His father was a martial artist and Vietnam War veteran, his mother is a breast cancer survivor and his grandfather was a Golden Gloves boxer. When he was eight years old, his elder brother was shot and killed. At his brother’s funeral, his sensei posthumously awarded him his black belt in American kickboxing. Holdsworth, aged 8, told his mother he wanted to be a martial artist just like his brother so he excelled in several martial arts, especially BJJ. He was awarded his blue belt from the legendary Royce Gracie, his purple belt by Rener, Ryron and Rorion Gracie, and was awarded his brown and black belt by Marc Laimon. At age 21 he was one of the youngest BJJ black belts in the US.
Amateur career
Holdsworth signed with the Tuff-N-Uff promotion in August 2009, and made his debut as an amateur against Justin Linn. He won his debut by triangle choke submission. He made a quick turnaround and faced Cameron Ramirez on September 18, 2009, and won the fight by TKO. After taking a small hiatus, Holdsworth returned on February 26, 2010, facing Gor Mnatsakanyan. He won by TKO, extending his undefeated record to 3-0. In his last amateur fight before turning pro, Holdsworth faced Anthony Gutierrez at Tuff-N-Uff: Xtreme Couture vs. Team Quest on August 6, 2010. He won by armbar, and turned pro in October of that year.
Professional MMA career
Holdsworth made his professional MMA debut in October 2010. He's a member of 'Team Alpha Male' and had 4 fights before joining the Ultimate Fighter. He won all of them by submission.
In August 2013, it was announced that Holdsworth was one of the fighters selected to be on. Holdsworth faced Louis Fisette in the elimination fight to get into the house. He defeated him via arm-triangle choke in the first round. Holdsworth was the second pick of Team Tate. During the first tournament fight in the house, Holdsworth faced team Rousey's #1 pick Chris Beal. Miesha Tate selected this match up because of a possible advantage when they heard that Beal probably had an injured hand. The consensus was that Beal would have the better of the striking while Holdsworth would be dominant in the ground, but Beal was dominated in the striking, even being knocked down and then submitted via guillotine choke in the first round. In the semifinals, Holdsworth faced off against Michael Wooten. He won the fight via rear-naked choke in the first round.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Holdsworth faced Davey Grant in the finals on November 30, 2013 at. He won the bout via rear-naked choke in the second round. Holdsworth was expected to face Kyung-Ho Kang on May 24, 2014 at UFC 173. However, Kang pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Chico Camus. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Holdsworth has been absent from competitive fighting since 2014, with Holdsworth taking an indefinite hiatus from competition due to post-concussion syndrome.
