John Phillips (fighter)

John Phillips (born 9 June 1985) is a Welsh Middleweight mixed martial artist. A professional since 2005, he has also competed for BAMMA, Cage Rage, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Cage Warriors. He is the former BAMMA Middleweight Champion.

Career
Phillips faced Jesse Taylor for the latter's first defense of the Cage Warriors Middleweight on 4 May 2013 on the Cage Warriors 54 card. Phillips lost to Taylor via submission early in the first round.

His next fight came on 17 March 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Volkov against Charles Byrd, where both fighters made their UFC debut. He lost the fight via a submission due to a rear-naked choke in round three.

Phillips faced Kevin Holland on 1 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2. Phillips lost the fight via submission late in round three.

Phillips faced fellow Welshman Jack Marshman on 16 March 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 5 At the weigh-ins, Marshman weighed in at 188 lbs, 2 pounds over the middleweight non-title fight limit of 186 lbs. He was fined 20% of his fight purse and the bout proceeded at catchweight. Phillips lost the bout via split decision.

In his next fight Phillips faced Alen Amedovski at UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier on 28 September 2019. He won via knockout in 17 seconds of the first round. This was his first win in the UFC and earned him the $50,000 performance of the night bonus.

Phillips was scheduled to face Duško Todorović on 21 March 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic travel bans, the bout was moved to Cage Warriors 113 but was later on removed from the card due to Todorović's travel restrictions.

Phillips was expected to face Duško Todorović on 16 July 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Ige. On 8 July Todorović pulled out due to a potential medical issue. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Khamzat Chimaev. Phillips lost the fight via submission in round two.

Phillips faced Jun Yong Park on 18 October 2020 at UFC Fight Night 180. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

On 13 November 2020 it was announced that Phillips had been released from the UFC.

Mixed martial arts

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Alen Amedovski
 * BAMMA
 * BAMMA Middleweight Champion (One time)
 * Rage in the Cage
 * Rage in the Cage Middleweight Tournament Winner (One time)