Liam McGeary

Liam McGeary
Born (1982-10-04) 4 October 1982[1]
King's Lynn, Norfolk, England
Nationality English
Height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Division Light heavyweight
Reach 81.0 in (206 cm)
Style BJJ, Wrestling, Boxing, kickboxing
Fighting out of Toms River, New Jersey, United States
Team Team Renzo Gracie
Gracie Barra Channel Islands
Rank      Brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under John Danaher[2]
Years active 2010–present
Kickboxing record
Total 1
Wins 1
By knockout 1
Mixed martial arts record
Total 12
Wins 11
By knockout 5
By submission 5
By decision 1
Losses 1
By decision 1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Liam McGeary (born 4 October 1982) is an English professional mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's light heavyweight division. He is the former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion.[1] McGeary is ranked as the #9 light heavyweight in the world by sherdog.com.[3]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

McGeary began training in mixed martial arts in 2009, and held an amateur record of 1-1 before making his professional debut in 2010. He won the first two fights of his professional career via submission and picked up a knockout win before signing with Bellator MMA.[4]

Mcgeary has also fought in kickboxing, in the heavyweight division, in November 2009 he knocked out Kieron Vance, in the first round, at Kickboxing Fight Show, at the Wolversdene Club in Andover, Hampshire.

Liam Mcgeary took part in the 2013 IBJJF World Championships, in the purple belt/super heavyweight division. Mcgeary won the first three matches, by armbar(round 1), triangle-choke(round 2) and armbar(round 3), before falling in the 4th round, losing by points. He also won the London Seni BJJ 2010 tournament, in the super heavyweight/blue belt division.

Bellator MMA

In his Bellator debut, McGeary faced Anton Talamantes at Bellator 95 on 4 April 2013 and won via TKO at 78 seconds of the first round.[5]

In his next appearance for the organization at Bellator 100 on 20 September 2013, McGeary faced off against Beau Tribolet and won via knockout only 27 seconds into the fight.[6]

McGeary faced Najim Wali on 15 November 2013 at Bellator 108. He won via submission due to an armbar early in the first round.[7]

In the summer of 2014, McGeary was announced as a participant in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament. He faced Mike Mucitelli in the opening quarterfinals at Bellator 118 and won via knockout in the first round. Later, at Bellator 122, he faced Egidijus Valavicius in the semifinals, he won the fight by TKO in the first round. McGeary faced Kelly Anundson in the finals at Bellator 124 on 12 September 2014.[8] He won the fight via inverted triangle choke in the first round.[9]

McGeary faced Emanuel Newton for his Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship on 27 February 2015 at Bellator 134.[10] He won the fight via unanimous decision to become the new Bellator Light Heavyweight champion. During the course of the fight, McGeary attempted several submission attempts, including nearly finishing Newton in the first and third rounds with a triangle choke. In all, he set the record (11) for the number of submission attempts in Bellator history.

In March 2015, McGeary signed a multi-fight and multi-year contract extension with the promotion.[11]

McGeary made his first title defense against Tito Ortiz on 19 September 2015 at Bellator 142.[12] He submitted Ortiz with an inverted triangle choke in the first round to retain his championship.

After over a year away from the sport due to a knee injury, McGeary faced Phil Davis at Bellator 163 on November 4, 2016. He lost the bout and his title via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 11–1 Phil Davis Decision (unanimous) Bellator 163 4 November 2016 5 5:00 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Lost the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship
Win 11–0 Tito Ortiz Submission (inverted triangle choke) Bellator 142: Dynamite 1 19 September 2015 1 4:41 San Jose, California, United States Defended the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win 10–0 Emanuel Newton Decision (unanimous) Bellator 134 27 February 2015 5 5:00 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Won the Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win 9–0 Kelly Anundson Submission (inverted triangle choke) Bellator 124 12 September 2014 1 4:47 Plymouth Township, Michigan, United States 2014 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament Final.
Win 8–0 Egidijus Valavicius TKO (knees and punches) Bellator 122 25 July 2014 1 2:10 Temecula, California, United States 2014 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal.
Win 7–0 Mike Mucitelli KO (punch) Bellator 118 2 May 2014 1 0:22 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States 2014 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal.
Win 6–0 Najim Wali Submission (armbar) Bellator 108 15 November 2013 1 1:31 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 5–0 Beau Tribolet KO (punch) Bellator 100 20 September 2013 1 0:27 Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win 4–0 Anton Talamantes TKO (elbows and punches) Bellator 95 4 April 2013 1 1:18 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 3–0 Walter Howard KO (punch) Ring of Combat 41 15 June 2012 2 0:41 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States 202 lb catchweight bout.[16]
Win 2–0 Shaun Lomas Submission (triangle armbar) Island Rumble 3: Ballistic 15 October 2011 1 1:16 Fort Regent, Jersey, UK Won the ICO British Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win 1–0 Grzegorz Janus Submission (armbar) Battle of Jersey 8 May 2010 3 4:45 Saint Helier, Jersey, UK

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Fighter bio: Liam McGeary". Bellator.com. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "Today was a great start...". instagram.com.
  3. ↑ "Sherdog's Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings". Sherdog.
  4. ↑ "Liam McGeary's website". Liammcgeary.com. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Brian Knapp (4 April 2013). "Pat Curran chokes Shahbulat Shamhalaev unconscious, keeps featherweight crown at Bellator 95". sherdog.com. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  6. ↑ Brian Knapp (20 September 2013). "Douglas Lima head kick KOs Ben Saunders in tournament final at Bellator 100". sherdog.com. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  7. ↑ Jason Floyd (15 November 2013). "Bellator 108 Prelim Results: DeBlass, Burrell, and McGeary walk away with victories". themmareport.com. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Emanuel Newton vs. Joey Beltran title fight headlines Bellator 124". mmafighting.com. 5 August 2014.
  9. ↑ Bellator MMA Best Moments: Top Submissions of 2014. YouTube. 1 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Bellator 134 Fight Card". bellator.com.
  11. ↑ Marc Raimondi (16 March 2015). "Liam McGeary signs multi-year, multi-fight extension with Bellator MMA". mmafighting.com.
  12. ↑ Staff (19 June 2015). "Bellator sets champ McGeary vs. Ortiz, announces four-man, single-night tourney". mmajunkie.com.
  13. ↑ http://mmajunkie.com/2015/12/2015-mmajunkie-awards-breakout-fighter-of-the-year-liam-mcgeary
  14. ↑ Mike Bohn (2 October 2014). "MMAjunkie's 'Submission of the Month' for September 2014". mmajunkie.com.
  15. ↑ http://mmajunkie.com/2015/10/mmajunkies-submission-of-the-month-for-september-four-promotions-five-sick-subs
  16. ↑ "Liam McGeary vs. Walter Howard: Ring of Combat 41". tapology.com. Retrieved 18 November 2013.

External links

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