Titan Fighting Championships

Titan Fighting Championships was founded in 2005 by veteran fight promoter and, at the time, Bellator Fighting Championships' director of operations, Joe Kelly. The organization was originally based in Kansas City and was headquartered in the city's historic Memorial Hall, where the organization held the majority of their early events. Memorial Hall was exclusively leased to Kelly's sports and entertainment promotion company Titan Entertainment, from which the MMA organization took its name.[2]

On December 13, 2010, Titan Fighting Championships announced that they had struck a deal with the cable and satellite television network HDNet (later relaunched as AXS TV) to broadcast their next event, Titan FC 16, live on the network.[2] The event would take place on January 28, 2011, and was headlined by a super heavyweight bout between former two-time UFC Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and former The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights cast member Abe Wagner. Prior to the airing of the promotion's second show on the network, Titan FC 17: Lashley vs. Ott, CEO Joe Kelly announced that the organization had signed a three-year extension with HDNet to broadcast their live events under the network's HDNet Fights label. Kelly subsequently resigned from his position at Bellator FC in order to focus full-time on running Titan FC.[3]

Titan FC would initially air a total of nine live events on the HDNet/AXS TV networks, including a "Fight for the Troops" event taking place on June 15, 2012, at the Marshall Army Airfield at Fort Riley, Kansas, and conclude with Titan FC 24: Johnson vs. Jones which aired on August 24, 2012.

On October 11, 2012, officials for the Nebraska-based MMA promotion Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) announced that they had acquired Titan Fighting Championships, along with certain fighter contracts, as well as the organization's television deal with, now, AXS TV.[4] The goal was to combine the talent of both organizations under one umbrella, the RFA. Titan FC owner and president Joe Kelly would be brought in as the Vice President of the newly merged company, with seasoned MMA manager, and Black House gym owner, Ed Soares acting as the President.[5]

Seven months after the RFA buyout, the Titan FC promotion was resurrected when founder Joe Kelly bought back the organization in 2013 and produced two more shows on his own: Titan FC 25: Lashley vs. Asplund in June, and Titan FC 26: Hallman vs. Hornbuckle in August, both of which were aired live on AXS TV.[6]

In December 2013, Jeff Aronson, the former chairman and co-founder of the fighter management company Alchemist Management, purchased a majority stake in Titan FC from the promotion's founder and president Joe Kelly. Jeff Aronson would serve as company's new CEO with, longtime friend and business partner, Lex McMahon serving as Titan FC's COO. Kelly would remain as the organization's president and minority owner.[7]

Unlike other organizations in the past who tried to go head to head with the UFC and failed, CEO Jeff Aronson hoped to form a professional relationship with the UFC and has attempted to position Titan FC as an unofficial feeder league for the organization. The newly overhauled Titan FC has now focused itself on finding unsigned prospects, and giving top level veterans who have hit a rough patch, a platform on which to get themselves noticed, or get their career back on track.[8]

Along with the new ownership came new rules for the organization's fighter contracts and bonus structure, and an increased focus on fan involvement. As an incentive to get fighters to perform their best, and thus garner the attention of the larger organizations, Titan FC awards "finishing bonuses" to all fighters who finish their fights by either knockout or submission. Also, to entice up and coming prospects and veteran fighters to sign with the organization, Titan FC now offers a no-questions-asked "Zuffa out" clause in all their contracts, in case the opportunity arises for the fighter to leave the organization and sign with the UFC.[8] The organization hopes that these incentives will encourage the fighters to put on a better show for the fans, and intends to increase the fan experience by offering VIP packages and holding giveaways, contests, and autograph sessions at all of their live events.[9] To reflect their new position in the MMA community, and philosophy towards fights and fighter contracts, Titan FC has since adopted the motto "'Fans, Fighters First.'".

On January 14, 2014, Titan FC officials announced that the first show under their new ownership, Titan FC 27: Ricci vs. Gurgel, would now be broadcast live on CBS Sports and that the organization had signed an eight-event deal with the television network.[10] As part of the deal, Titan FC prelim bouts would also be streamed live on the network's website, CBSSports.com. Titan FC officials also announced that CBS Sports had hired top MMA trainer, and TriStar Gym owner, Firas Zahabi and UFC hall of famer Stephan Bonnar to provide the commentary for all Titan FC events.[11] Titan FC 27: Ricci vs. Gurgel debuted on the CBS Sports Network on February 28, 2014.

