# John Phillips (fighter)

John Phillips (born 9 June 1985) is a retired Welsh Middleweight mixed martial artist. A professional since 2005, he has also competed for BAMMA, Cage Rage, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Cage Warriors. He is the former BAMMA Middleweight Champion.

## Career

Phillips faced Jesse Taylor for the latter's first defense of the Cage Warriors Middleweight on 4 May 2013 on the Cage Warriors 54 card. Phillips lost to Taylor via submission early in the first round.
His next fight came on 17 March 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov against Charles Byrd, where both fighters made their UFC debut. He lost the fight via a submission due to a rear-naked choke in round three.
Phillips faced Kevin Holland on 1 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2. Phillips lost the fight via submission late in round three.
Phillips faced fellow Welshman Jack Marshman on 16 March 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 5 At the weigh-ins, Marshman weighed in at 188 lbs, 2 pounds over the middleweight non-title fight limit of 186 lbs. He was fined 20% of his fight purse and the bout proceeded at catchweight. Phillips lost the bout via split decision.
In his next fight Phillips faced Alen Amedovski at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier on 28 September 2019. He won via knockout in 17 seconds of the first round. This was his first win in the UFC and earned him the $50,000 performance of the night bonus.
Phillips was scheduled to face Duško Todorović on 21 March 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic travel bans, the bout was moved to Cage Warriors 113 but was later on removed from the card due to Todorović's travel restrictions.
Phillips was expected to face Duško Todorović on 16 July 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Ige. On 8 July Todorović pulled out due to a potential medical issue. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Khamzat Chimaev. Phillips lost the fight via submission in round two.
Phillips faced Jun Yong Park on 18 October 2020 at UFC Fight Night 180. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
On 13 November 2020 it was announced that Phillips had been released from the UFC.

## Bare-knuckle boxing

Phillips is scheduled to make his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut against Fábio Maldonado on 5 April 2025 at BKFC 72 Dubai: Day 2.

## Championships and accomplishments
### Mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Alen Amedovski
* BAMMA
** BAMMA Middleweight Champion (One time)
* Rage in the Cage
** Rage in the Cage Middleweight Tournament Winner (One time)

