Introduction
Paul Sass (born 4 August 1988) is an English mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also formerly competed for the UFC.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Sass' professional record stands at 14-2 with eight of the victories by triangle choke and one by triangle armbar. These nine triangle victories have earned him a world submission record. His penultimate fight on the domestic circuit was against Rob Sinclair, the current British Lightweight Champion. Sass defeated Sinclair by split decision.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Sass signed a four-fight deal with the UFC, joining Kurt Warburton, Tom Blackledge and Rob Broughton as the new additions to the UFC roster.
In his UFC debut at UFC 120 he submitted Canadian Mark Holst in the first round with a Triangle Choke. Sass picked up Submission of the Night honors and a $60,000 bonus following the event.
Sass faced Michael Johnson on 1 October 2011 at UFC on Versus 6. Sass defeated Johnson in the first round via heel hook submission.
Sass was expected to face Evan Dunham on 28 January 2012 at UFC on Fox 2. However, Sass was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by Nik Lentz.
Sass defeated Jacob Volkmann on 26 May 2012 at UFC 146 via submission (triangle armbar).
Sass faced off against Matt Wiman on 26 September 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic. Wiman defeated Sass via first round submission (armbar).
Sass fought Danny Castillo on 16 February 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barao vs. McDonald. Sass lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.
Bellator MMA
Sass signed with Bellator in May and made his debut at Bellator 104 in the autumn of 2013. He faced Rod Montoya in a lightweight contest and won via submission in the first round.
Championships and accomplishments
Grappling
- Winner of Ground Control Grappling Tournament (Absolute Division)
- Winner of Ren Bu Kai Grappling Tournament (Under 75k)
Mixed martial arts
- OMMAC Lightweight Champion
- Runner Up - UK Rising Star (Cage Warriors 08 Awards)
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Submission of the Night (Two times)
- ^ Championships and accomplishments is from the website http://www.paulsass.co.uk/
- http://mmajunkie.com/news/21052/ufc-120-submission-of-the-night-winner-says-its-just-paul-sass.mma
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 16 matches | 14 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 0 |
| By submission | 13 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 14–2 | Rod Montoya | Submission (toe hold) | Bellator 104 | 18 October 2013 | 1 | 2:01 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US | |
| Loss | 13–2 | Danny Castillo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on Fuel TV: Barao vs. McDonald | 16 February 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England, UK | |
| Loss | 13–1 | Matt Wiman | Submission (armbar) | UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic | 29 September 2012 | 1 | 3:48 | Nottingham, England, UK | |
| Win | 13–0 | Jacob Volkmann | Submission (triangle armbar) | UFC 146 | 26 May 2012 | 1 | 1:54 | Las Vegas, Nevada, US | Submission of the Night |
| Win | 12–0 | Michael Johnson | Submission (inverted heel hook) | UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson | 1 October 2011 | 1 | 3:00 | Washington, D.C., US | |
| Win | 11–0 | Mark Holst | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC 120 | 16 October 2010 | 1 | 4:45 | London, England, UK | Submission of the Night |
| Win | 10–0 | Jason Young | Submission (heel hook) | OMMAC 4: Victorious | 6 March 2010 | 1 | 2:01 | Liverpool, England, UK | Defended OMMAC Lightweight Championship |
| Win | 9–0 | Rob Sinclair | Decision (split) | OMMAC 2: Business As Usual | 3 October 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Liverpool, England, UK | Won OMMAC Lightweight Championship |
| Win | 8–0 | Ian Jones | Submission (heel hook) | OMMAC 1: Assassins | 8 August 2009 | 1 | 0:32 | Liverpool, England, UK | |
| Win | 7–0 | Harvey Harra | Submission (triangle choke) | CG 11: Resurrection | 7 March 2009 | 1 | 2:15 | Liverpool, England, UK | |
| Win | 6–0 | Jason Ball | Submission (triangle choke) | CG 10: Clash of the Titans | 29 November 2008 | 2 | 1:26 | Liverpool, England, UK | |
| Win | 5–0 | Andrew Fisher | Submission (triangle choke) | CG 9: Beatdown | 4 October 2008 | 1 | 3:37 | Liverpool, England, UK | |
| Win | 4–0 | Martin Stapleton | Submission (triangle choke) | Cage Gladiators 8 | 27 July 2008 | 1 | 3:18 | Liverpool, England, UK | |
| Win | 3–0 | Will Burke | Submission (triangle choke) | Cage Gladiators 7 | 28 April 2008 | 1 | 1:04 | Liverpool, England, UK | |
| Win | 2–0 | Steve Warris | Submission (triangle choke) | Cage Gladiators 5 | 4 November 2007 | 1 | 2:31 | Liverpool, England, UK | |
| Win | 1–0 | David Johnson | Submission (triangle choke) | Cage Gladiators 4 | 5 August 2007 | 1 | 1:14 | Liverpool, England, UK |