Scott Holtzman (born September 30, 1983) is an American former

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 ...

Who most recently 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 of 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 ...

. A professional from 2012 to 2022, he formerly competed for the

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 ...

, where he was the Lightweight Champion.

Background

Holtzman was born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state ...

and spent his childhood in Fountain City. He attended Central High School, where he played football and baseball. During high school, he also played

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

with the Knoxville Amateur Hockey Association. After high school, Holtzman attended

Hiwassee College Hiwassee College was a private liberal arts college in Madisonville, Tennessee. Founded in 1849, the college offered associate degrees as well as bachelor's degrees. The majority of its associate degree graduates went on to complete bachelor' ...

, where he played baseball and earned an associate degree in Business Administration. He transferred from Hiwassee to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

, where he played club hockey and earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology. In 2008-09, Holtzman enjoyed a brief stint playing for the Knoxville Ice Bears.

Mixed martial arts career

Holtzman began his professional mixed martial arts career in 2009. He compiled an undefeated amateur record of 4–0, with his final match earning him a contract with the

(XFC). In his professional debut, Holtzman defeated Brandon Demastes by rear-naked choke at XFC16: High Stakes in front of a home crowd in Knoxville, Tennessee. He would decidedly win his next two fights against Matt Metts ( XFC 18: Music City Mayhem) and Chris Coggins ( XFC 20: High Octane) each in the first round by KO/TKO stoppage respectively.

XFC Lightweight Title

Holtzman opened up 2013 with a win by unanimous decision against Jason Hicks in a title eliminating match at XFC 22: Crossing The Line. After his match with Hicks, Holtzman was expected to face, then XFC Lightweight champion, Nick Newell for the Lightweight belt. In May 2013, it was reported that Newell had refused to fight Holtzman. According to XFC president, John Prisco, Newell was hoping to face former UFC fighters in order to make his claim to move up into the UFC. Prisco, however, felt that Holtzman had "earned the right" to face Newell for the title. Since Newell refused to fight Holtzman, Prisco stripped Newell of his belt and paired Holtzman against John Mahlow to compete for the vacated Lightweight belt at XFC 24: Collision Course. On June 14, 2013, Holtzman beat Mahlow by TKO (punches) in the second round to win the XFC Lightweight Title. Holtzman quickly had the opportunity to defend his title at XFC 26: Night of Champions III, where he won by unanimous decision against Roger Carroll. After a hiatus due in part to a lack of reputable opponents and the XFC's focus on their new international partnerships, Holtzman secured a fight outside of the XFC against George Sheppard at the Premier Fighting Championships (PFC) 9: Unstoppable. Holtzman would go on to win by unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On August 14, 2014, Holtzman announced that he had signed a four-fight deal with the UFC. Holtzman made his promotional debut against Anthony Christodoulou on August 8, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 73. He won the one-sided fight via submission in the third round. In his second fight for the promotion, Holtzman faced

Drew Dober Andrew Martin Dober (born October 19, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also formerly competed for Bellato ...

on January 2, 2016 at UFC 195. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Holtzman next faced Cody Pfister on July 13, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 91. Holtzman won the fight via unanimous decision. Holtzman faced Josh Emmett on December 17, 2016 at UFC on Fox 22. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Holtzman next faced Michael McBride April 22, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 108. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Holtzman faced

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 ...

on December 9, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 123. He won the fight by unanimous decision. On January 25, 2018 Holtzman announced that he had signed a new, four-fight deal with UFC. Holtzman faced Alan Patrick on October 6, 2018 at UFC 229. He won the fight via knockout in the third round after dropping Patrick with a punch and eventually finishing the fight with elbows. Holtzman faced Nik Lentz on February 17, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN 1 ''UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 1'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 17, 2019 at Talking Stick Resort Arena, now known as Footprint Center ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Holtzman faced Dong Hyun Ma on August 3, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 5. He won the fight via TKO due to a doctor stoppage between the second and third round as the swelling on Ma's right eye rendered him unable to continue. Holtzman faced Jim Miller on February 15, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 167. He won the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. The bout also earned Holtzman his first ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Holtzman faced Beneil Dariush on August 8, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 174. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. Hotzman faced Mateusz Gamrot on April 10, 2021 at UFC on ABC 2. He lost the bout via knockout in the second round. Hotzman faced Clay Guida on December 3, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 42. He lost the fight via split decision and Hotzman retired after the loss.

Championships and achievements

*2013 AXS TV Fighter of the Year *2013-2014 XFC Lightweight Champion *

** Fight of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holtzman, Scott 1983 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Tennessee Hiwassee College alumni Knoxville Ice Bears (SPHL) players Sportspeople from Knoxville, Tennessee Southern Professional Hockey League players University of Tennessee alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu