James Brett Wilks (born April 5, 1978 in Leicestershire) is an English professional MMA fighter. He was the winner of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom. Wilks currently fights for Ultimate Fighting Championship in the UK welterweight division.
Biography[]
Wilks was born and raised in Leicestershire, England. He attended Uppingham School. After leaving Uppingham in 1996, Wilks went to Bournemouth University, obtaining a degree in Business and Land Management.[1] He moved to the United States in June 2000.[2]
Mixed Martial Arts[]
Wilks began training TaeKwonDo and Bruce Lee's martial art style, Jeet Kune Do while living in the United Kingdom. He moved to the United States and began training under Erik Paulson with Combat Submission Wrestling. Wilks moved so he could get better at his jiu-jitsu and other ground skills. Wilks holds a black belt in TaeKwonDo and a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.[1]
He had his first professional fight against The Ultimate Fighter 5 competitor, Roman Mitichyan. Wilks won the fight via armbar submission in the second round. After the fight he took around a year break from fighting so he could focus on training his students. He came back to have his second fight and lost to Jimmy Smith. Before going to tape the The Ultimate Fighter 9, Wilks won the Gladiator Challenge welterweight title.[3]
After filming of the Ultimate Fighter ended, Wilks opened up his own gym, Lightning MMA in Laguna Hills, California.
The Ultimate Fighter[]
After starting his pro career with a 5-2 mark in local shows in California, Wilks was chosen to compete on The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom. Representing Team UK under coach Michael Bisping. He defeated the highly-regarded Che Mills by submission in an elimination match earning him a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete on the show. Wilks had his second fight against Team United States fighter Frank Lester. Wilks won the fight by submission in the second round. In the semi-finals, Wilks faced Lester in a for a second straight time, after Lester returned to the tournament to defeat David Faulkner while substituting for Jason Pierce, who was removed from the competition by Dana White. In the rematch, Wilks defeated Lester by TKO via Knees in the third round, earning a spot in the live finale.
Ultimate Fighting Championships[]
Wilks made his debut for the UFC winning against DaMarques Johnson at the TUF 9 Finale on June 20, 2009. The fight crowned Wilks as the TUF 9 welterweight champion. Wilks dominated the fight against Johnson showing off strong striking and good submission attempts. Wilks finished the fight with Johnson via a rear naked choke submission in the closing seconds of the first round.[4]
Wilks lost to Matt Brown via 3rd round TKO, on November 14, 2009 at UFC 105.
Wilks has verbally agreed to face Peter Sobotta at UFC 115.[5]
Mixed Martial Arts Record[]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 14 | 6 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 1 |
| By submission | 4 | 1 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| Record | Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-3 | Loss |  Matt Brown
|
TKO (Punches) | UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera | November 14, 2009 | 3 | 2:26 | Manchester, England | |
| 6-2 | Win | DaMarques Johnson
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UFC: The Ultimate Finale 9 | June 20, 2009 | 1 | 4:54 | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA | Became the TUF 9 Champion |
| 5-2 | Win | Mike Robles
|
Submission (Armbar) | GC 85: Cross Fire | October 25, 2008 | 2 | 4:27 | San Diego, California, USA | |
| 4-2 | Win | John Cole
|
TKO (Knees) | Apocalypse Fights 1: The First Sign | August 7, 2008 | 1 | 0:26 | Coachella, California, USA | |
| 3-2 | Win | Shawn Nagano
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UAGF 4: Kaos on the Kampus | May 20, 2006 | 2 | 4:22 | Los Angeles, California, USA | |
| 2-2 | Loss | Patrick Speight
|
Decision (Unanimous) | Total Combat 13: Anarchy | March 11, 2006 | 3 | 3:00 | Del Mar, California, USA | |
| 2-1 | Win | Ray Lizama
|
TKO (Cut) | KOTC 41: Relentless | September 24, 2004 | 1 | 1:14 | San Jacinto, California, USA | |
| 1-1 | Loss | Jimmy Smith
|
Submission (Kneebar) | KOTC 37: Hitmaster | August 6, 2004 | 1 | 1:40 | San Jacinto, California, USA | |
| 1-0 | Win |  Roman Mitichyan
|
Submission (Armbar) | UAGF Ultimate Cage Fighting 4 | October 12, 2003 | 2 | Upland, California, USA |
Titles and Accomplishments[]
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9 (Welterweight)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.ufc.com/JamesWilks
- ↑ James "Lightning" Wilks. Myspace.com. Retrieved on June 20, 2009.
- ↑ http://www.jameslightningwilks.com/biograph/
- ↑ The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale live round by round updates and official results. MMAJunkie.com (June 20, 2009). Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved on June 20, 2009.
- ↑ http://www.groundandpound.de/mma/amerika/news/sobotta-gegen-wilks-bei-ufc-115/
External links[]
- Official Fight Team
Professional MMA record for James Wilks from Sherdog Fight Finder- Official Website
- UFC Profile
- Personal Myspace Page
Template:The Ultimate Fighter 9
ja:ジェームス・ウィルクス