One-Handed MMA Pro Nick Newell Will Get A Shot At Making The UFC

Judging strictly from his professional MMA record, Nick Newell should really be in the UFC. The Connecticut native is 14-1, finishing 11 of his fights in the first round, and losing only to UFC face-masher extraordinaire Justin Gaethje. That’d seem to make him an obvious addition to the roster, but Newell’s had to prove himself more than most fighters, since he is a congenital amputee born without the lower portion of his left arm.

That hasn’t kept him from kicking ass throughout his MMA career, and even if he only has one hand, his submission game is fierce, as he’s finished opponents with heel hooks, face cranks, and guillotines. Watch how he won the XFC Lightweight Championship with a suplex and eventually a rear naked choke.

Newell, 32, recently signed with MMA power agent Ali Abdelaziz, and ESPN reported yesterday that Newell will get a chance to fight on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender series this June. DWTNC is a running weekly show where fighters go at it for the chance to sign a UFC deal. Nothing is necessarily guaranteed, but winners are often signed. White said in 2012 that it would be too dangerous for Newell to face UFC level competition, but after Newell returned from a three-year absence to win his first fight back in impressive fashion, White met with Newell this week and offered him a spot in the Contender series.

Anyway, this much we know is true: