Tim McKenzie (born July 21, 1982) is an American retired professional

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 ...

. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2011, he fought 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 ( ...

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

Pancrase is a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Tokyo. It was founded in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the An ...

, and

Tachi Palace Fights Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which hosted events at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Matchmaker for TPF was former fighter Richard Goodman. Regarded as a regional promotion, ...

. Known for his exciting fighting style, only one of his 23 career bouts made it to a decision.

Background

Born and raised in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, McKenzie began training in MMA while attending University of the Pacific alongside fellow fighters

Nick Diaz Nicholas Robert Diaz (born August 2, 1983) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Diaz is a former Strikeforce, WEC and ...

and his younger brother

Nate Diaz Nathan Donald Diaz (born April 16, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist and professional boxer who is currently a free agent. Diaz is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought for ov ...

, under the tutelage of head coach

Cesar Gracie Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is a mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu gym based in Pleasant Hill, California. The gym features professional fighters who have competed in many major promotions, such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), ...

. Later during his career McKenzie moved to

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

to train with AZ Combat Sports.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

McKenzie made his professional debut in 2001, winning his first two fights via first-round TKO, before being signed by the WEC.

World Extreme Cagefighting

McKenzie made his debut for the pre-

Zuffa TKO Operating Company, LLC (TKO OpCo), doing business as Zuffa (), is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta I ...

owned WEC at

WEC 6 The year 2003 was the 3rd year in the history of World Extreme Cagefighting, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2003 WEC held 3 events beginning with, ''WEC 6: Return of a Legend''. Title fights Events list ...

on March 27, 2003. McKenzie won via TKO in the first round. McKenzie then won his next four consecutive fights, bringing his career record to an undefeated 7-0 before making his next WEC appearance at

WEC 10 The year 2004 was the 4th year in the history of World Extreme Cagefighting, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. In 2004 WEC held 4 events beginning with, ''WEC 9: Cold Blooded''. Title fights Events list W ...

against

Alex Stiebling Alex Stiebling (born December 26, 1976) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1999 until 2009, he competed in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, WEC, King of the Cage, BodogFIGHT, the World Fight ...

. McKenzie was handed his first professional loss via arm-triangle choke in the second round. McKenzie made his next promotional appearance at WEC 17 against Scott Smith and was defeated via first-round TKO. After the loss to Smith, McKenzie fought

Doug Marshall Douglas Garrett Marshall (born February 3, 1977) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2003 until 2014, Marshall has fought in Bellator, Tachi Palace Fights, the Super Fight League, and the Pa ...

at WEC 17 and won in dominating fashion, finishing the future WEC Light Heavyweight Champion in the first round via TKO. After a loss to

Steve Cantwell Steven Francis Cantwell (born August 12, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2012, he competed for the UFC and for the UFC's sister organization, World Extreme Cagefighting. There, Cantwell ...

via

rear-naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

submission at

WEC 33 ''WEC 33: Marshall vs. Stann'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) that took place on Wednesday, March 26, 2008. Background A rematch for the WEC Middlweight Championship between champion Paulo Filho ...

, McKenzie made his last appearance for the promotion at

WEC 34 ''WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 1, 2008, at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. The main event, announced on WEC 33, was a bout between Jens Pulver and ...

against Jeremy Lang and won via

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compared to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

submission in the third round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

McKenzie made his

UFC 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 larg ...

debut at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann on April 1, 2009 against Aaron Simpson. McKenzie was defeated in the first round via TKO.

Post-UFC

Since leaving the

, McKenzie has gone 2–3 in his last five fights. McKenzie most recently competed on April 16, 2011 at Showdown Fights: Shootout against Jordan Smith. McKenzie won via knockout 11 seconds into the fight.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 14–9 , Jordan Smith , TKO (punches) , Showdown Fights: Shootout , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:11 ,

Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Utah, Provo, Lindon, Utah, Lindon, and Vineyard, Utah, Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the pri ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–9 ,

Seth Baczynski Seth Baczynski (born October 26, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional since 2006, Baczynski has formerly competed for the UFC, and was a cast member of ...

