Alex Reid (fighter)

Alexander Aristides Reid (born 21 July 1975) is an English former mixed martial artist (MMA), fighting under Bellator, BAMMA and Cage Rage. He is also an actor, having been in Hollyoaks and making an appearance in Drifters. Reid was the winner of Channel 4's 7th and final series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2010.

Early life
Reid was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, where he attended the Connaught School. His father was a paratrooper and his mother was a homemaker. He is the youngest of six siblings.

Acting
Reid played Jason Cunliffe in the Channel 4 soap-opera Hollyoaks in 2001. He appeared in the comedy series My Hero in 2002. He also appeared in the TV Series Drifters (2016), as himself.

Mixed martial arts
Reid first got into martial arts at 14 and subsequently turned to mixed martial arts: "It was just a natural progression. I started off doing Kung Fu, Karate-style tournaments before moving on to Boxing, Kickboxing, a little bit of Judo, Jiu-Jitsu. MMA was a natural progression for a young lad wanting to find the latest and best style. It's just the most efficient and effective blend of martial arts really." He participated in mixed martial arts promotions Cage Rage, BAMMA and UCMMA and made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2000.

Between 2004 and 2007, Reid appeared in the Cage Rage Championships. During this period, he achieved a record of 8 wins and 2 losses. On 22 September 2007, Reid faced Matt Ewin for the Cage Rage British Middleweight Championship at Cage Rage 23: Unbelievable, where he completed to fight until full time in which lost by a few points.

Return to mixed martial arts
On 15 May 2010, Reid was scheduled to return to the cage professionally for the first time since 2007 to face Tom "Kong" Watson for the vacant BAMMA Middleweight Championship at BAMMA 3. However, Reid injured his knee while filming his documentary TV series Alex Reid: The Fight of His Life and was forced to pull out of the Reid-Watson fight and he was replaced by Matt Horwich. The pair rescheduled to meet at BAMMA 4

On 14 May 2011, Reid announced his retirement from MMA at an UCMMA 20 event in London. However, he did not rule out a return to the sport in future. His retirement was short lived, as he accepted a challenge from Jason Barrett at UCMMA 22. During the weigh-ins the day prior to the 2011 fight, both men weighed in at just under the 13 st 3 lb mark, being 13 st 2 lb and 13 st 1 lb respectively. On 6 August, Reid defeated Jason Barrett, via triangle choke in the first round, marking his first win in 6 years in MMA. On 16 July 2016, Reid made his return to MMA for the first time in nearly four years.

Celebrity Big Brother
On 3 January 2010, Reid became one of twelve housemates in Channel 4's 7th and final series of Celebrity Big Brother. Reid managed to win over the public and on 29 January he won the show with 65% of the vote beating the bookies favourites Dane Bowers and Vinnie Jones to be awarded most successful Celebrity Big Brother winner by public vote.

Personal life
Reid began dating English media personality Katie Price in July 2009, thus becoming embroiled in intense tabloid publicity in Britain following Price's divorce from Peter Andre, her first husband. In February 2010, Reid and Price married in Las Vegas. Price announced they had separated in January 2011.

Reid later began dating glamour model and fellow Celebrity Big Brother winner Chantelle Houghton. On 17 June 2012, Houghton gave birth to a daughter, Dolly Reid. The couple separated in October 2012.

In March 2021, Reid disclosed that he had been diagnosed with autism at the age of 45.

In April 2021, Reid was sentenced to eight weeks, half of which to be served in prison, for contempt of court after making a false statement in a claim for compensation after a car crash.

Reid and his fiancee have a daughter born in 2021 and twin boys born in 2023.