Matt Schnell
Matthew Christopher Schnell[5] (born January 15, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Flyweight division of the UFC. Schnell is the former flyweight champion of the Legacy Fighting Alliance. As of January 25, 2021, he is #8 in the UFC flyweight rankings.[6]
| Matt Schnell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Matthew Christopher Schnell January 15, 1990 Amory, Mississippi, United States |
| Nickname(s) | Danger |
| Residence | Shreveport, Louisiana, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 125 lb (57 kg; 8 st 13 lb) |
| Division | Flyweight Bantamweight |
| Reach | 72 1⁄2 in (184 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Shreveport, Louisiana, United States |
| Team | American Top Team (2014–2017)[1] Combat Sports Academy (2017–present)[2] American Kickboxing Academy (2017–present)[3] |
| Rank | Black belt in Karate[4] Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[4] |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 20 |
| Wins | 15 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By submission | 8 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Unknown | 1 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Website | mattschnell |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Mixed martial arts career
Caged
In 2012, Schnell was one of the young MMA fighters featured in Caged - an MTV reality television series. The show focused on four prospective MMA fighters in small-town Louisiana. Schnell was one of the two fighters on the show to later fight professionally.
Legacy Fighting Championship
Schnell joined Legacy Fighting Championship in 2012 and went 9–2 in various promotions before joining the cast for The Ultimate Fighter, season 24.
The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions
On May 11, 2016, the UFC announced that the 16 contestants for The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions would be flyweight champion fighters from various organizations around the world, with the winner being expected to have a chance to fight for the flyweight title against Demetrious Johnson. Schnell was announced as part of the cast in July and selected for Team Cejudo.[7]
In the first round on the show, Schnell seeded at #6 faced #11 Matt Rizzo and defeated him in the second round via a triangle choke submission. Schnell advanced to the quarterfinals and faced #3 seed Tim Elliott. He lost the fight via first-round submission due to a bulldog choke.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
After his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, Schnell was chosen as one of the cast mates to get a contract. Schnell fought Rob Font in the bantamweight division at The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
Schnell returned to the flyweight division and faced Hector Sandoval on April 22, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
Schnell next fought on October 7, 2017 at UFC 216 against Marco Beltrán. He won the fight by unanimous decision.[8]
Schnell faced Naoki Inoue on June 23, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 132.[9] He won the fight via split decision.[10]
Schnell faced Louis Smolka in a bantamweight bout on March 9, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 4.[11] He won the fight via a triangle choke submission in the first round.[12]
As the first fight of his new, four-fight contract, Schnell faced Jordan Espinosa on August 3, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 5.[1][13] He won the fight via a triangle choke submission in the first round.[14] The win also earned Schnell his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[15]
Schnell faced Alexandre Pantoja on December 21, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 23.[16] He lost the fight via first-round knockout.[17]
Schnell was expected to face Tyson Nam on September 12, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 183.[18] However, Schnell was removed from the fight on the day of the event's weigh-in for health issues related to his weight cut. As a result, the fight was cancelled.[19] The bout with Nam was first rescheduled to UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal, on December 19, 2020, and then to UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny, on January 20, 2021.[20] He won the close bout by split decision. [21]
Personal life
Schnell and his wife Morgan have a daughter (born 2020).[22]
Championships and accomplishments
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Jordan Espinosa[23]
- Legacy Fighting Alliance
- Legacy FC Flyweight champion (one time; former)
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 20 matches | 15 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 3 |
| By submission | 8 | 1 |
| By decision | 4 | 1 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 15–5 | Tyson Nam | Decision (split) | UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny | January 20, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Loss | 14–5 | Alexandre Pantoja | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Korean Zombie | December 21, 2019 | 1 | 4:17 | Busan, South Korea | |
| Win | 14–4 | Jordan Espinosa | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler | August 3, 2019 | 1 | 1:23 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 13–4 | Louis Smolka | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. dos Santos | March 9, 2019 | 1 | 3:18 | Wichita, Kansas, United States | Bantamweight bout. |
| Win | 12–4 | Naoki Inoue | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards | June 23, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Kallang, Singapore | |
| Win | 11–4 | Marco Beltrán | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 216 | October 7, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 10–4 | Hector Sandoval | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov | April 22, 2017 | 1 | 4:24 | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Return to Flyweight. |