, TKO (elbows & punches) , TPF 7: Deck the Halls , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 252 ...

, United States , Catchweight (174 lbs) bout. Controversial loss due to Baczynski "phantom tapping" due to an armbar, prompting McKenzie to release it before referee stoppage. , - , Loss , align=center, 13–8 , Josh Thornburg , Submission (armbar) , Global Knockout: Fall Brawl , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 ,

Jackson, California Jackson (formerly, Botilleas, Botilleas Spring, Bottileas, Bottle Spring, and Botellas) is a city in and the county seat of Amador County, California. Its population was 5,019 at the 2020 census, up from 4,651 at the 2010 census. The city i ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–7 , Marcus Gaines , Submission (armbar) , RF: Rebel Fighter , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 ,

Placerville, California Placerville (, ; ''placer'', Spanish for "sand deposit", representing the placer mining that was predominant in the town's development, and ''ville'', French for "town") is a city in and the county seat of El Dorado County, California, United S ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–7 , David Mitchell , Submission (guillotine choke) , TPF 4: Cinco de Mayhem , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:10 ,

, United States , Return to

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 ...

; for the inaugural Tachi Palace Fights Welterweight Championship. , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6 , Aaron Simpson , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:40 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–5 , Jeremy Lang , Submission (guillotine choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:40 ,

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 ...

, United States , Return to

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

. , - , Loss , align=center, 11–5 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:13 ,

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, 11–4 , Yuichi Nakanishi , Submission (rear-naked choke) , BODOGFight: Vancouver , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:12 ,

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 ,

Chael Sonnen Chael Sonnen (; born April 3, 1977) is an American submission grappling promoter, mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst, and retired mixed martial artist. Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Sonnen competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

, Submission (D'arce choke) , BODOGFight: Costa Rica Combat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:13 , Costa Rica , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Mike McGuinnes , TKO , ICFO 1: Stockton , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 ,

, TKO (punches & elbows) ,

WEC 19 ''WEC 19: Undisputed'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on March 17, 2006 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. The event aired live on the HDNet Fights. Eight past, present, or future WEC ch ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:35 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Scott Smith , TKO (punches) , WEC 17 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Bill Mahood , KO (punches) , Freedom Fight: Canada vs USA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:06 ,

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of Canada's ...

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

Akihiro Gono (born October 7, 1974) is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 1994, he is best known for his clever and deceptive fighting style, and for his flashy ring entrances. Gon ...

, TKO (punches) , Pancrase: Brave 10 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:53 , Chiba, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 ,

Emanuel Newton Emanuel Newton (born February 1, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in Bellator's Light Heavyweight division, where he is a former Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion. He has also competed for WEC, King of the ...

, Decision , ROTR: Rage on the River , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Redding, California Redding is a city in and the county seat of Shasta County, California, and the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, California, Sacrame ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Kenny Kingsford , TKO , IFC: Battleground Tahoe , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 ,

Lake Tahoe, Nevada Lake Tahoe (; Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, ...

, United States ,

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Chris Kiever , Submission (heel hook) , IFC: Rumble on the Rio , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:29 ,

Hidalgo, Texas Hidalgo is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. Its population was 11,198 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, and in 2020, the population had risen to 13,964. History The area that is now Hidalgo was first settled by Spanis ...

, United States ,

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Shane Davis , Submission (armbar) , IFC WC 18: Big Valley Brawl , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:31 ,

Lakeport, California Lakeport is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, California. The city is northwest of Sacramento. Lakeport is on the western shore of Clear Lake, at an elevation of . The population was 5,026 at the 2020 census, up from 4,753 at th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , John Appleby , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:03 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Paul Ward , TKO , IFC: Night of the Warriors 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 , Iona, California, United States ,

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Dax Bruce , TKO (punches) , IFC WC 16: Warriors Challenge 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , Orville, California, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Tim Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Middleweight mixed martial artists 1982 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters