Bryan Caraway

Background

Caraway is from Goldendale, Washington and attended North Idaho College for one year and then went to Central Washington University for three and half years, where he was on the wrestling team until the program was dropped in 2004. One of Caraway's teammates, a cousin of UFC veteran Dennis Hallman, introduced Caraway to the MMA veteran, who was also an accomplished fighter. Caraway began fighting in the spring of 2004 and then moved to train in his hometown of Yakima.

Early career

Caraway decided to go professional after compiling a 6-1 amateur record in his homestate of Washington. His opponent for his debut would be fellow future UFC fighter, Ian Loveland. Caraway lost when the cage side doctor halted the bout because of a deep laceration on the face of Caraway. Caraway built his record to 4-1 with four straight wins, finishing all four opponents, one of which was soon-to-be Ultimate Fighter and WEC fighter, Noah Thomas.

Caraway took on yet another future UFC fighter in John Gunderson, losing via submission in round two. Caraway bounced back after his second loss, and went on to win six straight fights, again, finishing all of his opponents. Riding a six fight win streak, and boosting a 10-2 record earned Caraway a contract with Strikeforce. His Strikeforce debut came at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson where he defeated Alvin Cacdac. Caraway then fought for EliteXC, being defeated by their future champion, Wilson Reis. Caraway fought one more time for Strikeforce before signing with World Extreme Cagefighting in 2010.

Bryan Caraway is managed by Daniel A. Martinez of Di-Cypher & Associates.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Caraway was defeated via first round submission in his WEC debut against Mark Hominick on January 10, 2010 at WEC 46.

Caraway was expected to face Fredson Paixão on March 6, 2010 at WEC 47. However, an injury forced Caraway to withdraw and was replaced by Courtney Buck. Caraway instead fought Paixao on the WEC 50 card, and was defeated via split decision. Caraway was released from his contract after the back-to-back losses.

Post-WEC

Caraway defeated Marlin "Pit Bull" Weikel via rear naked choke on February 19, 2011 at CageSport MMA XIII.

The Ultimate Fighter

In 2011, Caraway had signed with the UFC to compete in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. In the first episode, Caraway fought Eric Marriott to gain entry into the Ultimate Fighter house. Caraway defeated Marriott via unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18).

Caraway was picked as the second featherweight on Team Mayhem and the fourth overall. In the first preliminary bout of the season, Caraway was selected to fight Marcus Brimage. Caraway controlled Brimage on the ground throughout the first round, and in the second round won the fight via submission (rear-naked choke) to move onto the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, Caraway fought Diego Brandao, losing the fight via TKO (punches) in round one.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Caraway made his UFC debut on December 3, 2011 at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale and fought against fellow Ultimate Fighter castmate, Dustin Neace. Caraway won the fight via submission (rear-naked choke) in the second round. A week before the fight Caraway was severely ill and almost had to pull out of the fight.

Caraway made his Bantamweight debut against Mitch Gagnon on July 21, 2012 at UFC 149. He won via rear naked choke submission in round 3.

Caraway was expected to face Mike Easton on December 8, 2012 at UFC on Fox 5, replacing an injured T.J. Dillashaw. However, on November 21, Caraway pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Raphael Assunção.

Caraway faced Takeya Mizugaki on March 3, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV 8. He lost the fight via split decision. Caraway faced Johnny Bedford on April 27, 2013 at UFC 159, replacing an injured Érik Pérez. He won the back-and-forth fight via submission in the third round. Caraway was awarded Submission of the Night honors after the original bonus winner, Pat Healy had the award rescinded after testing positive for marijuana.

Caraway was expected to face Lucas Martins on February 22, 2014 at UFC 170. However, Caraway pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by UFC newcomer Aljamain Sterling.

Caraway faced Érik Pérez on June 7, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 42. After controlling the majority of the bout with his wrestling and grappling, Caraway won the fight via rear-naked choke in round 2.

Caraway faced Raphael Assunção on October 4, 2014 at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Caraway faced Eddie Wineland on July 25, 2015 at UFC on Fox 16. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Caraway next faced Aljamain Sterling on May 29, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 88. He won the fight via split decision.

Caraway was expected to face Jimmie Rivera on January 15, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 103. However, Caraway pulled out of the bout on January 4 citing an undisclosed injury. He was replaced by Marlon Vera. Eventually, Rivera withdrew from the fight as he felt going from a top-5 ranked fighter to an unranked one wouldn't make sense at that moment.

Championships and awards

Personal life

Caraway attended Central Washington University.

Caraway is the trainer and his ex-girlfriend of former UFC fighter Miesha Tate, who also attended Central Washington University. In 2014, Tate was credited with saving the life of Bryan’s mother, Chris Caraway, when the latter suffered an asthma attack while scuba diving, stopped breathing and became completely unresponsive.

Caraway is featured in the award-winning mixed martial arts documentary Fight Life. Released in 2013, the film is directed by indie filmmaker James Z. Feng and produced by RiLL Films.