| Loss | 10–3 | Rob Font | KO (knee and punches) | The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale | December 3, 2016 | 1 | 3:47 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Bantamweight debut. |
| Win | 10–2 | Klayton Mai | Submission (armbar) | Legacy FC 52 | March 25, 2016 | 1 | 2:14 | Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States | Won the interim Legacy FC Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–2 | Jonathan Martinez | DQ (illegal knee) | Legacy FC 49 | December 4, 2015 | 2 | 2:21 | Bossier City, Louisiana, United States | |
| Win | 8–2 | Vanderlei Carvalho Leite | KO (punches) | Legacy FC 42 | June 26, 2015 | 1 | 0:19 | Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States | |
| Win | 7–2 | Albert Tapia | Submission (armbar) | Legacy FC: Legacy Kickboxing 2 | May 29, 2015 | 2 | 3:19 | Shreveport, Louisiana, United States | |
| Win | 6–2 | Chris Myers | Submission (guillotine choke) | Caged Warrior Championship 6 | February 21, 2015 | 1 | 0:17 | Houma, Louisiana, United States | |
| Win | 5–2 | Thomas Coleman | Submission (inverted triangle choke) | Summit FC 10 | November 22, 2014 | 1 | N/A | Tupelo, Mississippi, United States | |
| Win | 4–2 | Latral Perdue | KO (punch) | GFA 27: The Stage | September 19, 2014 | 1 | N/A | Bossier City, Louisiana, United States | |
| Loss | 3–2 | Klayton Mai | Submission (guillotine choke) | Legacy FC 32 | June 20, 2014 | 2 | 1:24 | Bossier City, Louisiana, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Roger Reyes | Submission (guillotine choke) | WFC 17: Battle at the Belle | January 25, 2014 | 1 | 1:26 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Elias Garcia | Decision (majority) | Legacy FC 20 | May 31, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Corpus Christi, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Marcus Dupar | Submission (armbar) | Legacy FC 15 | November 16, 2012 | 1 | 1:06 | Houston, Texas, United States, | |
| Win | 1–0 | Ryan Hollis | Decision (split) | Legacy FC 14 | September 14, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Houston, Texas, United States, | Flyweight debut. |
Mixed martial arts exhibition record
| Exhibition record breakdown | ||
| 2 matches | 1 win | 1 loss |
| By submission | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1–1 | Tim Elliott | Submission (guillotine choke) | The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions | November 16, 2016 | 1 | 3:26 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | TUF 24 Quarter-final round |
| Win | 1–0 | Matt Rizzo | Submission (triangle choke) | The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions | October 5, 2016 | 2 | 2:04 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | TUF 24 Round of 16 |
*Date given is the air date of the episode. The actual dates of the fight are not released by the UFC
References
- Shane Connelly (August 1, 2019). "Matt Schnell is fighting for respect at UFC Newark". thebodylockmma.com.
- John Hyon Ko (July 17, 2019). "Interview: Matt Schnell (UFC Flyweight)" (Podcast).
- Farah Hannoun (November 23, 2019). "Matt Schnell on UFC Busan fight vs. Alexandre Pantoja: 'I either spark this kid, or it's 'Fight of the Night". MMAjunkie.com.
- "Matt Schnell - Official UFC Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
- "STATE OF NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRYATHLETIC COMMISSION" (PDF). boxing.nv.gov. October 7, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
- "Rankings | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- Joseph Benavidez e Henry Cejudo são escolhidos para servir como treinadores no 'The Ultimate Fighter 24'
- "UFC 216 results: Matt Schnell outworks Marco Beltran for decision and much-needed win". MMAjunkie. 2017-10-08. Retrieved 2017-10-08.
- Sherdog.com. "Ovince St. Preux vs. Tyson Pedro, Two Other Bouts Booked for UFC Fight Night 132 in Singapore". Sherdog. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
- "UFC Fight Night 132 results: Matt Schnell counters his way to split over Naoki Inoue". MMAjunkie. 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
- DNA, MMA. "Louis Smolka vs. Matt Schnell toegevoegd aan UFC Wichita". Retrieved 2019-02-02.
- Hiergesell, Dan (2019-03-09). "Highlights! Smolka Gets Choked Out By 'Danger' At UFC Wichita". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
- Cole Shelton (2019-06-13). "Matt Schnell vs. Jordan Espinosa slated for UFC on ESPN 5". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
- Fortune, Ryan (2019-08-03). "UFC Newark Results: Matt Schnell Triangles Jordan Espinosa in First Round". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
- "UFC Newark bonus winners: Nasrat Haqparast's vicious KO leads $50K winners". mmamania.com. 2019-08-03. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
- Shelton, Cole (2019-09-04). "Alexandre Pantoja vs. Matt Schnell set for UFC Fight Night 165 in South Korea". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
- admincsp (2019-12-21). "UFC Busan Results: Alexandre Pantoja Knocks Out Matt Schnell In First". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
- Farah Hannoun (2020-07-03). "Matt Schnell vs. Tyson Nam joins UFC's September 12 lineup". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- Staff (2020-09-11). "Weight-cutting issues scrap Tyson Nam from Matt Schnell fight at UFC on ESPN+ 35". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
- Nolan King (2020-10-25). "UFC books Matt Schnell vs. Tyson Nam for Dec. 19 event in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
- Jay Anderson (2021-01-20). "UFC Fight Island 8 Results: Matt Schnell Turns Up the Volume Against Tyson Nam". cagesidepress. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
- Zac Pacleb (January 18, 2021). "Matt Schnell Is Focused On Wins, Not Statements". Ultimate Fighting Championship.
- Lee, Alexander (2019-08-03). "UFC on ESPN 5 bonuses: Antonina Shevchenko, Lucie Pudilova snag Fight of the Night". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
- Sherdog.com. "Matt". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-12-22.