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Tony Gravely

American mixed martial arts fighter From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Tony Gravely[1] (born September 28, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. A professional since 2015, he is most notable for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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Background

Gravely's father was a taekwondo instructor for over 25 years, so he started taekwondo when he was about three or four years old. He trained and competed in taekwondo, until he started wrestling in sixth grade. He continued wrestling from sixth grade all the way through college.[6]

A native of Martinsville, Virginia, Gravely attended Magna Vista High School, where he was a four-time all-state wrestler. He had two undefeated seasons and was a two-time Virginia wrestling state champion in high school.[7]

After high school, Gravely attended Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. In three seasons wrestling for the Mountaineers, Gravely qualified for two NCAA tournaments and won a Southern Conference championship. He graduated Appalachian State with a major in construction management.[8]

According to the Martinsville Bulletin, Gravely quit his construction project manager day job in 2016 and decided to focus full-time on an MMA career.[9] He trained at Tech MMA Academy in Southwest Virginia for years, as he pursued a career as a professional fighter.[10]

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Mixed martial arts career

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Early career

Following a 6-1 amateur career, Gravely had his first professional fight in October 2015 against Chad Wiggington. He won the fight at the Elite 8 Warrior Challenge in a unanimous decision to claim his first victory.[11] In his second bout, Gravely lost to Pat Sabatini by first-round rear-naked choke submission at CFFC 52.

After a six fight winning streak, Gravely suffered dropped three of his next four fights, getting submitted by Ricky Bandejas in the second round, outpointed by Merab Dvalishili, and armbarred by Manny Bermudez. For his lone outing with Legacy Fighting Alliance at LFA 17, Gravely defeated Keith Richardson via unanimous decision. He also defeated Jerrell Hodge and Jordan Morales. On the strength of that run, Gravely challenged Patchy Mix (11-0) for the KOTC Bantamweight Championship at KOTC: No Retreat in May 2018. Gravely was submitted by the first round, falling to Mix's dangerous guillotine. Gravely defeated his next three foes via TKO that saw wins over Drako Rodriguez, earning him the KOTC Bantamweight Championship and James Quigg. In the main event of CES MMA 53, he knocked out Kody Nordby in the first round for the CES MMA Bantamweight Championship. Gravely would defend his CES MMA title twice with back to back stoppages at CES MMA 54 where he knocked out Kris Moutinho in the fourth round and CES MMA 55 where Gravely submitted Darren Mima in round two via rear-naked choke.[12][13]

Gravely got his break in UFC when he was selected to be a part of Dana White's Contender Series 24 in 2019. He earned the formal invite to join the UFC after recording a knockout of Ray Rodriguez in the third round of his Contender Series fight.[14]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Gravely made his UFC debut against Brett Johns on January 25, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. dos Santos.[15] He lost the fight via a rear-naked choke in round three.[16] This bout earned him the Fight of the Night award.[17] Brett Johns in Raleigh, North Carolina. After his debut, Gravely announced he would be moving to Florida to train with American Top Team.[18]

Gravely faced Geraldo de Freitas on November 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos.[19] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[20]

Gravely was scheduled to face Nate Maness at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum on April 17, 2021.[21] However, Maness was removed from the bout for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by Anthony Birchak.[22] Gravely won the fight via technical knockout in round two.[23] This fight earned him a Performance of the Night award.[24]

The bout with Maness was rescheduled for September 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann.[25] Gravely lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.[26]

Gravely faced promotional newcomer Saimon Oliveira on January 22, 2022, at UFC 270.[27] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[28]

Gravely faced Johnny Muñoz Jr. on June 4, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 207.[29] He won the bout in the first round after knocking down Muñoz after the latter ran into an uppercut on a takedown attempt.[30]

Gravely faced Javid Basharat on September 17, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 210.[31] He lost the bout via unanimous decision.[32]

Gravely faced Victor Henry on March 11, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 221.[33] He lost the fight via split decision.[34]

On June 5, 2023, news surfaced that Gravely had fought out his contract and the organization opted not to renew it.[35]

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Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
32 matches 23 wins 9 losses
By knockout 10 1
By submission 3 5
By decision 10 3
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[36]

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See also

References

External links

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