Taylor Lapilus (born 8 April 1992) is a French

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 ...

and boxer who is currently signed to the

PFL PFL may refer to: Sport * Professional Fighters League, an American mixed martial arts league * Peel Football League, an Australian rules football league * Pioneer Football League, an NCAA Division I FCS football conference * Professional Futsa ...

. He formerly competed in

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division of 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). He is also a former

TKO Major League MMA TKO Major League MMA was a Canadian mixed martial arts promotion established in 2000, it was originally broadcast on RDS and later on Fight Network. Formerly known as the Universal Combat Challenge (UCC), it was the first mixed martial arts prom ...

Bantamweight Champion.

Background

Born in Villepinte and raised in

Sevran Sevran () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Seine-Saint-Denis, northeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. History The current Hôtel d ...

, Lapilus competed in soccer on various levels in his youth. Before he began training in martial arts, he briefly attended college where he studied, and worked for a time as a welder.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Lapilus followed the path of his brother Damien, who is also a professional mixed martial artist, and began training in mixed martial arts in 2010. He made his debut as a professional in 2012, competing as a featherweight for primarily for various regional promotions across France. He was able to compile a record along the way of 8–1. On the heels of his finish of Cyril Ericher in May 2014, Lapilus signed with the UFC in the fall of 2014.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Lapilus was expected to make his promotional debut on 4 October 2014 as a short notice replacement against

Dennis Siver Dennis D. Siver (Russian: Дмитрий Сивер, tr. Dmitriy Siver, born January 13, 1979) is a retired Russian-born German mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight, lightweight, and featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting ...

UFC Fight Night 53 ''UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 53'') was a mixed martial arts event held on October 4, 2014, at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Background This event was the third event that the UFC hosted in S ...

, filling in for an injured

Robert Whiteford Robert Whiteford (born 12 April 1983) is a Scottish mixed martial artist competing in Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, he formerly competed for the UFC, being the first Scottish fighter to be signed by the promotion, ...

. However, the Swedish Mixed Martial Arts Federation subsequently deemed Lapilus an unsuitable opponent, and in turn,

Charles Rosa Charles Rosa (born August 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division. A professional since 2012, he is most notable for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background ...

was tabbed as the last-minute replacement. Lapilus eventually made his debut against Rocky Lee on 11 April 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 64 ''UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 64'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 11, 2015, at the Tauron Arena Kraków in Kraków, Poland. Background The event was the first that the organization has ...

. Lapilus won the fight via unanimous decision. Lapilus faced Yuta Sasaki on 20 June 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 69 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 ( ...

. Lapilus won the fight via TKO in the second round. Lapilus faced Érik Pérez on 21 November 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Lapilus next faced

Leandro Issa Leandro Issa (born September 19, 1983) is a mixed martial artist from Brazil. Issa is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has won numerous BJJ competitions and tournaments including the Mundials and the Brazilian national championships. He ...

on September 3, 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 93 ''UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 93'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 3, 2016, at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Background After h ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Post-UFC career

After the sole boxing bout in 2017, Lapilus racked Bantamweight Championships in both

and German MMA Championships. In November 2019, it was revealed that Lapilus has signed with a new, Afro-European MMA promotion ARES Fighting Championship. Lapilus was expected to make his promotional debut in the promotion's inaugural event on December 14, 2019 against

Bryan Caraway Bryan Caraway (born August 4, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Battlefield Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Caraway has fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, EliteXC, and the WEC. He was ...

. However, Caraway withdrew from the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Marcos Breno. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Lapilus faced

Wilson Reis Wilson Reis (born January 6, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. Reis is the former EliteXC Bantamweight Champion and has also competed for UFC, Bellator, ShoXC and Cage Warriors. Reis also appeared ...

at Ares FC 2 on December 12, 2021. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Lapilus faced Demarte Pena for the vacant AFC Bantamweight Championship on April 16, 2022 at Ares FC 5. He won the bout and title via TKO stoppage in the first round.

Return to UFC

Lapilus was scheduled to face

Khalid Taha Khalid Taha (born February 15, 1992) is a German mixed martial artist currently competing in the bantamweight division. A professional since 2013, he has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Rizin Fighting Federation. Mixed martial a ...

on September 3, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 209 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 209'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 3, 2022, at Accor Arena in Paris, Fra ...

. However, Lapilus withdrew a week before the event due to a broken hand and was later replaced by Cristian Quiñónez. Lapilus was scheduled to face Muin Gafurov on September 2, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 226 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Spivac'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 226'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 84'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 2, 2023, at the Accor Arena in Paris, ...

