Tywan Claxton (born November 25, 1992 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American

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 ...

and former

amateur wrestler Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

. He most notably competed in

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

at featherweight.

Early life

Claxton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where he went to Frank L Wiley Middle School. Claxton formerly wrestled at King University in

Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The ...

where he studied medicine. He also wrestled and gained All-American status in Division 2 at the 141-pound weight class. In a 2014 dual against Kent State, Claxton defeated Kyle Bauer via 8-2 decision. Bauer, wrestling up a weight class, has been hailed for his gutsy performance. In 2015, Claxton moved to the University of Ohio, Claxton wrestled for two years for the

Ohio Bobcats The Ohio Bobcats are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio University is a charter member (1946) of the Mid-Amer ...

and was a two time division 1 national qualifier ; Claxton was set to compete his senior year however, days before the season was scheduled to start, Claxton was deemed ineligible to wrestle because of a transfer rule set by the NCAA. Claxton graduated with a degree in Healthcare Marketing. Claxton taught himself how to code and spends his spare time on the computer. Claxton compiled a 8–0 amateur MMA record after deciding to train in MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Claxton began training in

mixed martial arts 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 strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

after not being able to compete in wrestling his senior year at Ohio University. Although he dabbled in the sport in college, he ultimately started real training once he received an invitation to move to Florida to train with the Blackzilians from wrestling coach Greg Jones. Claxton trained among the best fighters in the world, with teammates in both

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 ...

and Bellator MMA.

Bellator MMA

It was announced that Claxton had signed with Bellator MMA in August 2017. Claxton made his professional MMA debut at Bellator 186 in

University Park, Pennsylvania University Park (also referred to as Penn State University Park) is the name given to the Pennsylvania State University's main campus located in both State College and College Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus post office was de ...

vs Johnny Bonilla-Bowman. Claxton successfully made his debut with an emphatic flying knee to knock out his opponent in the first round. It was deemed as a knockout of the year contender. Claxton had his second professional fight at Bellator 194 in

Uncasville Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ea ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

vs Jose Perez. Claxton used his wrestling and top game to dominate his opponent and ultimately won the fight by second round tko. On the 18th of August 2018, Claxton had his third professional bout at Bellator 204 in

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

vs Cris Lencioni, who gave up a percentage of his fight purse by missing weight by 2.4 pounds. Claxton used his superior striking and ultimately using his wrestling to win a clear decision over three rounds. Tywan then had his fourth fight against Kaeo Meyer at Bellator 212, in Bellator's debut in

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, at the

Neal S. Blaisdell Center The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic W ...

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

. Claxton would win the fight by TKO in the second round. Claxton's fifth fight came against James Bennett at Bellator 221 in

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on May 11, 2019. He won the bout by TKO in the third round. Claxton infamously began speaking to

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

, seated near the cage, during the fight while engaging with Bennett on the ground. Claxton next faced Emmanuel Sanchez in the opening round of the Bellator featherweight world grand prix at Bellator 226 on September 7, 2019. He lost the bout via second round submission. Claxton faced Braydon Akeo at Bellator 235 on December 20, 2019. After largely winning the striking exchanges and taking Akeo down, Claxton won the bout via unanimous decision. Claxton faced former Legacy Fighting Alliance Featherweight Champion Justin Gonzales at Bellator 260 on June 11, 2021. He lost the fight by split decision. On July 10, 2021, it was announced that he was no longer under contract with Bellator.

Mixed martial arts record

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Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

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San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

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Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claxton, Tywan 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Mixed martial artists from Florida American male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing jujutsu American Muay Thai practitioners