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On Sept. 28, Bryan Battle will be featured in the lone welterweight fight of UFC Paris against Kevin Jousset. Battle, the season 29 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, entered the UFC as a middleweight in 2021 but began his career at an even heavier weight class.
In a video circulating social media ahead of Battle's eighth UFC appearance, fans discovered that 'The Butcher' began his MMA career as a heavyweight. The 30-year-old confirmed the video, saying he was 300 pounds when he started training and credits his physical transformation to discovering his passion in training.
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Former two-division UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen was of the many to react to Battle's surprising origin story, calling it a "cool" journey.
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Sonnen tweeted:
"That is a very cool story. Good luck."
In the original video, Battle was seen being knocked out cold with a head kick from Michel Andre in his amateur debut in 2017. He would drop down to light heavyweight in his next fight five months later and go on an eight-fight win streak in the division that included wins over eventual PFL champion Impa Kasanganay and current UFC middleweight Cody Brundage.
Battle made his professional debut in 2018 at middleweight and would remain at 185 pounds until he earned a spot on TUF 29 in 2021.
Bryan Battle's UFC career entering UFC Paris
Despite being the eighth and final pick of Team Volkanovski, Bryan Battle would go on to win his two exhibition fights on TUF 29 against Kemran Lachinov and Andre Petroski to punch his way into the season finale. There, Battle would become the Ultimate Fighter at UFC Vegas 35 with a win over Gilbert Urbina.
After a win in his next bout over fellow TUF 29 contestant Tresean Gore, Battle dropped down to welterweight in 2022. 'The Butcher' has gone 3-1 with one no-contest in the UFC 170-pound division with all of his wins in that time inside the distance.
As of Sept. 26, Battle is favored to defeat Kevin Jousset at UFC Paris and continue his hot streak at welterweight. Since joining the UFC off of his appearance on TUF, Battle's only loss is a short-notice fight with former ranked contender Rinat Fakhretdinov.
