Rob Wilkinson
Rob Wilkinson (born 22 February 1992) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional competitor since 2011, he previously competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was the middleweight champion in Australian Fighting Championship and BRACE. Background. Wilkinson was born in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia and he currently resides in Sydney, Australia. Wilkinson was a personal trainer prior taking up a career in MMA. He started training MMA after watching a video on YouTube of Randy Couture which he instantly fell in love  with the sport. Mixed martial arts career. Early career. Wilkinson made his professional debut in 2011 and amassed a record of 11-0. He has won all fights via stoppage but one and holds 9 out of his 11 fights in the 1st round, en route to capturing both Australian Fighting Championship middleweight title and BRACE middleweight championship belt. He last competed in a battle of undefeated fighters, submitted German Alexander Poppeck in the first round in Finland prior signed by UFC. Ultimate Fighting Championship. Wilkinson made his promotional debut on 2 September 2017 at , replacing injured Abu Azaitar, against  Siyar Bahadurzada. He lost the fight via TKO in round two, handing him his first career loss. Wilkinson faced Israel Adesanya on 11 February 2018 at UFC 221. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. On 14 August 2018 it was announced that Wilkinson was released from UFC. Post-UFC career. In 2019, Wilkinson competed in two kickboxing bouts, winning both and earning a record of 2-0. Almost two years since his previous MMA bout, Wilkinson moved up to the light heavyweight division and faced Dylan Andrews at AFC 23 on 1 December 2019. He won  the fight via first-round submission. On 9 April 2021 Wilkinson defeated Daniel Almeida via first round TKO, winning the Hex Fight Series Light Heavyweight Championship. Wilkinson was scheduled to defend his title against Sam Kei at Hex Fight 22 on 9 July 2021. However, the bout was scrapped due to unknown reason. Professional Fighters League. Wilkinson faced Bruce Souto on April 23, 2022 at PFL 1. He won the bout via ground and pound technical knockout in the second round. Boxing career. Having problems finding mixed martial arts fights, Wilkinson opted to compete also in boxing, making his debut  against Jayden Joseph for the vacant Tasmanian Heavyweight title on 30 October 2021. He won the fight via fifth-round technical knockout.