Titan FC 30: Brilz vs. Magalhães would take place on September 26, 2014, and stands out as being the first time in Titan FC's history that the organization would crown a divisional champion, as two former UFC veterans faced off for the inaugural Titan FC Light Heavyweight title. Four time World Jiu-Jitsu Championship gold medalist and former The Ultimate Fighter contestant Vinny Magalhães would submit wrestling standout Jason Brilz with a guillotine choke in the fourth round to claim this inaugural title.[12]

Titan FC crowned their second divisional champion at Titan FC 32: Green vs. Siler on December 19, 2014. That night Bellator MMA tournament veteran Desmond Green defeated former UFC fighter and The Ultimate Fighter contestant Steven Siler to claim the inaugural Titan FC Featherweight championship.[13]

Over the course of their yearlong partnership Titan FC would eventually air a total of seven live cards on the CBS Sports network, spanning seven cities in seven different states, and culminating in their largest event to date, Titan FC 33: Green vs Holobaugh. Titan FC 33 took place on March 20, 2015, in Mobile, Alabama at the Mobile AeroFest music and art festival, a two-day-long not-for-profit event designed to raise money to support injured U.S. military service members and veterans.[14] The card would feature a total of four separate title fights, three of which would crown the inaugural championships for Titan FC's heavyweight, lightweight and bantamweight divisions; and was headlined by the organization's first ever championship title defense as Desmond Green sought to defend his newly acquired featherweight title.[15]

On June 15, 2015 UFC officials announced that Titan FC has signed a contract with the organization to air all future live events exclusively on the UFC's subscription-based digital streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.[16]

The first event to be held on the service, Titan FC 34: Healy vs. Edwards, aired on July 18, 2015, and featured a total of four title fights, including the crowning of Titan FC's inaugural flyweight champion when Tim Elliott defeated fellow UFC veteran Iliarde Santos for the vacant belt. Additionally, it was announced by UFC officials that the entire Titan FC library of past events would be added to the "On Demand" section of the Fight Pass online service.

All non-world championship fights in Titan FC consist of three, five-minute rounds, with one-minute rest periods between rounds. All world championship fights consist of five, five-minute rounds, with one-minute rest periods between rounds.

Titan FC currently uses eight weight classes for men:

Titan FC currently uses two weight classes for women:

Matches usually end via:

• Submission: a fighter clearly taps the mat or his opponent, or verbally submits. Also a technical submission may be called when a fighter either loses consciousness or is on the verge of serious injury while in a hold.
• Knockout: a fighter is put into a state of unconsciousness resulting from any legal strike.
• Technical Knockout (TKO): If the referee decides a fighter cannot continue, the fight is ruled as a technical knockout. Technical knockouts can be classified into three categories:
  • referee stoppage (the referee ends the fight because one fighter is unable to intelligently defend himself)
  • doctor stoppage (a ring side doctor decides that it is unsafe for the fighter to continue the bout due to excessive bleeding or physical injuries)
  • corner stoppage (a fighter's cornerman signals defeat for their own fighter)
• Judges' Decision: Depending on scoring, a match may end as:
  • unanimous decision (all three judges score a win for fighter A)
  • majority decision (two judges score a win for fighter A, one judge scores a draw)
  • split decision (two judges score a win for fighter A, one judge scores a win for fighter B)
  • unanimous draw (all three judges score a draw)
  • majority draw (two judges score a draw, one judge scoring a win)
  • split draw (one judge scores a win for fighter A, one judge scores a win for fighter B, and one judge scores a draw)

Note: In the event of a draw, it is not necessary that the fighters' total points be equal. However, in a unanimous or split draw, each fighter does score an equal number of win judgments from the three judges (0 or 1, respectively). A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical submission, disqualification, forfeit, technical draw, or no contest. The latter two outcomes have no winners.

The ten-point must scoring system is in effect for all bouts in Titan. Three judges score each round with the winner of each round getting 10 points while the loser gets 9 points or less. The only way that an even round can occur is if the fighter that won the round has a point deducted for a foul. Rounds scored 10-8 and 10-7 are typically scored when a fighter wins a round in dominant fashion.

