Paul Taylor (fighter)

Paul Taylor
Born (1979-12-15) 15 December 1979
Walsall, England
Other names Relentless
Nationality English
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Division Lightweight
Welterweight
Years active 2002–2013
Mixed martial arts record
Total 19
Wins 11
By knockout 6
By submission 2
By decision 3
Losses 6
By submission 2
By decision 4
Draws 1
No contests 1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Paul Simon Taylor (born 15 December 1979) is a retired English professional mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor from 2002 until 2013, Taylor also competed for Cage Rage.

Mixed martial arts career

Taylor fights for Team Kaobon of Liverpool and is a former WPKC World Kickboxing Champion.[1] Taylor got into MMA when his coach Rob Evans entered him in the UK's first cage tournament, Cage Rage.[2] Taylor had given up kickboxing after becoming disillusioned at the lack of money in the sport.

After giving up kickboxing, Taylor decided to retrain as a carpenter[3] whilst doing MMA on the side, but eventually trained MMA full-time until his retirement.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Taylor sent a DVD of his fighting to the UFC to try and secure a contract with the organization and they signed him immediately.[2]

In his UFC debut, Taylor stopped previously undefeated Edilberto de Oliveira via TKO due to strikes early in the third round.

His second UFC fight at UFC 75 was a loss via armbar to Marcus Davis. Although Taylor lost the fight he came close to winning with the referee seconds away from stopping the action due to Taylor connecting with a high kick and landing several blows on a rocked Davis.[4] Due to its high pace and excitement the fight was awarded Fight of the Night.[5]

His next fight at UFC 80 was a loss via unanimous decision to fellow countryman Paul Kelly.[6] Although he lost, Taylor along with Kelly was awarded $35,000 as a bonus for Fight of the Night.[7] This was the second time that Taylor had won the award.

Taylor fought Jess Liaudin in a rematch at UFC 85.[8] Taylor won by split decision.

Taylor met MMA veteran Chris Lytle at UFC 89 which took place at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.[9] Lytle won a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).[10] The decision resulted in loud boos and Taylor was surprised at Lytle being awarded the judges’ decision.[10] Sherdog, MMAWeekly and MMAJunkie thought Taylor had won the decision.[10][11] The fight was awarded Fight of the Night honors and both fighters received $40,000 following their exciting, action packed fight.[12] Although this was Taylor's third defeat in the octagon, he had won Fight of the Night awards on three occasions when he had been defeated in the UFC.

Taylor next fought John Hathaway at UFC 105 in Manchester, England, losing via unanimous decision.[13]

Taylor was expected to make his lightweight debut against John Gunderson on 10 April 2010 at UFC 112.[14] However, due to complications after making the weight cut, Taylor was not medically cleared to fight.[15]

Taylor next faced Sam Stout on 23 October 2010 at UFC 121.[16] The fight saw both fighters attempt kicks. The first round saw Stout bloody Taylor's nose and successfully gain a takedown. Taylor came back in the second, catching Stout on the inside. Stout went on to win a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27).

Taylor next faced Gabe Ruediger on 5 February 2011 at UFC 126.[17] Taylor won via KO after landing a head kick and follow up punches in the second round.

Taylor was expected to face John Makdessi on 14 August 2011 at UFC on Versus 5.[18] However, Makdessi was forced from the bout with an injury[19] and replaced by Donald Cerrone.[20] However it was later revealed that Taylor had broken his foot and was forced out of his scheduled bout and replaced by Charles Oliveira.[21]

Taylor was expected to face Anthony Njokuani on 5 November 2011 at UFC 138.[22] However, just days before the event, Taylor sustained a whiplash injury during a minor traffic collision forcing him from the bout. With no time to find a suitable replacement the bout was scrapped.[23]

Taylor/Njokuani was expected to take place on 11 July 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Munoz vs. Weidman.[24] However, Taylor was forced out of the bout with yet another injury, and replaced by Rafael dos Anjos.

Taylor was expected to return from the extended hiatus and the bout with Njokuani scheduled for a third time on 26 October 2013 at UFC Fight Night 30.[25] However, Taylor was forced to pull out of the bout once again with another injury and was replaced this time by Al Iaquinta.[26] After the most recent withdrawal, the UFC announced that Taylor has retired from MMA.[27]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 11–6–1 (1) Gabe Ruediger KO (head kick and punches) UFC 126 February 5, 2011 2 1:42 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 10–6–1 (1) Sam Stout Decision (split) UFC 121 October 23, 2010 3 5:00 Anaheim, California, United States Lightweight debut.
Loss 10–5–1 (1) John Hathaway Decision (unanimous) UFC 105 November 14, 2009 3 5:00 Manchester, England
Win 10–4–1 (1) Peter Sobotta Decision (unanimous) UFC 99 June 13, 2009 3 5:00 Cologne, Germany
Loss 9–4–1 (1) Chris Lytle Decision (unanimous) UFC 89 October 18, 2008 3 5:00 Birmingham, England Fight of the Night
Win 9–3–1 (1) Jess Liaudin Decision (split) UFC 85 June 7, 2008 3 5:00 London, England
Loss 8–3–1 (1) Paul Kelly Decision (unanimous) UFC 80 January 19, 2008 3 5:00 Newcastle, England Fight of the Night.
Loss 8–2–1 (1) Marcus Davis Submission (armbar) UFC 75 September 8, 2007 1 4:14 London, England Fight of the Night
Win 8–1–1 (1) Edilberto de Oliveira TKO (strikes) UFC 70 April 21, 2007 3 0:37 Manchester, England
NC 7–1–1 (1) Che Mills No Contest Cage Rage Contenders 3 November 12, 2006 1 N/A England Spectator with air horn distracted Taylor, allowing Mills submission victory.
Win 7–1–1 Paul Jenkins KO (punch) Road to Tokyo October 15, 2006 1 1:08 England
Loss 6–1–1 Yuki Sasaki Submission (armbar) Pain and Glory 2006 May 6, 2006 1 N/A England
Win 6–0–1 Jonas Majauskas TKO (strikes) Walsall Fight Night March 5, 2006 1 0:53 England
Win 5–0–1 Zelg Galešic TKO (punches) Urban Destruction 1 April 10, 2005 3 N/A England
Win 4–0–1 Carl Morgan Submission (kimura) CFC 3: Cage Carnage March 6, 2005 3 N/A England
Win 3–0–1 Daan Kooiman TKO (strikes) CFC 2: Cage Carnage November 14, 2004 1 N/A England
Win 2–0–1 John Flemming Submission (guillotine choke) Pain and Glory 2004 April 24, 2004 1 N/A England
Win 1–0–1 Jess Liaudin Decision Cage Rage 2 February 22, 2003 3 5:00 England
Draw 0–0–1 Matt Ewin Draw Cage Rage 1 September 7, 2002 N/A N/A England

References

  1. ↑ "The Official Website of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC)". ufc.com.
  2. 1 2 Anuji Varma. "Mixed Martial Arts fighter from Walsall faces his toughest opponent at UFC in Birmingham". Sundaymercury.net. Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  3. ↑ Davies, Gareth A (16 October 2008). "Paul Taylor's chance to hammer home Ultimate Fighting talent". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  4. ↑ "UFC 75 "Champion Vs. Champion" Play-by-Play".
  5. ↑ Dann Stupp. "Marcus Davis Scores $80,000 in UFC 75 Bonuses, Possibly Fighting in January".
  6. ↑ Dann Stupp. "UFC 80: Rapid Fire -- Live Results and Round-by-Round Updates".
  7. ↑ Dann Stupp. "UFC Issues $140,000 in UFC 80 "Fight Night" Bonuses".
  8. ↑ Gilbert, Mark (18 March 2008). "Liaudin gets Taylor test". The Sun. London.
  9. ↑ "Report: Taylor vs. Hathaway, Hamman vs. Gustafsson Likely for UFC 105". Mmaontap.com. Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  10. 1 2 3 "UFC 89 Play-by-Play". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  11. ↑ "UFC 89 live results and round-by-round updates". Mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ "Report: Paul Taylor vs John Hathaway likely for UFC 105". Mmajunkie.com. September 10, 2009.
  14. ↑ James Kimball. "Paul Taylor drops to lightweight to face John Gunderson at UFC 112". Mmamania.com. Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  15. ↑ "UFC 112: Paul Taylor forced to withdraw from fight with John Gunderson in Abu Dhabi". Mmabay.com. April 10, 2010.
  16. ↑ Steven Marrocco. "Paul Taylor vs. Sam Stout targeted for UFC 121". Mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  17. ↑ "Gabe Ruediger vs. Paul Taylor Agreed For UFC 127 in Australia". MMAWeekly.com. 29 November 2010.
  18. ↑ "John Makdessi vs. Paul Taylor In The Works for UFC on Versus 5". mmafrenzy.com. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 2015-10-31.
  19. ↑ "John Makdessi injured, forced out of UFC on Versus 5 bout with Paul Taylor". Mmajunkie.com. 25 June 2011.
  20. ↑ "With Makdessi injured, Cerrone faces Taylor at UFC on Versus 5". Mmajunkie.com. June 27, 2011.
  21. ↑ "Paul Taylor gets Cerrone examination on August 14". Espn.co.uk. 27 June 2011.
  22. ↑ Morgan, John (20 July 2011). "Anthony Njokuani vs. Paul Taylor targeted for UFC 138 in England". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  23. ↑ Stupp, Dann (1 November 2011). "UFC 138 loses Taylor-Njokuani; Diabate-Perosh promoted to main card". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  24. ↑ "Anthony Njokuani vs. Paul Taylor added to UFC on FUEL TV 4". Mmajunkie.com. 27 April 2012.
  25. ↑ "Paul Taylor returns, meets Anthony Njokuani at UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester". Mmajunkie.com. 9 August 2013.
  26. ↑ "Al Iaquinta replaces Paul Taylor, faces Anthony Njokuani at UFC Fight Night 30". Mmajunkie.com. 19 September 2013.
  27. ↑ "UFC: After injury withdrawal, Paul Taylor announces retirement". Mmajunkie.com. 20 September 2013.
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