James McSweeney

James McSweeney (born 24 October 1980) is a British retired kickboxer and mixed martial artist. A professional since 2005, McSweeney is best known for being a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights and competing in the UFC, but he has also competed in major European promotions such as KSW, Cage Rage and BAMMA.

Background Born in London to an Irish father and a Northern Irish mother, McSweeney started kickboxing in England when he was six years old. At 18, he finished school and moved to Amsterdam to train full-time in Dutch kickboxing. He joined Lucien Carbin's gym, where teammates and sparring partners included Alistair Overeem, Valentijn Overeem, and Tyrone Spong. An accomplished kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter, McSweeney won numerous British, Dutch, European and world titles.

Mixed martial arts career In 2006, McSweeney transitioned to mixed martial arts and moved in with The Ultimate Fighter coach Rashad Evans. The two quickly struck up a bond after McSweeney helped prepare Evans for his bout against Forrest Griffin in December 2008. While training for his fight against Travis Browne, McSweeney switched his camp from Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, New Mexico to the Grudge Training Centre in Denver, Colorado to train full-time along with fellow UFC competitors Shane Carwin, Brendan Schaub and Nate Marquardt. McSweeney recently moved out of the Grudge Training Centre to return to the tutelage of European Muay Thai legend Lucien Carbin and to open up his own gym Sledgehammer MMA in Kent, England.

The Ultimate Fighter McSweeney was on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights fighting alongside Team Rashad. McSweeney was the first overall pick and fought on the second episode of the show against Wes Shivers defeating him via majority decision. McSweeney moved on to the next round of the tournament, fighting teammate, Matt Mitrione. McSweeney won via guillotine choke in the first round. In the semi-finals, McSweeney lost against former IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson via TKO after getting caught in the crucifix position.

Ultimate Fighting Championship McSweeney was given another chance by the UFC despite losing on The Ultimate Fighter. He fought Darrill Schoonover on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale card in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 5 December, winning by TKO in the third round.

McSweeney made his second appearance for the UFC on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale preliminary card, fighting against undefeated newcomer Travis Browne. The fight ended in a TKO victory for Browne due to punches at 4:32 of the first round. McSweeney claims he was hit with illegal elbows and briefly tried to appeal the loss. McSweeney later decided against the appeal to focus on his next fight instead.

McSweeney was to drop to the Light Heavyweight division at UFC 120 to fight Tom Blackledge. However, McSweeney would instead face Fábio Maldonado after Blackledge was forced to pull out of the bout. McSweeney lost the bout in the third round via TKO due to punches.

As of 20 January 2011, conversations over McSweeney's Twitter account were strongly indicative that he is no longer a part of the UFC.

Independent promotions

McSweeney lost a unanimous decision to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez at BAMMA 5: Daley vs Shirai on 26 February 2011. He then had a further loss to submissions ace Francisco France in April 2011 at a Crowbar MMA event. Fighting on 22 July 2011, Mcsweeney defeated Lee Mein by TKO (Punches) in the 1st round. On 20 August 2011, McSweeney defeated Sam Brown by Submission (armbar) in the 1st round.

McSweeney faced former MFC Light Heavyweight Champion Emanuel Newton at Superior Cage Combat 3. He lost by submission in the first round.

McSweeney faced fellow UFC veteran Paul Buentello in a Light Heavyweight bout on 23 August 2013 at Legacy Fighting Championship 22. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

ONE Fighting Championship In 2014, McSweeney signed with the Asian promotion ONE Championship. He faced Chris Lokteff in his debut at ONE Fighting Championship: Rise of Heroes in May and won via KO due to a flying knee in round 1.

In his second fight for the promotion, McSweeney faced Cristiano Kaminishi at ONE FC: Reign of Champions in August. He again won the fight via KO in the first round.

For his third fight with the promotion, McSweeney faced Roger Gracie at ONE FC 23: Warrior's Way in December. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.

KSW McSweeney was expected to face Polish prospect Michał Andryszak at KSW 45 on 6 October 2018. However, Andryszak was pulled from the event due to injury and was replaced by Thiago Silva. McSweeney lost the fight by unanimous decision.

McSweeney faced Hatef Moeil at Mix Fight Championship 26 on 22 June 2019, losing the bout via first-round technical knockout. In September 2021, McSweeney announced that he had retired from mixed martial arts competition in order to continue his kickboxing career. However, Plazibat was replaced by Gökhan Saki after Plazibat replaced Jamal Ben Saddik against Benjamin Adegbuyi. McSweeney lost by second-round knockout via leg kicks.

