One-handed MMA fighter: 5 things you need to know about Nick Newell

Nick Newell is definitely one of the most unique mixed martial artists in the game today.

That's because Newell was born without a significant part of his left arm, a condition known as congenital amputation.

While Nick Newell was born handicapped, it did little to slow him down in terms of pursuing a career in mixed martial arts. The 34-year old boasts an impressive 16-3 professional record, with 11 of his wins coming by submission. He currently competes as a lightweight for Bellator.

Newell may not be the biggest name in MMA today, but he'll always be one of the most interesting ones. Here are five things that you need to know about "Notorious" Nick Newell

#5 Nick Newell played different sports growing up

Nick Newell may have been born with a disability, but his mother never wanted that to dictate how his life went. So, like any kid growing up, Newell got into sports at an early age and started playing soccer. Inspired by one-handed New York Yankees pitcher Jim Abbot, Newell then got into baseball, and succeeded. Newell began making all-star teams, but eventually had to find a different sport because he was too small.

Being an avid fan of the WWE, Newell eventually found his way into the high school wrestling team. After a difficult first year, Newell embraced the grind and went on to have reportedly over 300 wins throughout his high school and college wrestling career.

Newell's amateur wrestling background would eventually be the foundation for his transition into mixed martial arts.

#4 Nick Newell discovered MMA through his love for the WWE

As mentioned earlier, Nick Newell was a massive WWE fan. He would catch shows whenever the WWE was in town, and it was that love professional wrestling that would eventually lead him to MMA.

A high school buddy invited Newell over to watch a UFC pay-per-view and he agreed after finding out that former WWE star Ken Shamrock would be in the main event.

Newell didn't instantly become a fan, but he did begin watching fights here and there. It was when he watched the first season of The Ultimate Fighter that he eventually picked up the urge to try MMA out, but just for self-defense.

"I wanted to learn how to fight. I wanted to learn how to throw punches and kicks in case someone tried to mess with me," Newell said in a 2015 interview with Bleacher Report

Just before graduating college, Newell took his first amateur fight. The rest, as they say, is history. Newell went 5-1 as an amateur before eventually going pro in 2009.

#3 Nick Newell was college roommates with former WWE tag team champion Curt Hawkins

The way that Nick Newell discovered The Ultimate Fighter also has an interesting story.

As it turns out, Newell was college roommates with Brian Myers, or more popularly known in professional wrestling circles as Curt Hawkins.

According to Newell, Hawkins was a huge pro wrestling fan, and they would watch Monday Night Raw every week. Back then, Raw was on the same channel was The Ultimate Fighter, which eventually caught Newell's attention.

“But [Hawkins] did help me get into MMA because he loved Monday Night Raw so much that he used to watch it every week. And it was back when Raw was on Spike TV, and then after Raw they said ‘Hey, there’s this new show: The Ultimate Fighter’. And I was like ‘What IS this?’" Newell said in an interview with The Sun UK

Both Newell and Hawkins would go on to succeed in their respective career paths.

#2 Nick Newell's first professional loss came against Justin Gaethje

Nick Newell got off to a blazing start in his professional MMA career, winning his first nine bouts in promotions such as Cage Titans and XFC. In 2013, Newell got his first big break by signing with World Series of Fighting (now known as Professional Fighters League).

Newell won his first two WSOF fights to earn a shot at then lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, who is now the number 1-ranked UFC lightweight contender.

Newell lost to Gaethje by second-round TKO.

#1 Nick Newell came close to earning a UFC contract in 2018

Nick Newell is a one armed fighter with an incredible record of 14-1. His only loss is to Justin Gaethje. He came to me and wanted the opportunity to get into the @ufc. Today he fights on Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series to win a contract at 8pm on @UFCFightPass! pic.twitter.com/HUO2PMzrpr

— danawhite (@danawhite) July 24, 2018

Nick Newell would bounce back from his loss to Justin Gaethje by winning three straight fights. That winning streak earned him a potential shot at getting into the UFC via Dana White's Contender Series.

Unfortunately for Newell, he would come up short, losing to Alex Muñoz by unanimous decision.

Newell signed with Bellator in 2019, and is 1-1 in the promotion.