Devin Clark (fighter)

Devin Clark
Born (1990-04-12) April 12, 1990 [1]
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Other names Brown Bear[2]
Residence Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Nationality American
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 205.2 lb (93.1 kg; 14.66 st)
Division Light Heavyweight[1]
Middleweight[3]
Reach 75 in (191 cm)
Fighting out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Team Next Edge Academy of Martial Arts[1]
Jackson-Winkk MMA [3]
Trainer Bruce Hoyer [4]
Years active 2010–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 11
Wins 9
By knockout 3
By submission 1
By decision 5
Losses 2
By knockout 1
By submission 1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Devin "Brown Bear" Clark (born April 12, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, he was signed by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after Dana White scouted him on the "Dana White: Looking for a Fight - Season 1 Episode 6" UFC web series.[5]

Background

Clark was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1990. He started boxing when he was a kid and started competing wrestling in high school. He didn't have any real luck in wrestling until his junior year, where in the State Finals match, he lost to former UFC athlete David Michaud. The following year, his senior year, he became the South Dakota State Champion at 189 lbs.[6] Clark went to College at Rochester Tech and capture the Junior College National Championship in 2009 at 184 lbs. In 2010 he lost in the semifinals to Josh Marsh.[7] Not ready to end competing, Clark started MMA training at his local gym, Team Nak Suk, and later moved to Next Edge Academy under the tutelage of BJJ black-belt Bruce Hoyer. He quickly moved up and competed in the RFA, otherwise known as Reliance Fighting. He was a high school state wrestling champion, Junior College National wrestling champion, and an amateur boxer.[8][9]

MMA career

Early career

2013

Clark started his professional MMA career on August 24, 2013 and made his debut in Knockout Events: Battle at the Chip. He had his first win over Jeremy Spelts via TKO (punches) on round one.[10]

2014

One year later, after his first professional win, he made a move to compete in Resurrection Fighting Alliance 17 on August 22, 2014. He faced Aaron Brown and secured a win via TKO (punches) on round two.[11]

2015

On February 7, 2015, Clark joined Total Fight Challenge promotion for his third fight and faced William Vincent. He secured a win via submission (rear-naked choke).[12]

Clark returned to Resurrection Fighting Alliance promotion (RFA). He faced Jaquis William on RFA 25 on April 10, 2015, outworked William and won the fight via unanimous decision.[13]

Clark faced Dervin Lopez on RFA 29: USA vs Brazil on August 21, 2015. He was victorious with judges scored a unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) in favour of him.[14]

2016

On April 15, 2016 Dana White, Matt Serra and Robbie Lawler attended Resurrection Fighting Alliance 39 event at Sioux Falls, South Dakota for "Dana White Looking For a Fighter", a UFC web series program,[5] where Clark faced Rafael Viana for the Light Heavyweight Championship. The fight was scheduled for 5 rounds and after the second round, Viana suffered a broken hand which kept him from continuing in the fight. Clark was declared the new champion. White was impressed with Clark's performance on the night and with his MMA record of 6-0-0, White signed him up into the UFC roster.[15][16][17]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Clark made his UFC promotion debut on July 13, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 91. He prepared his UFC debut camp at Jackson-Wink MMA Academy training with Jon Jones as his training partner for a month.[18] He dropped to middleweight to face Alex Nicholson, and suffered his first lost on his MMA career lost via KO (punch) on round one.[19]

Clark moved back to light heavyweight division and faced Josh Stansbury on The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale on short notice, December 3, 2016 for the TUF 24[20] Final against Josh Stansbury. With his father's voice booming out encouragement throughout the small venue, Devin Clark simply outworked Josh Stansbury in a three-round battle.

On the strength of his takedowns and power punching, Clark (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) downed a somewhat tentative Stansbury (8-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) to nab the unanimous decision victory over him. He avoided the guillotine chokes on early rounds and planted Stansbury on his back and with aggressive striking throughout all three rounds. The move to light heavyweight proved to be successful.[21][22]

2017

Clark next faced Jake Collier on April 15, 2017, at UFC on Fox 24.[23] Clark out pointed Collier by battering him on full mount and achieving multiple takedowns, and Clark cruised through with a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-26).[24] In post fight interviews, Clark admitted that he was disappointed in his performance as he stated he missed opportunities to finish the fight.[25]

Clark faced Jan Błachowicz on October 21, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 118.[26] He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round.[27]

2018

Clark faced Mike Rodriguez on April 7, 2018 at UFC 223.[28] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[29]

Clark is expected to face Aleksandar Rakić on December 8, 2018 at UFC 231.[30]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Personal

When Clark was in high school at Lincoln, his two best friends gave him the moniker " Brown Bear", citing his dual personality - his is bear-like at time with wrestling and his pleasant demeanor as well as his brown skin color.[9] Devin is active in helping numerous non profits and those less fortunate. He is especially involved in advocating for those that have Down Syndrome and was recently appointed to the National Board of Garrets Fight.[31]

While training for his bout at UFC on Fox 24, Clark was quoted and seen advocating for Down syndrome awareness.[32]

Clark uses the cage to voice his Down Syndrome Awareness and Advocacy campaign to save the unborn Down Syndrome child from abortion.[33][34][35]