The following is a list of fouls outlined by the states that regulate MMA, as established by the Nevada State Athletic Commission:[17]

1. Butting with the head
2. Eye gouging of any kind
3. Biting
4. Hair pulling
5. Fish hooking
6. Groin attacks of any kind
7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent (see Fish-hooking)
8. Small joint manipulation
9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head (see Rabbit punch)
10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow (see Elbow (strike))
11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea
12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh
13. Grabbing the clavicle
14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent
15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent
16. Stomping a grounded opponent
17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel
18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck (see Piledriver)
19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area
20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent
21. Spitting at an opponent
22. Engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent
23. Holding the ropes or the fence
24. Attacking an opponent on or during the break
25. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee
26. Attacking an opponent after the bell (horn) has sounded the end of a round
27. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee
28. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury
29. Interference by the corner
30. Throwing in the towel during competition

When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.

206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Chase Gormley def. Jon Madsen	Titan FC 33 Mobile, AL, USA	March 20, 2015	104 days
Gormley vacated the title on July 2, 2015, after he signed with Bellator MMA.[18]
2	Said Sowma def. Bobby Brents	Titan FC 64 Miami, Florida, USA	September 25, 2020	126 days
Sowma vacated the title in late 2020, after he signed with Bellator MMA.[19]

186 to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Vinny Magalhães def. Jason Brilz	Titan FC 30 Cedar Park, TX, USA	September 26, 2014	159 days
Magalhães vacated the title on March 4, 2015, after he signed with the World Series of Fighting.[20]

171 to 185 lbs (77 to 84 kg)

156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Belal Muhammad def. Steve Carl	Titan FC 38 Miami, FL, USA	April 30, 2016	41 days
Muhammad vacated the title on May 25, 2016, after he signed with the UFC.[21]
2	Dhiego Lima def. David Michaud	Titan FC 39 Coral Gables, FL, USA	June 10, 2016	175 days
3	Jason Jackson	Titan FC 42 Coral Gables, FL, USA	December 2, 2016	235 days
Jackson vacated the title on July 25, 2017, after he signed with the Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series.
4	Jose Caceres def. Rami Hamed	Titan FC 49 Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA	April 6, 2018	84 days
5	Uros Jurisic	Titan FC 50 Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA	June 29, 2018	437 days
6	Michael Graves def. Jared Gooden for the interim Title	Titan FC 53 Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA	March 15, 2019	686 days (incumbent)	1. def. Yuri Villefort at Titan FC 59 on Feb. 28, 2020 2. def. Oton Jasse at Titan FC 65 on Nov. 22, 2020
On September 9, 2019, Graves was promoted to undisputed Welterweight Champion as Jurisic was stripped of his title due to ongoing medical issues and a bout outside of his Titan FC contract.[22]
-	Kamal Magomedov def. Italo da Silva Goncalves for the interim Title	Titan FC 57 Dominican Republic	October 19, 2019	468 days (incumbent)

146 to 155 lbs (66 to 70 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Pat Healy def. Kurt Kinser	Titan FC 33 Mobile, AL, USA	March 20, 2015	183 days	1. def. Marcus Edwards at Titan FC 34 on July 18, 2015
2	Rick Hawn	Titan FC 35 Ridgefield, WA, USA	September 19, 2015	31 days
Rick Hawn retired, vacating the Lightweight title.[23]
3	Gesias Cavalcante def. Pat Healy	Titan FC 39 Coral Gables, FL, USA	June 10, 2016	56 days
4	Freddy Assuncao	Titan FC 40 Coral Gables, FL, USA	August 5, 2016	469 days
-	Kurt Holobaugh def. Gesias Cavalcante for the Interim Title	Titan FC 44 Pembroke Pines, FL, USA	May 19, 2017	52 days
Assuncao was stripped of the title due to inactivity & Holobaugh vacated the title to compete on Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series
5	Raush Manfio def. Chazz Walton	Titan FC 46 Pembroke Pines, FL, USA	November 17, 2017	224 days	1. def. Lee Henry Lilly at Titan FC 48 on February 16, 2018
Manfio was stripped of the title when he was defeated by Sidney Outlaw at Titan FC 50. Outlaw didn't make weight, so wasn't eligible to win title.
-	Martin Brown def. Beibit Nazarov for the Interim Title	Titan FC 51 Almaty, Kazakhstan	December 21, 2018	302 days
Brown was stripped of the title when he failed to make weight at Titan FC 57 in his bout against Johansser Paulino.
-	Rafael Alves def. Felipe Douglas for the Interim Title	Titan FC 54 Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA	April 26, 2019	644 days (incumbent)
Rafael Alves vacates title to fight on Dana White's Contender Series.

