punches) , UFC 229 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:00 ,

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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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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Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in central Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, within the New York metropolitan area. The population was 32,473 at the time of the 2020 United States census ...

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Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–1 , Demian Maia , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, 11–0 , John Howard , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Court McGee , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

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Goiânia Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...

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, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Andrew Osborne , Submission (armbar) , Ring of Combat 43 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:01 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Mike Medrano , TKO (knee to the body and punches) , Ring of Combat 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:07 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Justin Haskins , KO (punches) , Ring of Combat 28 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:36 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Mark Berrocal , TKO (punches) , Ring of Combat 27 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:19 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jose Sulsona , Submission (armbar) , Ring of Combat 26 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:18 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Robert Cunane , KO (punch) , Ring of Combat 25 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:19 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Radji Bryson-Barrett , Submission (armbar) , Ring of Combat 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:38 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:LaFlare, Ryan Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from New York (state) Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Lindenhurst, New York Sportspeople from Babylon, New York 1983 births Nassau Community College alumni Farmingdale State College alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters