James Vick


James William Vick is American mixed martial artist currently competing as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Vick was a cast member of .

Background

Vick was born to a modest Texan family on February 23, 1987. He grew up in Olney, Texas with his five siblings. Vick took up boxing following his senior year at Olney High School in 2005. Mixed martial arts piqued his interest initially when he saw The Ultimate Fighter 1 around the time he graduated from high school. Nevertheless, he wound up playing basketball in junior college only to be kicked out of the team due to physical altercations and eventually dropping out of college too.
After the failed attempt at college, Vick started training boxing under Jarred Kemp. Eventually, he became two-time Golden Gloves champion in the open division, winning the first title in 2007. Having already been training mixed martial arts during his amateur boxing tenure, Vick decided to drop off boxing in order to pursue MMA career.

Mixed martial arts career

Vick began his professional career fighting in regional shows in his home state of Texas. His first four fights all came in 2011, where he went undefeated with four straight wins.

The Ultimate Fighter

Vick was one of 32 lightweight fighters announced by the UFC to participate in first live season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show.
Vick won his way into the house when he defeated Dakota Cochrane by split decision after one round. He was then chosen to be part of Team Cruz as Cruz's fifth pick and ninth overall.
For the first official fight of the show, he was chosen to fight Team Faber's third pick Daron Cruickshank. After a rough first part of the round, Vick landed a knee on Cruickshank as he shot in for a takedown, and won the fight by knockout in the first round.
His quarter-final fight came against Team Faber's Joe Proctor. Vick was able to dominate the fight, out-striking Proctor on the feet and successfully defending all of Proctor's take down attempts. Vick won the fight by unanimous decision, earning his way into the semi-final round.
Vick was selected to fight Team Faber fighter and eventual show winner, Michael Chiesa, in the semi-final round. Vick lost the fight via KO in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Vick was scheduled to face castmate Vinc Pichel on June 1, 2012 at. However, due to his KO loss in the semifinals, Vick was unable to compete at the event and Pichel was pulled from the card as well.
In his official debut, Vick faced Ramsey Nijem on August 17, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26. He won the fight via submission at just 58 seconds into the first round.
Vick was expected to face promotional newcomer Valmir Lazaro on August 2, 2014 at UFC 176. However, after UFC 176 was cancelled, Vick/Lazaro was rescheduled and eventually took place on August 23, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 49. He won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.
Vick faced Nick Hein on November 22, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 57. Vick won the fight by unanimous decision.
Vick faced Jake Matthews on May 10, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 65. Vick won the fight via submission in the first round. The win also earned Vick his first Performance of the Night bonus award.
Vick next faced Glaico França on April 23, 2016 at UFC 197. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Vick was expected to face Evan Dunham on June 4, 2016 at UFC 199, filling in for an injured Leonardo Santos. In turn, Dunham pulled out for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Beneil Dariush. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
Vick was scheduled to face Johnny Case on February 4, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 104. However On January 19, Case pulled out the fight citing injury and was replaced by Abel Trujillo. Vick won by submission via submission in the third round.
Vick faced Polo Reyes on May 13, 2017 at UFC 211. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. After the bout with Reyes, Vick signed a new, four-fight contract with UFC.
Vick faced Joseph Duffy on November 4, 2017 at UFC 217. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.
Vick faced Francisco Trinaldo on February 18, 2018 at. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Vick was scheduled to face Paul Felder on July 14, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 133. However, Vick was pulled from that fight in favor of a main event bout with Justin Gaethje on August 25, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 135. He lost the fight via KO in the first round.
Vick faced Paul Felder on February 17, 2019 at. He lost via unanimous decision.
Vick faced Dan Hooker on July 20, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 4. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Subsequently, Vick announced he will be moving up to the welterweight division.
Vick faced Niko Price on October 12, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 19. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Personal life

James and his wife Ada have a son, James Jr.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentMethodRound, timeDateLocationNotes
1Loss0–1 Salvador Roa4March 6, 2010 Music Hall, Austin, Texas, U.S.