136 to 145 lbs (61 to 66 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Desmond Green def. Steven Siler	Titan FC 32 Lowell, MS, USA	December 19, 2014	92 days
2	Kurt Holobaugh	Titan FC 33 Mobile, AL, USA	March 20, 2015	121 days
3	Andre Harrison	Titan FC 34 Houston, TX, USA	July 18, 2015	2022 days	1. def. Desmond Green at Titan FC 35 on September 19, 2015 2. def. Steven Siler at Titan FC 37 on March 4, 2016 3. def. Deivison Ribeiro at Titan FC 39 on June 10, 2016 4. def. Alexandre Bezerra at Titan FC 41 on September 9, 2016
Harrison vacated the title on November 23, 2016, after he signed with the World Series of Fighting.[24]
4	Luis Raul Gomez def. Sodiq Yusuff	Titan FC 47 Pembroke Pines, FL, USA	December 15, 2017	112 days
5	Jason Soares	Titan FC 49 Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA	April 6, 2018	1029 days (incumbent)	1. def. Caio Uruguai at Titan FC 52 on January 25, 2019 2. def. Ariston Franca at Titan FC 54 on April 26, 2019 3. def. Andrew Whitney at Titan FC 56 on August 23, 2019
Soares vacated title on November 16, 2019 after he signed with the PFL[25]

126 to 135 lbs (up to 61 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Brett Johns def. Walel Watson	Titan FC 33 Mobile, AL, USA	March 20, 2015	121 days
Johns was stripped of the title on July 17, 2015, after failing to make weight for his first title defense at Titan FC 34.[26]
2	Anderson dos Santos def. Ricky Simon	Titan FC 37 Ridgefield, WA, USA	March 4, 2016	119 days
dos Santos was stripped of the title on August 5, 2016, when he was defeated by Andrew Whitney in a non title tournament Semi Final at Titan FC 40
3	Farkhad Sharipov def. Andrew Whitney	Titan FC 42 Coral Gables, FL, USA	December 2, 2016	168 days
4	Jose Torres	Titan FC 44 Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA	May 19, 2017	378 days	1. def. Gleidson DeJesus at Titan FC 46 on November 17, 2017
Torres vacated the title in June of 2018 after signing a contract with the UFC
5	Rudson Caliocane def. Edir Terry	Titan FC 52 Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA	January 25, 2019	284 days
6	Irwin Rivera def. Matt Wagy for the interim Title	Titan FC 55 Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA	June 28, 2019	136 days	1. def. Danny Sabatello at Titan FC 58 on December 20, 2019
Rivera was promoted to an undisputed champion after Caliocane vacated the title on Nov. 11, 2019 when he suffered a brain stem injury at a Future FC event.[27] Eventually in mid-June 2020, Rivera vacated his title to sign with the UFC.[28]
7	Danny Sabatello def. Raymond Ramos	Titan FC 61 Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA	June 28, 2020	215 days (incumbent)

116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Tim Elliott def. Iliarde Santos	Titan FC 34 Kansas City, MO, USA	July 18, 2015	384 days	1. def. Felipe Efrain at Titan FC 35 on September 19, 2015 2. def. Pedro Nobre at Titan FC 37 on March 4, 2016
Elliott vacated the title in December of 2016 after signing a contract with the UFC
2	Jose Torres def. Abdiel Velazquez for the Interim title	Titan FC 40 Coral Gables, FL, USA	August 5, 2016	665 days	1. def. Pedro Nobre at Titan FC 43 on January 21, 2017 2. def. Alberto Orellano at Titan FC 48 on February 16, 2017
Torres vacated the title in June of 2018 after signing a contract with the UFC
3	Juan Puerta def. Kazbek Ashimov	Titan FC 51 Almaty, Kazakhstan	December 21, 2018	448 Days	1. def. Claudio Ledesma at Titan FC 55 on June 28, 2019 2. def. Reynaldo Adolfo de los Santos at Titan FC 57 on October 19, 2019
Puerta vacated the title on March 13, 2020 after signing a contract with Combate Americas
4	Wascar Cruz def. Christian Ynastrilla	Titan FC 63 Miami, Florida	August 28, 2020	154 days (incumbent)

126 to 135 lbs (up to 61 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Kalindra Faria def. Carina Damm	Titan FC 41 Coral Gables, FL, USA	September 9, 2016	393 days
Faria vacated the title in October of 2017 after signing a contract with the UFC

116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)

106 to 115 lb (48 to 52 kg)

156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Gesias Cavalcante def. Raush Manfio	Titan FC 60 Miami, FL, USA	May 29, 2020	245 days (incumbent)