. However, Lapilus was instead matched up with Caolán Loughrán after Gafurov withdrew due to visa issues. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Lapilus faced Farid Basharat on January 13, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 234. He lost the bout by unanimous decision. Lapilus faced Cody Stamann on June 8, 2024 at UFC on ESPN 57. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Lapilus was scheduled to face Felipe Lima on September 28, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 243. However, Lima withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by

Vince Morales Vince Morales (born November 12, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, Morales has also competed in Bellator. Backg ...

on short notice. Lapilus won the fight by unanimous decision. Despite being 3–1 again in his second stint, on February 27, 2025, it was reported that Lapilus was once again removed from the UFC roster.

Professional Fighters League

On March 25, 2025, it was announced that Lapilus signed with

Professional Fighters League 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 ...

. Lapilus was scheduled to face Ali Taleb on May 23, 2025, at PFL Europe Paris. However in early May, the organization announced that the event was cancelled. The bout was re-scheduled and will take place on July 5, 2025, at PFL Europe 2.

Mixed martial arts style

Having started his martial arts career with

grappling Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Shou ...

and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he is a very comfortable grappler. Lapilus is also a good striker, being a long time

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

practitioner. Furthermore, he is interested in Israeli fighting system

Krav Maga Krav Maga ( ; , ; ) is an Israeli Hand-to-hand combat, self-defence system. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it uses techniques derived from aikido, boxing, judo, karate and wrestling. It is known for its focus on real-world situat ...

and participated in several induction trainings and programmes.

Professional boxing career

After his first UFC run, Lapilus opted to try his hands at boxing, facing Heri Andriyanto on May 27, 2017. He won by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , , align=center, , Ali Taleb , , PFL Europe 2 (2025) , , align=center, , align=center, ,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium , , - , Win , align=center, 21–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Saint Denis , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 20–4 , Cody Stamann , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Imavov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–4 , Farid Basharat , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 , Caolán Loughran , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Spivac , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Demarte Pena , TKO (elbows and punches) , Ares FC 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:33 ,

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Ares FC 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 , Marcos Breno , Decision (unanimous) , Ares FC 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, Senegal , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 ,

Nate Maness Nate Maness (born June 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Maness played basketball throughout high school, aspiring to continue playing in coll ...

, TKO (kick to the body) , TKO 48 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:22 ,

Gatineau, Quebec Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also par ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Josh Hill , Decision (split) , TKO 45 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 , Denis Lavrentyev , Decision (unanimous) , RCC Intro 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 , Farbod Iran Nezhad , TKO (punches) , German MMA Championship 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:16 ,

Castrop-Rauxel Castrop-Rauxel (), often simply referred to as Castrop by locals, is a former coal mining city in the eastern part of the Ruhr Area within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Geography Castrop-Rauxel is located in Germany between Dort ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Ömer Solmaz , Decision (split) , German MMA Championship 13 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , Érik Pérez , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale: Magny vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

Ulka Sasaki , known professionally as , is a Japanese professional wrestler and former Mixed Martial Artist who currently competes in Pro Wrestling Noah. A professional competitor since 2010, he formerly competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship, Shooto, ...

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk vs. Penne , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:26 ,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Rocky Lee , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Cyril Ericher , Submission (guillotine choke) , 100% Fight 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

Aubervilliers Aubervilliers () is a communes of France, commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis departments of France, department, Île-de-France regions of France, region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. Geography Localisation Aubervilliers is one of th ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Osman Minbatirov , Decision (split) , Honor and Glory Fight Night 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Cyrille Dimbas , Submission (armbar) , 100% Fight 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:41 ,

, France , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

Magomed Bibulatov Magomed Khasanovich Bibulatov (born August 22, 1988) is a retired Russian mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight and flyweight divisions, most notably in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and ACA. He is the former World Series o ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Grand European FC: Urban Legend Prestige 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Villepinte, France , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Nicolas Joannes , Submission , Knock Out Championship 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:50 ,

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Chresus Mokima , Submission (armbar) , 100% Fight 13 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:32 ,

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Steve Polifonte , Decision (unanimous) , rowspan=2, 100% Fight: Contenders 16 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , rowspan=2,

, France , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Souksavanh Khampasath , Submission (triangle choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:43 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Isa Abiev , Submission (triangle choke) , Octogone Fighting Club 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:35 , Hainaut, Belgium , , -

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapilus, Taylor 1992 births French male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Living people Martial artists from Paris French practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black French sportspeople French male boxers Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century French sportsmen