Chris Honeycutt

Background

Born in Brook Park, Ohio, Honeycutt began wrestling at the age of four. Honeycutt attended North Andover High School in Massachusetts for two years before moving and transferring schools to St. Edward High School in Ohio. At North Andover, Honeycutt finished second in the state tournament and finished the season with a record of 32-1 with the loss coming in the state final. As a sophomore, Honeycutt won the Massachusetts state championship. At St. Edward's, Honeycutt placed third in the state tournament and then went undefeated and won the state championship again for his senior season. Honeycutt finished with an overall high school record of 154-10 and was also a member of the 2006 Junior National team. Honeycutt continued his wrestling career at Edinboro University where he was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American. A fan of mixed martial arts, Honeycutt soon began his career after college. Honeycutt also had brief training in boxing as well as Tae Kwon Do before embarking on a career in MMA.

Early career: Up and Comers Unlimited

Honeycutt made his professional MMA debut on January 26, 2013, defeating Jesse Torres via first-round TKO in the Up and Comers Unlimited promotion.

After another first-round stoppage win, Honeycutt faced Manny Murillo for the vacant UPC middleweight championship at UPC Unlimited: Up & Comers 16 on July 20, 2013. He won the fight via unanimous decision after five rounds to become the UPC middleweight champion.

Honeycutt successfully defended his title once, defeating Jake Gallagher via TKO due to punches in the first round at UPC Unlimited: Up & Comers 18 on January 4, 2014.

Battlegrounds MMA

Honeycutt was expected to compete in the Battlegrounds MMA single night 8-man tournament on October 3, 2014. However, in September it was announced that him, along with Dennis Hallman, were removed from the welterweight bracket and replaced by Jesse Taylor and Joe Ray.

Bellator MMA

Honeycutt made his welterweight and Bellator debut at Bellator 125 against Ultimate Fighter 12 contestant Aaron Wilkinson on September 19, 2014. Honeycutt won the fight via TKO in the second round.

Honeycutt faced Clayton MacFarlane at Bellator 133 on February 13, 2015. He won the fight via TKO in the third round.

In his third fight for the promotion, Honeycutt faced Paul Bradley at Bellator 140 on July 17, 2015. The fight ended midway through the second round after an accidental clash of heads between the two fighters, resulting in a cut on Bradley that the doctor deemed too bad to allow the fighter to continue. The official result was a No Contest. A rematch with Bradley was held on January 29, 2016 at Bellator 148. Despite again being the betting favorite, Honeycutt lost the bout via TKO early in the first round, resulting in the first loss of his MMA career.

After his first loss, returned to face Matt Secor at Bellator 153 on April 22, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Honeycutt faced Mikkel Parlo at Bellator 156 on June 17, 2016. Honeycutt won the fight via unanimous decision.

Honeycutt faced Ben Reiter at Bellator 166 on December 2, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Honeycutt faced Kevin Casey at Bellator 182 on August 25, 2017. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.

Mixed martial arts