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 34 matches | 22 wins | 11 losses |
| By knockout | 20 | 2 |
| By submission | 2 | 6 |
| By decision | 0 | 3 |
| No contests | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 22–11 (1) | Jun Yong Park | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie | 17 October 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Loss | 22–10 (1) | Khamzat Chimaev | Submission (D'Arce choke) | UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige | 16 July 2020 | 2 | 1:12 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 22–9 (1) | Alen Amedovski | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier | 28 September 2019 | 1 | 0:17 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Performance of the Night |
| Loss | 21–9 (1) | Jack Marshman | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal | 16 March 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | Catchweight (188 lb) bout; Marshman missed weight. |
| Loss | 21–8 (1) | Kevin Holland | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2 | 28 September 2018 | 3 | 4:05 | Beijing, China | |
| Loss | 21–7 (1) | Charles Byrd | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov | 17 March 2018 | 1 | 3:58 | London, England | |
| Win | 21–6 (1) | Jose Otavio dos Santos Lacerda | KO (punch) | Budo 16: Round vs. James | 24 September 2016 | 1 | 4:44 | Swansea, Wales | Catchweight (198 lb) bout. |
| Win | 20–6 (1) | Cheick Kone | TKO (punch) | BAMMA 24: Kone vs. Phillips | 27 February 2016 | 1 | 1:05 | Dublin, Ireland | Won the BAMMA World Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 19–6 (1) | Markus Di Gallo | KO (punch) | Fightstar Promotions: Rage in the Cage 3 | 21 March 2015 | 1 | N/A | Paisley, Scotland | Won the Rage in the Cage Middleweight Tournament Final. |
| Win | 18–6 (1) | Charlie Ward | KO (punch) | Fightstar Promotions: Rage in the Cage 3 | 21 March 2015 | 2 | N/A | Paisley, Scotland | Rage in the Cage Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal. |
| Loss | 17–6 (1) | Jesse Taylor | Submission (guillotine choke) | Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 54 | 4 May 2013 | 1 | 1:23 | Cardiff, Wales | For the Cage Warriors Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 17–5 (1) | Chris Fields | Submission (guillotine choke) | Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 48 | 21 July 2012 | 2 | 2:04 | London, England | Catchweight (192 lb) bout |
| Win | 16–5 (1) | Tomas Penz | Submission (triangle choke) | Cage Warriors Fight Night 6 | 24 May 2012 | 2 | 3:21 | Isa Town, Bahrain | |
| Loss | 15–5 (1) | Pavel Kusch | Submission (heel hook) | Cage Warriors Fight Night 5 | 12 April 2012 | 1 | 0:25 | Amman, Jordan | |
| Win | 15–4 (1) | Matt Ewin | TKO (injury) | KnuckleUp MMA 8 | 29 October 2011 | 1 | 0:56 | Kingston upon Hull, England | |
| Loss | 14–4 (1) | Frank Trigg | TKO (doctor stoppage) | BAMMA 6: Watson vs. Rua | 21 May 2011 | 1 | 2:41 | London, England | |
| Win | 14–3 (1) | James Zikic | TKO (punches) | BAMMA 4: Reid vs. Watson | 25 September 2010 | 1 | 1:34 | Birmingham, England | |
| Win | 13–3 (1) | Johnny Gillan | TKO (punches) | Fight UK 1 | 2 May 2010 | 1 | 1:37 | Leicester, England | |
| Win | 12–3 (1) | Marius Liaukevicius | TKO (punches) | Celtic Fight Night 3 | 6 March 2010 | 1 | 0:15 | Brecon, Wales | |
| Win | 11–3 (1) | Danny Welsh | TKO (punches to the body) | Trojan MMA: Trojan Warfare | 27 February 2010 | 1 | 0:36 | Exeter, Wales | |
| Win | 10–3 (1) | Matt Thorpe | TKO (punches) | KnuckleUp MMA 4: Origins | 20 February 2010 | 1 | 0:50 | Cheltenham, Wales | |
| Loss | 9–3 (1) | Denniston Sutherland | TKO (submission to punches) | BAMMA 1: The Fighting Premiership | 27 June 2009 | 1 | 3:32 | London, England | |
| Win | 9–2 (1) | Bohumil Lungrik | TKO (punches) | WFC 8: D-Day | 18 April 2009 | 1 | 3:15 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | |
| Win | 8–2 (1) | Tommy Gunn | TKO (punches) | Predator Fight Night | 9 November 2008 | 1 | 0:44 | Swansea, Wales | |
| Win | 7–2 (1) | Jake Bostwick | TKO (submission to punches) | Cage Rage 28: VIP | 9 November 2008 | 2 | 2:47 | London, England | |
| Loss | 6–2 (1) | Tom Watson | Decision (Unanimous) | Cage Rage 27: Step Up | 12 July 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | |
| NC | 6–1 (1) | Jake Bostwick | No Contest | Cage Rage 25: Bring It On | 8 March 2008 | 1 | 4:10 | London, England | |
| Win | 6–1 | Christos Petroutsos | TKO (N/A) | Cage Rage Contenders: Wales | 18 November 2007 | 1 | N/A | Swansea, Wales | |
| Win | 5–1 | Mihaly Dobrai | KO (N/A) | MedVid: Anno Domini 1 | 9 June 2007 | N/A | N/A | Pula, Croatia | |
| Win | 4–1 | Mario Valentic | TKO (N/A) | MedVid: Anno Domini 2 | 27 January 2007 | N/A | N/A | Pula, Croatia | |
| Win | 3–1 | Edgaras Pilvinis | TKO (referee stoppage) | Cage Gladiators 3 | 3 December 2006 | 1 | 0:34 | Liverpool, England | |
| Win | 2–1 | Gary Savage | TKO (punches) | HOP 7: Cage Fever | 26 November 2006 | 1 | 1:23 | Swansea, Wales | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Jim Wallhead | TKO (elbows) | HOP 5: Fight Night 5 | 9 April 2006 | 1 | 1:41 | Swansea, Wales | |
| Win | 1–0 | Nigel Whitear | KO (N/A) | HOP 3: Next Generation | 24 July 2005 | 1 | 0:57 | Swansea, Wales | |