In December 2022, McSweeney defeated Bugra Erdogan to win the Mix Fight Heavyweight Championship. The event took place in Frankfurt, Germany.

McSweeney was expected to face Badr Hari in the main event of Glory 88 on 9 September 2023. The fight was cancelled as Hari withdrew from the fight.

In 2024, McSweeney retired from kickboxing.

Personal life McSweeney is married with one daughter. They reside in Rockwall, Texas. He is a former security guard. On 15 August 2012, he stopped an attempted robbery at a convenience store in Las Vegas by subduing a man armed with a knife.

Championships and accomplishments

Kickboxing Mix Fight Championship Mix Fight Heavyweight Champion (one time, current)

Kickboxing record (incomplete)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Hatef Moeil TKO (punches) Mix Fight Championship 26

Hessen, Germany Loss

Thiago Silva Decision (unanimous) KSW 45: The Return to Wembley

London, England Loss

Fernando Rodrigues Jr. Decision (unanimous) Superior Challenge 17

Stockholm, Sweden Loss

Tai Tuivasa TKO (corner stoppage) Australian Fighting Championship 17

Melbourne, Australia Loss

Karol Bedorf TKO (elbows) KSW 34: New Order

Warsaw, Poland Win

Marcin Różalski Submission (rear-naked choke) KSW 32: Road to Wembley

London, England Loss

Denis Goltsov TKO (head kick and punches) Tech-Krep FC - Prime Selection 4: Grandmasters

Krasnodar, Russia Loss

Roger Gracie TKO (front kick to the body and punches) ONE FC 23: Warrior's Way

Pasay, Philippines Win

Cristiano Kaminishi KO (punch and soccer kick) ONE FC: Reign of Champions

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Win

Chris Lokteff KO (flying knee) ONE Fighting Championship: Rise of Heroes

Pasay, Philippines Win

Stefan Traunmuller Submission (armbar) FFC09: McSweeney vs. Traunmuller

Ljubljana, Slovenia Loss

Paul Buentello TKO (body punch) Legacy FC 22

Lubbock, Texas, United States Win

Dion Staring TKO (head kick and punches) CFA 10: McSweeney vs. Staring

Coral Gables, Florida, United States Loss

Matti Mäkelä TKO (punches) Superior Challenge 8

Malmö, Sweden Win

Jeff King Submission (rear-naked choke) Shamrock Events Kings of Kombat 7

Melbourne, Australia Win

Kym Robinson TKO (punches and elbows) Shamrock Events Night of Mayhem 4

Dandenong, Victoria, Australia Win

Felis Leniu Submission (rear-naked choke) Shamrock Events Kings of Kombat 6

Keysborough, Victoria, Australia Win

Doug Viney Submission (rear-naked choke) Shamrock Events Kings of Kombat 5

Keysborough, Victoria, Australia Loss

Emanuel Newton Submission (rear-naked choke) Superior Cage Combat 3

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Sam Brown Submission (armbar) Shamrock Events Kings of Kombat 4

Melbourne, Australia Win

Lee Mein TKO (punches) Bully's Fight Night 2

Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada Loss

Francisco France Submission (kimura) Crowbar MMA Spring Brawl 2011

Fargo, North Dakota, United States Loss

Ricco Rodriguez Decision (unanimous) BAMMA 5: Daley vs. Shirai

Manchester, England Loss

Fábio Maldonado TKO (punches) UFC 120

London, England Loss

Travis Browne TKO (punches) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Darrill Schoonover TKO (punches and knees) The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Ricardo Romero Submission (rear-naked choke) Ring of Combat 24

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Loss

Neil Grove KO (punches) UCMMA 1: Bad Breed

London, England Win

Roman Webber KO (knee) Cage Rage 28

London, England Win

Chris Cooper TKO (punches) FX3: Fight Night 9

Reading, Berkshire, England Loss

Mostapha al-Turk TKO (punches) Cage Rage 27

London, England Loss

Robert Paczków Submission (smother choke) Cage Rage 24

London, England Win

Mark Buchanan TKO (punches) Cage Rage 22

London, England Mixed martial arts exhibition record Loss

Roy Nelson TKO (punches)

Win

Matt Mitrione Submission (guillotine choke)

Win

Wes Shivers Decision (majority)

Bare-knuckle boxing Loss

Lavar Johnson KO (punch) Valor Bare Knuckle 1

New Town, North Dakota, USA