Nick Newell

Nicholas George Newell Upon joining his wrestling team, he thought about quitting after his very first session because it was "the hardest thing I had done in my life", but his mother did not allow him to, and instead he worked hard from then on.

After graduating from high school, Newell attended Western New England University where he continued wrestling. He has over 300 victories between high school and college in wrestling (if you include non competition matches in college).

Newell stated that while growing up, he idolized former Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott, who has no right hand and was an inspiration for Newell to challenge himself.

His roommate in college was former WWE wrestler Curt Hawkins. They would watch The Ultimate Fighter, which was on the same channel right after WWE Raw, and Newell has said this is what inspired him to take up MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Before turning professional, he amassed an amateur record of 5 wins, 1 loss. He describes his early MMA career as a struggle, not because he could not win, but because other fighters did not want to fight a one armed fighter. The potential opponents who turned down fights against him felt that it would be a lose-lose situation for them, as if they won, it would've been against a one-armed fighter; if they lost, it would've been against a fighter with one arm. As such, finding quality opponents became a struggle for Newell.

Xtreme Fighting Championships In 2011, Newell signed a multi-fight deal with both Shark Fights and Xtreme Fighting Championships. He was supposed to have made his Shark Fights debut at Shark Fights 19, however an injury resulted in him being left off the card. He had his first bout with XFC at XFC 15: Tribute. The event was renamed 'Tribute' in honour of Nick's friend and fellow XFC signee Abi Mestre, who was killed in a motorcycle accident. Mestre was a close friend and teammate of Newell's who joined Nick last year at the open tryouts for the XFC.

Newell defeated Denis Hernandez at XFC 15 with a dominant 71 second submission (heel hook) victory. Multiple videos and sources covered the fight, with many videos of the whole fight being posted on multiple MMA websites, as well as being shared across many Facebook and Twitter pages worldwide.

He did an interview with Bleacher Report to talk about the fame he has been getting since his first televised fight at the XFC event. According to him, all the videos of the fight combined have reached around 4,500,000 views.

Newell then defeated Chris Coggins via majority decision in what was Newell's biggest test in his MMA career so far.

Newell defeated David Mays at XFC 19 after landing a big left knee on Mays chin, rendering him unconscious.

He next fought for the vacated XFC Lightweight title at XFC 21 against Bellator veteran Eric Reynolds. Newell won the fight via submission in the first round and took the XFC Lightweight Title in the process.

On June 14, he was scheduled to defend his XFC title against Scott Holtzman, however Newell turned down the fight stating that he only wants to fight ex-UFC fighters. Newell would be stripped of his belt.

World Series of Fighting

On May 28, 2013, Newell signed a multi-fight contract with World Series of Fighting. WSOF President Ray Sefo hinted that Newell will be featured on the upcoming WSOF 4 & 5 cards against an opponent who has yet to be named. On June 20, it was announced that Newell would fight Keon Caldwell at World Series of Fighting 4. He won the fight via submission in the first round.

For his second fight with the promotion, Newell faced Sabah Fadai at World Series of Fighting 7: Karakhanyan vs. Palmer on December 7, 2013. Again, he won the fight via submission in the first round.

Newell challenged Justin Gaethje for the WSOF Lightweight Championship at WSOF 11. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round, suffering the first defeat of his professional career.

On February 13, 2015, it was announced that Newell has signed a new four-fight contract with WSOF.

After his first loss, Newell returned to the promotion on April 10, 2015, at WSOF 20. He faced Joe Condon and won the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision.

Newell returned to the promotion on October 17, 2015, at WSOF 24. He faced Tom Marcellino and won the back-and-forth bout by unanimous decision. After the fight Newell announced his retirement from MMA.

Legacy Fighting Alliance

Newell came out of retirement on March 9, 2018, when he met Sonny Luque in a lightweight main event at LFA 35 in Houston. The event aired on AXS TV. Newell won the contest via tapout due to a neck crank at 2:10 of the first round.

Dana White's Contender Series

On April 25, 2018, it was announced that Newell would be featured on Dana White's Contender Series 14. He faced Alex Munoz on the July 24 edition of the series, and lost the fight by unanimous decision.

CES MMA On April 15, 2019, it was announced that Newell has signed with CES MMA and would be making his promotional debut against Kalvin Hackney at CES MMA 56 on May 31, 2019. However, Hackney was forced to withdraw from the bout and was replaced by Antonio Castillo Jr. Newell submitted Castillo Jr. in the first round with a rear naked choke.

Bellator MMA On July 23, 2019, it was announced that Newell had signed a single-fight deal with Bellator MMA. Newell's debut took place at Bellator 225 against Corey Browning on August 24. He won the fight via an arm triangle submission in the first round.

On September 18, 2019, Bellator president Scott Coker announced on his social media that Newell had signed a four-fight contract with the organization. In his first fight on that contract, Newell faced Manny Muro at Bellator 232 on October 26, 2019. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision.

Newell was expected to face Zach Zane at Bellator 241 on March 13, 2020. However, the whole event was eventually cancelled due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.

Newell faced Bobby King at Bellator 260 on June 11, 2021. He lost the fight via split decision.

Personal life Newell and his wife have two sons, Wyatt (born 2018) and Brady (born 2020).

Newell's life story is the focus of the film Notorious Nick, where he is played by Cody Christian.

Newell currently runs an MMA school called Fighting Arts Academy in Milford, Connecticut.

Championships and accomplishments World Series of Fighting 2013 Submission of the Year Xtreme Fighting Championships XFC Lightweight Championship (One time; former)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Bobby King Decision (split) Bellator 260

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Loss

Manny Muro Decision (split) Bellator 232

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

Corey Browning Submission (arm-triangle choke) Bellator 225

Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States Win

Antonio Castillo Jr. Submission (rear-naked choke) CES MMA 56

Hartford, Connecticut, United States Loss

Alex Munoz Decision (unanimous) Dana White's Contender Series 14

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Sonny Luque Submission (neck crank) LFA 35

Houston, Texas, United States Win

Tom Marcellino Decision (unanimous) WSOF 24

Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States Win

Joe Condon Decision (unanimous) WSOF 20

Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States Loss

Justin Gaethje TKO (punch) WSOF 11

Daytona Beach, Florida, United States Win

Sabah Fadai Submission (guillotine choke) WSOF 7

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Win

Keon Caldwell Submission (guillotine choke) WSOF 4

Ontario, California, United States. Win

Eric Reynolds Submission (rear-naked choke) XFC 21: Night of Champions 2

Nashville, Tennessee, United States Win

David Mays KO (knee) XFC 19: Charlotte Showdown

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Win

Chris Coggins Decision (majority) XFC 17: Apocalypse

Jackson, Tennessee, United States Win

Denis Hernandez Submission (heel hook) XFC 15: Tribute

Tampa, Florida, United States Win

Anthony Kaponis Submission (armbar) Cage Titans 5 - Vendetta

Boston, Massachusetts, United States Win

Billy Walsh Submission (armbar) Cage Titans 3 - Mayhem

Randolph, Massachusetts, United States Win

Steve Butler Submission (rear-naked choke) Triumph Fighter 1 - Supremacy

Milford, New Hampshire, United States Win

John Biasiucci Submission (rear-naked choke) ICE Fighter - Christmas Beatdown

Worcester, Massachusetts, United States Win

Daniel Ford TKO (punch) CFX 3 - Rumble in the Jungle

Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States