Shane Young

Shane Young (born 31 July 1993) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the Featherweight division and previously competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Young was born in Napier, New Zealand, and had a brother who died at the age of two. He went to Dilworth School, where he was the rugby team captain for two years. He studied to become an architect before pursuing a career in mixed martial arts. Young is of European and Māori descent and is affiliated with the Māori tribe Ngāti Kahungunu. He uses fighting as the platform to inspire New Zealand mixed-blood Māori to accept their Māori roots and to be sporting stars.
He trains at Auckland's City Kickboxing gym where he is the teammate of UFC fighters Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Young started his professional MMA career in 2012 and amassed a record of 11–3 before being signed by the UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Young made his promotional debut as a short notice replacement against Alexander Volkanovski on 19 November 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura. The bout proceeded at a catchweight of 150 pounds. Young lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Young faced Rolando Dy on 23 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Edwards. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. This win earned him the Fight of the Night award.
Young contemplated stepping away from fighting after his bout with Dy for the remainder of 2018 to tackle his depression after achieving the success and the fame at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Edwards of earning $50,000, where prior to the bout he had to borrow $40 to get to the airport for his flight to Singapore for the fight, and his mental health issues surrounding the break-up of his marriage where he spent most of the time with his family while seeking to reconnect with his Māori culture, which helped him to return to a healthy state of mind.
Young returned to fighting and he faced Austin Arnett on 10 February 2019 at UFC 234. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Young was scheduled to face Nate Landwehr on 27 September 2020 at UFC 253. However Landwehr was pulled from the event due to tested positive for COVID-19 and he was replaced by newcomer Ľudovít Klein. At the weigh-ins, Klein weighed in at 150 pounds, four pounds over the non-title featherweight fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Klein was fined a percentage of his purse, which went to Young. Young lost the fight via knockout in round one.
Young faced Omar Morales on 27 March 2021 at UFC 260. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Young faced Blake Bilder on 12 February 2023, at UFC 284. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Young faced Gabriel Miranda at UFC 293 on 10 September 2023. At the weigh-ins, Young weighed in at 149.75 pounds, three and three quarters pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Young was fined a percentage of his purse, which went to Miranda. He lost the fight via technical submission in the first round.
In October 2023, Young was released by UFC.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Fight of the Night (One time)
Personal life
Young was a builder and foreman prior to competing in MMA professionally.
Young has a son.
Mixed martial arts record
|-
|Loss
|align=center|13–8
|Gabriel Miranda
|Technical Submission (rear-naked choke)
|UFC 293
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:59
|Sydney, Australia
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|13–7
|Blake Bilder
|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC 284
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Perth, Australia
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|13–6
|Omar Morales
|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC 260
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|13–5
|Ľudovít Klein
|KO (head kick and punches)
|UFC 253
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|1:16
|Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|13–4
|Austin Arnett
|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC 234
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Melbourne, Australia
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|12–4
|Rolando Dy
|TKO (punches)
|UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|4:40
|Kallang, Singapore
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|11–4
|Alexander Volkanovski
|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Sydney, Australia
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|11–3
|Bo Yan
|Submission (choke)
|WLF: W.A.R.S. 13
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|N/A
|Zhengzhou, China
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|10–3
|Zexian Jiang
|Technical Submission (rear-naked choke)
|Glory of Heroes: Rise of Heroes 7
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|5:00
|Auckland, New Zealand
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|9–3
|Siitia Leti
|Decision
|BRACE 43
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:36
|Canterbury, New Zealand
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|8–3
|Zhenhong Lu
|TKO (punches)
|Elevation Power in Cage 4
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|3:29
|Zhengzhou, China
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|7–3
|Rodolfo Marques
|Decision (split)
|Minotaur 3
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Parkville, Australia
|
|-
|loss
|align=center|6–3
|Guan Wang
|Decision (unanimous)
|Wu Lin Feng 2015: New Zealand vs. China
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Auckland, New Zealand
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|6–2
|Liucai Cui
|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|The Legend Of Emei 3
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|2:34
|Shahe, China
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|5–2
|Julian Wallace
|KO (punches)
|Xtreme Fighting Championship 24
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|1:16
|Brisbane, Australia
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|4–2
|Damien Brown
|Decision (majority)
|Xtreme Fighting Championship 23
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Brisbane, Australia
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|4–1
|Adrian Rodriguez
|TKO (head kick and punches)
|Xtreme Fighting Championship 22
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|3:32
|Brisbane, Australia
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|3–1
|Adrian Rodriguez
|Decision (majority)
|Xtreme Fighting Championship 20
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Brisbane, Australia
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|3–0
|Hayden Watt
|Decision (majority)
|Shuriken MMA: Rise
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Auckland, New Zealand
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|2–0
|Jiraya Fernandes
|TKO (punches)
|Jiraya Fernandes
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|4:50
|Wellington, New Zealand
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|1–0
|Ray Karaitiana
|TKO (punches)
|ICNZ 18
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|N/A
|Auckland, New Zealand
|
|-
See also
List of male mixed martial artists
References
External links
Living people
1993 births
Featherweight mixed martial artists
Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing
Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
New Zealand Māori sportspeople
Ngāti Kahungunu people
New Zealand male mixed martial artists
Sportspeople from Auckland
Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
New Zealand practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
People educated at Dilworth School