Division Lightweight Nationality Polish Reach 71 in (180 cm) Height 1.75 m | Fighting out of Tychy, Poland Weight 70 kg Name Marcin Held Wins by knockout 4 | |
 | ||
Born Marcin Held
January 18, 1992 (age 32) ( 1992-01-18 ) Style Submission grappling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Team Gracie Barra Bastion Tychy Rank Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Profiles | ||
Bellator mma foundations with marcin held
Marcin Held (born January 18, 1992) is a Polish mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Held has competed frequently in his home country of Poland and is highly touted by the media, often being regarded as "the prodigy of Polish MMA". He fought in Bellator MMA from 2010 to 2016, challenging for the Bellator Lightweight Championship in 2015.
Contents
- Bellator mma foundations with marcin held
- Marcin Held o fanach Brandao i Gamrocie w ADCC
- Background
- Early career
- Bellator MMA
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Mixed martial arts
- Submission grappling
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Pankration
- References
Marcin Held o fanach, Brandao i Gamrocie w ADCC
Background
Held began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of nine and was promoted to black belt at the age 21, becoming the youngest black belt in Poland. Held is well known for winning multiple Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling competitions in his home country. Though he fights at lightweight, he has expressed a desire to compete at featherweight, should the right fight become available.
Early career
Held began his professional mixed martial arts career and compiled a 3–0 record before joining Shooto. His debut fight for the organisation was at Shooto Poland, where he headlined and defeated Rafal Lasota via TKO (leg injury). Just prior to the Shooto fight, Held was named as one of the top ten unsigned prospects to watch for 2009.
In December 2009, Held competed in an eight-man tournament, defeating all three opponents; the latter two by submission. Following this, Held defeated Przemyslaw Zbiciak via submission (rear naked choke) midway through the first round.
Held's first professional loss came at the hands of Lukasz Sajewski, a fellow highly rated prospect from Poland. Sajewski was able to neutralise the submission game of Held, before gaining top position and riding out a unanimous decision victory.
Held rebounded to defeat the former Cage Rage Lightweight Champion Jean Silva. Held weakened his opponent with leg locks, before landing a knee from the clinch. Held won the fight via TKO caused by a knee injury.
Held was scheduled to participate in the inaugural event of a new Polish promotion - Infinite Fighting Federation - in October in Dąbrowa Górnicza, against German fighter Franco de Leonardis. However, due to an accident involving de Leonardis, he faced Bojan Kosednar. Held won the fight with a kneebar submission in the second round.
According to mmarocks, Held signed a contract to compete against Juha-Pekka Vainikainen in November at Iron Fist 3. However, for unknown reasons, Held was forced to pull out of the fight and was replaced by Anthony Durnell.
Bellator MMA
On October 14, Held signed with Bellator MMA to compete in their Season Four Lightweight Tournament. He faced wrestler Michael Chandler in the opening quarterfinal round at Bellator 36. He lost via arm-triangle choke submission in the first round.
Held faced Phillipe Nover at Bellator 59. He won the fight via split decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28). Sherdog.com scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Nover.
Held faced Murad Machaev in the opening round of the Bellator Season 7 Lightweight Tournament Quarterfinal on October 19, 2012 at Bellator 77. He won the fight via unanimous decision. He faced Rich Clementi in the semifinals on November 16, 2012 at Bellator 81 and won via submission in the second round.
Held was expected to face Dave Jansen for the Season Seven Tournament Final at Bellator 84 but Held was not allowed in the Horseshoe casino, in Hammond, Indiana where the event was being held since he was only 20 years old, and therefore the fight has been pushed to sometime during Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Eight.
The bout with Jansen was rescheduled for March 21, 2013 at Bellator 93. Held lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Held rebounded with a first-round KO win over Ryan Healy at Bellator 101.
Held next faced Rodrigo Cavalheiro in the Bellator Season 10 Lightweight Tournament quarterfinals at Bellator 113. He won the fight via submission in the first round. He faced Derek Anderson in the semifinals at Bellator 117 and won via submission in the second round. He faced Patricky Freire in the finals at Bellator 126 on September 26, 2014. Held dominated the fight and won via unanimous decision.
Held faced Alexander Sarnavskiy at Bellator 136 on April 10, 2015. He won the fight via verbal submission in the third round.
Held faced Will Brooks for the Bellator Lightweight Championship on November 6, 2015 at Bellator 145. Despite popping Brooks' knee in the opening round, Held lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Held had a rematch with Dave Jansen on May 20, 2016 at Bellator 155. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Despite getting the win, Bellator MMA announced they had released Held from his contract. Held, however, wrote a Facebook post citing that he terminated his own contract.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
On August 30, Held officially signed with the UFC.
Held made his promotional debut against UFC veteran Diego Sanchez on November 5, 2016 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale. Despite having some success with his boxing and remaining active off his back looking for submissions, Held lost the bout by unanimous decision.
Held next faced Joe Lauzon on January 15, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 103. He lost the fight via a controversial split decision, with even his opponent Lauzon saying he felt he lost the bout post-fight. Likewise, 16 out of 17 media pundits scored the bout for Held; the lone holdout scored the fight a draw.
Held faced Damir Hadzovic on May 28, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 109. After handily winning the first two rounds, he lost the fight via knockout in the opening seconds of the third round.
Held is expected to face Teemu Packalen on October 21, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 118.