Brian Kelleher
Skill profile
138 MMA anchors Striking, TD Defense, Grappling · his tags and claims adjust Accuracy, Control · stats alone on Striking D, Durability, Wrestling.
Career rates — the raw numbers behind the chart
Insider info
vs Cody Gibson clear UFC Fight Night Lemos vs Jandiroba Full Card Analysis, Prediction & Breakdown (UFC Vegas 94) · July 15, 2024
A specific, unhedged mechanism: Gibson lands first and often with his reach, stays safe against Kelleher's guillotine hunting, and grinds out minutes on top for a decision -- he closes by flatly declaring Gibson the winner by decision. He separately flags the betting line as on the wide side, which is wager caution about price, not a hedge on the outcome, so it is recorded here but does not demote the grade.
A good striker with good combinations and leg kicks, plus good scrambles and a good guillotine on the mat, but the analyst calls his takedown defense badly lacking ('sucks most of the time'), usually because he's hunting a guillotine instead of defending or scrambling back up.
vs Cody Garbrandt coinflip UFC 296 Full Card Breakdown, Prediction, & Analysis · December 12, 2023 · 1 read since
lowest amount of confidence
Our paraphrase: Kelleher is predominantly a boxer on the feet with good scrambles and a dangerous, frequently-used guillotine in the grappling, but his takedown defense isn't his strength and he is often held down because he prioritizes hunting submissions over working back to his feet.
vs Journey Newson coinflip UFC Fight Night Song vs Simon Predictions And Full Card Breakdown UFC Vegas 72 · April 25, 2023 · 2 reads since
He states the pick (Newson) but calls the fight 'a total pass for me' twice and adds 'who knows', explicitly declining to recommend a bet -- a direct hedge on the outcome itself, not just price.
Good boxer with decent combinations whose best art is grappling: good in scrambles with a reliable guillotine. The analyst dislikes his stylistic habit of hunting submissions from his back instead of returning to his feet, which leaves him exposed to takedown volume and control time -- a weakness he thinks could cost him rounds in this fight. His last five came against notably tougher competition than Newson's.
Striking trend
Fight history
L Cody Gibson 19-10 walk-in Submission · R1 3:58 — UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Jandiroba · July 20, 2024
L Cody Garbrandt 13-5 walk-in KO/TKO · R1 3:42 — UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington · December 16, 2023
L Mario Bautista 9-2 walk-in Submission · R1 2:27 — UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot · June 25, 2022
L Umar Nurmagomedov 13-0 walk-in Submission · R1 3:15 — UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal · March 5, 2022
W Kevin Croom 21-13 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Chikadze · January 15, 2022
W Domingo Pilarte 8-2 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Gastelum · August 21, 2021
L Ricky Simon 17-3 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns · February 13, 2021
W Ray Rodriguez 0-0 walk-in Submission · R1 0:39 — UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai · September 5, 2020
L Cody Stamann 18-2-1 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer · June 6, 2020
W Hunter Azure 8-0 walk-in KO/TKO · R2 3:40 — UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira · May 13, 2020
W Ode Osbourne 8-2 walk-in Submission · R1 2:49 — UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy · January 18, 2020
L Montel Jackson 6-1 walk-in Submission · R1 1:40 — UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 · December 29, 2018
L John Lineker 28-8 walk-in KO/TKO · R3 3:43 — UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington · May 12, 2018
W Renan Barao 34-5 walk-in Decision - Unanimous · R3 5:00 — UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs. Stephens · February 24, 2018
W Damian Stasiak 6-4 walk-in KO/TKO · R3 3:39 — UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Till · October 21, 2017
L Marlon Vera 11-3-1 walk-in Submission · R1 2:18 — UFC Fight Night: Weidman vs. Gastelum · July 22, 2017
W Iuri Alcantara 35-7 walk-in Submission · R1 1:48 — UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway · June 3, 2017
Walk-in records count UFC bouts in this database. For the pre-UFC career, see the record breakdown below or the Tapology button up top.
