Richard Walsh (fighter)

Richard Walsh
Born Richard Walsh
1 December 1988
Other names Filthy Rich
Residence Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality Australian
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Division Welterweight
Reach 73.0 inches (1.85 m)[1]
Fighting out of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Team VT1 Mixed Martial Arts Academy & Gracie Academy Chatswood
Rank      Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (Gracie Humaitá)
Years active 2009–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 11
Wins 8
By knockout 4
By submission 1
By decision 3
Losses 3
By knockout 1
By submission 1
By decision 1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Richard "Richy" Walsh (born December 1, 1988) is an Australian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of the UFC. He was also a semifinalist on the The Ultimate Fighter: Canada vs. Australia.

Background

Walsh graduated from St. Ignatius College in Sydney in 2006. He went on to complete a bachelor's degree in construction at the University of New South Wales before going to study abroad at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Walsh also enrolled in postgraduate law, but chose instead to pursue mixed martial arts.[2]

Mixed martial arts career

Amateur career

Walsh competed extensively before becoming a professional athlete. He has fought in both amateur Muay Thai and western boxing where he holds records of 10-0 and 6-0 respectively. He is also a former Brazilian Jiu Jitsu state champion.[3]

Early professional career

Walsh made his professional mixed martial arts debut on 29 May 2009 when he defeated Tahu Pauro by first-round submission. He went on to fight seven more times, four of which ended in first round victories, before auditioning for TUF: Nations. As of September 2014, Walsh has officially lost twice. His losses comes at the hands of TUF: Smashes welterweight winner, Robert Whittaker, and Kiichi Kunimoto.

The Ultimate Fighter

On December 5, 2013, it was announced that Walsh had been selected as one of the welterweight fighters representing Australia for The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia. The reality show was led by Patrick Côté and Kyle Noke and premiered in early 2014.[4]

In episode five of the show Walsh, who was placed on Team Noke, faced Matt DesRoches from Team Cote. Dominating the fight from start to finish, Walsh scored a unanimous decision and earned the second win for his team. He proceeded to the semi-finals of the competition.[5]

In the semi-finals, Walsh faced the much-touted Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Walsh was defeated in the first round via rear-naked choke.[6]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Walsh fought former teammate Chris Indich on the undercard of The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale: Bisping vs. Kennedy.[7] The event took place on April 16, 2014 at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.[8] Walsh was able to control the fight for three rounds and was awarded a unanimous decision as a result.[9][10]

Walsh faced Kiichi Kunimoto at UFC Fight Night 52.[11] He lost the fight via controversial split decision. Many prominant MMA sites and fighters scored the bout in Walsh's favor given his dominance in the first two rounds of the fight.[12]

Walsh faced Alan Jouban on February 28, 2015 at UFC 184.[13] Jouban won the fight via knockout in the first round.[14]

Personal life

Walsh trains at the same gym as fellow UFC fighter and TUF 20 alumni Alex Chambers. Unlike Chambers, Walsh originally had no intention of competing. However, he has been a longtime fan of MMA and combat sports which finally led to his decision to turn professional.[15]

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 8–3 Alan Jouban KO (elbow and punches) UFC 184 28 February 2015 1 2:19 Los Angeles, California, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 8–2 Kiichi Kunimoto Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson 20 September 2014 3 5:00 Saitama, Japan
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 8–1 Chris Indich Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale: Bisping vs. Kennedy 16 April 2014 3 5:00 Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 7–1 Aaron Forsterling Decision (unanimous) Brace For War 18: Canberra 21 December 2012 3 5:00 Canberra, Australia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 6–1 Amer Hussein TKO (punches) Proud Warrior Productions 5: Magalhaes vs. Brown 14 September 2012 1 Sydney, Australia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 5–1 Callan Potter KO (knee) Gladiators Cage Fighting: Series 2 31 August 2012 1 4:15 Sydney, Australia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 4–1 Josh Russell KO (punches) War on the North Shore 15 17 April 2012 1 1:10 Sydney, Australia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 3–1 Adriano Magnani TKO (punches) Pro Cagefighting 1: Gladiators 12 June 2011 1 4:30 Sydney, Australia
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 2–1 Robert Whittaker Submission (rear-naked choke) Cage Fighting Championships 11 20 November 2009 2 2:40 Sydney, Australia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 2–0 Blake Doering Decision (unanimous) War on the North Shore 10 25 July 2009 3 5:00 Sydney, Australia
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 1–0 Tahu Pauro Submission (rear-naked choke) Elite Fight Night 8 29 May 2009 1 3:30 Sydney, Australia

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Richard Walsh's profile". Tapology.com. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  2. ↑ "http://richywalsh.com.au/bio/". richywalsh.com.au. Retrieved on the 23 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "http://www.ufc.com/tuf/fighter/richard-walsh". UFC.com. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.
  4. ↑ Helwani, Ariel. "TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia cast revealed", "mmafighting.com". December 5, 2013. Retrieved on the 23 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Downes, Dan. "TUF Nations: Episode 5 Recap", "ufc.com". February 12, 2014. Retrieved on the 23 July 2014.
  6. ↑ Bohn, Mike. "TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia cast revealed", "mmajunkie.com". April 2, 2014. Retrieved on the 23 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Ducey, Liam. "Perth mixed martial arts fighter Chris Indich needs decisive victory in UFC showdown", "The Sydney Morning Herald", Australia, 15 April 2014. Retrieved on 24 July 2014.
  8. ↑ Grienke, Keith. "UFC Headed To Quebec City For April 16 Event", "TopMMANews.com",December 10, 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Ducey, Liam. "Perth fighter Chris Indich outclassed in UFC debut", "The Sydney Morning Herald", Australia, 17 April 2014. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.
  10. ↑ Herbertson, Lisa. "Polished Fighter Earns UFC Fans", "North Shore Times", Australia, 30 April 2014. Retrieved on 24 July 2014.
  11. ↑ Neil Rooke (2014-07-17). "Richard Walsh vs. Kiichi Kunimoto Slated for UFC Fight Night 52 in Japan". mmacorner.com. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  12. ↑ Al-Shatti, Shaun. "UFC Fight Night 52 in Tweets: Pros react to Mark Hunt's walk-off KO of Roy Nelson, more", "MMA Fighting",20 September 2014. Retrieved on 21 September 2014.
  13. ↑ Staff (2014-12-11). "Alan Jouban vs. Richard Walsh booked for UFC 184 in Los Angeles". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
  14. ↑ Brent Brookhouse (2015-02-28). "UFC 184 results, photos: Alan Jouban devastates Richard Walsh with nasty elbow". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
  15. ↑ Murray, Oliver. "VT1 Academy fighters Richad Walsh and Alex Chambers take step closer to Ultimate Fighting Championship dreams", "Daily Telegraph", Sydney, 16 December 2013. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.