Ryan Thomas (fighter)

Ryan Drew Thomas (born November 5, 1984) is a black belt under Ricardo Liborio and an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division. He has a degree from Eastern Illinois University in elementary education. He also wrestled at Eastern Illinois University.

Mixed martial arts Career
Ryan started his career at middleweight (185 pounds), but dropped to welterweight (170 pounds) after only a few fights.

Ryan has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championships, Bellator Fighting Championships, Courage Fighting Championships, Dragons Cage, Genesis MMA, Colosseum Combat, World Fighting Championships, and he also won the "Iowa Meanest Man Tournament" (a sixteen-man tournament) in Davenport, Iowa.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
On August 9, 2008, Thomas made his UFC debut at UFC 87 against Ben Saunders, losing via submission in round two.

His next fight was against TUF Alumni Matt Brown at UFC 91, again, losing via submission in round two. He was then cut from the promotion.

Bellator Fighting Championships
In April 2010, Thomas signed with upstart promotion Bellator Fighting Championships. He took part in the promotions Season Two Welterweight Tournament, losing to Ben Askren in a Quarterfinal bout via stoppage in the first round.

After Jim Wallhead was pulled from the tournament, Thomas was given another Quarterfinal bout at Bellator 15 against Jacob McClintock, Thomas defeated McClintock by TKO in the first round to receive a rematch with Askren.

On May 20, 2010, Thomas got a rematch with Ben Askren in a Semifinal bout at Bellator 19, Thomas lost via unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the contest 30-27 in favor of Askren.

Thomas eventually faced Jim Wallhead on October 14, 2010 at Bellator 32 He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Colosseum Combat
 * CC Welterweight Championship (Two time)
 * Interim CC Welterweight Championship (One time)


 * Courage Fighting Championships
 * CFC Welterweight Championship (One time)