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 9–2 Mike Rodriguez Decision (unanimous) UFC 223 April 7, 2018 3 5:00 Brooklyn, New York, United States
Loss 8–2 Jan Błachowicz Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Till October 21, 2017 2 3:02 Gdańsk, Poland
Win 8–1 Jake Collier Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Reis April 15, 2017 3 5:00 Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Win 7–1 Josh Stansbury Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale December 3, 2016 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Return to Light Heavyweight.
Loss 6–1 Alex Nicholson KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker July 13, 2016 1 4:57 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States Middleweight debut.
Win 6–0 Rafael Viana TKO (hand injury) RFA 37 April 15, 2016 2 5:00 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States Won the RFA Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win 5–0 Dervin Lopez Decision (unanimous) RFA 29 August 21, 2015 3 5:00 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Win 4–0 Jaquis Williams Decision (unanimous) RFA 25 April 10, 2015 3 5:00 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Win 3–0 William Vincent Submission (rear-naked choke) Total Fight Challenge February 7, 2015 1 4:29 Willow Springs, Illinois, United States
Win 2–0 Aaron Brown TKO (punches) RFA 17 August 22, 2014 2 4:02 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Win 1–0 Jeremy Spelts TKO (punches) Knockout Events: Battle at the Chip August 4, 2013 1 1:12 Sturgis, South Dakota, South Dakota

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Devin Clark ("Brown Bear") | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology". Tapology. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  2. ↑ "Devin Clark". UFC. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  3. 1 2 Sherdog.com. "Devin". Sherdog. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  4. ↑ "Good night for S.D. fighters at RFA 29". The Advertiser. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  5. 1 2 UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship (2016-06-28), Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight – Season 1 Ep.6, retrieved 2017-05-26
  6. ↑ "Clark's path to MMA title fight has roots in childhood".
  7. ↑ NJCAA Wrestling Championship Preview (2010, February 18). Retrieved April 10, 2017, from
  8. ↑ "UFC gets new 185er for Sioux Falls show". Bloody Elbow. 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  9. 1 2 "Clark's path to MMA title fight has roots in childhood". Argus Leader. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  10. ↑ "Knockout Events: Battle At The Chip MMA Event Results". The Underground. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  11. ↑ "Resurrection Fighting Alliance 17 MMA Event Results". The Underground. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  12. ↑ "Total Fight Challenge 02/07/15 MMA Event Results". The Underground. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Resurrection Fighting Alliance 25 MMA Event Results". The Underground. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Resurrection Fighting Alliance 29 (RFA 29 USA vs Brazil) MMA Event Results". The Underground. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  15. 1 2 Becker, Dana. "Resurrection Fighting Alliance 37: Viana Vs. Clark Results & Recap". The MMA Corner. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  16. ↑ "Resurrection Fighting Alliance 37 (RFA 37) MMA Event Results". The Underground. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  17. ↑ Zane Simon (2016-04-26). "Welcome to the UFC, Devin Clark". bloodyelbow. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  18. ↑ MMAjunkie (2016-07-11), Devin Clark says training with Jon Jones has him ready for octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 91, retrieved 2017-05-26
  19. ↑ "UFC Fight Night 91 Results: McDonald vs. Lineker". MMA Fighting. 2016-07-13. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  20. ↑ "The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions". Wikipedia. 2017-02-03.
  21. ↑ "Josh Stansbury vs Devin Clark TUF 24 Finale Full Fight MMA Video". MMA-Core. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
  22. ↑ "TUF 24 Finale Results: Devin Clark defeats Josh Stansbury | BJPenn.com". | BJPenn.com. 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2017-07-27.
  23. ↑ Staff (2017-02-11). "UFC heads to Kansas City for first time for UFC on FOX 24". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  24. ↑ "UFC on FOX 24 results: Devin Clark's pressure too much in unanimous win vs. Jake Collier". MMAjunkie. 2017-04-15. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  25. ↑ John Morgan (2017-06-05). "Despite UFC on FOX 24 whitewash win, Devin Clark still unsatisfied". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  26. ↑ Staff (2017-08-09). "Jan Blachowicz meets Devin Clark at October's UFC Fight Night event in Gdansk". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  27. ↑ "Twitter was in awe of Jan Blachowicz's standing bulldog choke finisher at UFC-Gdansk". MMAjunkie. 2017-10-21. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
  28. ↑ DNA, MMA. "Devin Clark vecht tegen Mike Rodriguez tijdens een UFC 223 in Brooklyn". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  29. ↑ "UFC 223 results: Devin Clark wears down Michael Rodriguez for decision win". MMAjunkie. 2018-04-08. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  30. ↑ Alexander K. Lee (2018-09-04). "Devin Clark vs. Aleksandar Rakic announced for UFC 231". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  31. ↑ ago, Ryan Thomas1 week (2017-05-25). "UFC's Devin Clark: Kinder than your average bear". Cage Pages. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  32. ↑ Ryan Thomas (2017-05-25). "UFC's Devin Clark: Kinder than your average bear". cagepages.com. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  33. ↑ James Lynch (2017-10-07), UFN 118's Devin Clark talks Jan Błachowicz, fighting Gokhan Saki & #SavingDownSyndrome, retrieved 2017-10-09
  34. ↑ "What We Fight For". Devin "Brown Bear" Clark. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  35. ↑ "UFC's Devin Clark: Kinder than your average bear". Cage Pages. 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  • Professional MMA record for Devin Clark from Sherdog Edit this at Wikidata
  • "Devin Clark". UFC.com.
  • Devin Clark Profile at Topology
  • Devin Clark Twitter
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