The Ultimate Fighter 29: Who is Bryan Battle?
By Amy Kaplan
The Ultimate Fighter 29: Who is Bryan Battle?
The UFC has finally announced that the hit reality TV show, The Ultimate Fighter is back. The 29th season of the show will feature 16 fighters, eight bantamweights and eight middleweights who will compete through the season to be crowned the ultimate fighter in the big finale event.
One of those fighters is middleweight, Bryan Battle, who was announced as one of the 16 fighters during the UFC Vegas 24 broadcast on Saturday.
Battle is 26-years-old and trains out of Hayastan MMA Charlotte in Charlotte, NC. His fight name is a head-scratcher, “Pooh Bear” and we’ll be sure to get to the bottom of that nickname soon enough. He’s got a current pro-MMA record of 5-1, with his only defeat coming by way of a first-round armbar at the hands of Nickalas Martino in 2019.
The fight is also something Battle credits with one of his most embarrassing moments.
“In my second pro fight I knocked my opponent out,” he said. “I didn’t realize he was out, took him down, woke him up. Then he put me in an armbar.”
Watch Bryan Battle’s full TUF pre-show interview right here
Battle is currently riding a four-fight win streak with all four of them being finishes, three by way of submission, one by TKO/KO. He has an impressive record for a new fighter but hasn’t been tested on a big show yet, as all of his fights have come via regional promotions Fight for It, Showcase MMA and HR MMA.
According to his TUF questionnaire, it was Robbie Lawler who inspired him to pick up MMA.
“I had been a fan since high school,” he said. “However, watching Robbie Lawler’s title run forced me to actually train. It was amazing to watch Robbie overcome challenges. Plus, I think it was just in me.”
Next. Everything you need to know about The Ultimate Fighter: Team Volkanovski vs. Team Ortega. dark