Record breakdown
Wins by method
Losses by method
Fights by organization
+ 4 more organizations in the full career list
Full career — 40 fights, every organization
| Opponent | Method | Event | Org | Rd | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L | Cody Gibson | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC on ESPN: Lemos vs. Jandiroba
July 20, 2024 |
UFC | 1 | 3:58 |
| L | Cody Garbrandt | KO (punch) | UFC 296
December 16, 2023 |
UFC | 1 | 3:42 |
| L | Mario Bautista | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC on ESPN: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot
June 25, 2022 |
UFC | 1 | 2:27 |
| L | Umar Nurmagomedov | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 272
March 5, 2022 |
UFC | 1 | 3:15 |
| W | Kevin Croom | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Chikadze
January 15, 2022 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Domingo Pilarte | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum
August 21, 2021 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Ricky Simón | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 258
February 13, 2021 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Ray Rodriguez | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai
September 5, 2020 |
UFC | 1 | 0:39 |
| L | Cody Stamann | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 250
June 6, 2020 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Hunter Azure | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira
May 13, 2020 |
UFC | 2 | 3:40 |
| W | Ode' Osbourne | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 246
January 18, 2020 |
UFC | 1 | 2:49 |
| L | Montel Jackson | Submission (D'Arce choke) | UFC 232
December 29, 2018 |
UFC | 1 | 1:40 |
| L | John Lineker | KO (punch) | UFC 224
May 12, 2018 |
UFC | 3 | 3:43 |
| W | Renan Barão | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens
February 24, 2018 |
UFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Damian Stasiak | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Till
October 21, 2017 |
UFC | 3 | 3:39 |
| L | Marlon Vera | Submission (armbar) | UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum
July 22, 2017 |
UFC | 1 | 2:18 |
| W | Iuri Alcântara | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 212
June 3, 2017 |
UFC | 1 | 1:48 |
| W | Julio Arce | Submission (guillotine choke) | Ring of Combat 54
March 4, 2016 |
Ring of Combat | 3 | 0:18 |
| W | Josh Robinson | KO (spinning back fist) | Ring of Combat 53
November 20, 2015 |
Ring of Combat | 3 | 0:24 |
| W | Julio Arce | Decision (majority) | Ring of Combat 52
September 25, 2015 |
Ring of Combat | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Jay Haas | Submission (guillotine choke) | CCFC 49
June 6, 2015 |
CCFC | 1 | 4:49 |
| W | Andre Soukhamthath | Decision (unanimous) | CES MMA 28
March 13, 2015 |
CES MMA | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Mark Cherico | Submission (guillotine choke) | Pinnacle FC 9
November 26, 2014 |
Pinnacle FC | 1 | 0:37 |
| L | Andy Main | Submission (triangle choke) | CCFC 34
April 19, 2014 |
CCFC | 1 | 1:26 |
| W | Lester Caslow | Submission (rear-naked choke) | CCFC 31
February 8, 2014 |
CCFC | 2 | 1:34 |
| L | Jeff Smith | Submission (armbar) | CCFC 29
November 1, 2013 |
CCFC | 2 | 4:39 |
| L | Scott Heckman | Decision (unanimous) | CCFC 27
September 21, 2013 |
CCFC | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Jimmie Rivera | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 95
April 4, 2013 |
Bellator | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Tyler Kahihikolo | Decision (unanimous) | Coalition of Combat
December 1, 2012 |
Coalition of Combat | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Bill Jones | KO (punch) | WCMMA 1: Portugal vs. USA
September 15, 2012 |
WCMMA | 1 | 0:10 |
| W | Ryan Vaccaro | TKO (flying knee) | Rock Out Knock Out
June 2, 2012 |
Rock Out Knock Out | 2 | 0:56 |
| W | Raphael Chavez | TKO (punches) | CCFC 14
April 14, 2012 |
CCFC | 2 | 3:41 |
| W | Josh Parker | Submission (rear-naked choke) | NEF: Fight Night 1
February 11, 2012 |
NEF | 1 | 4:31 |
| L | Artur Rofi | Submission (armbar) | CCFC 12
December 10, 2011 |
CCFC | 1 | 4:57 |
| L | Claudio Ledesma | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 54
October 15, 2011 |
Bellator | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Michael LaDuke | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Ring of Combat 37
September 9, 2011 |
Ring of Combat | 3 | 3:14 |
| W | Manny Millan | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Xtreme Fight Events: Cage Wars 9
July 29, 2011 |
Xtreme Fight Events | 1 | 3:34 |
| W | Siyam Yousefi | Submission (guillotine choke) | CCFC 8
May 20, 2011 |
CCFC | 1 | 2:41 |
| W | Nate Ainsworth | KO (punch) | CZ 37
April 29, 2011 |
CZ | 1 | 0:23 |
| L | Dan Cion | Submission (guillotine choke) | Xtreme Fight Events: Cage Wars 5
March 11, 2011 |
Xtreme Fight Events | 1 | 4:42 |
Career history from the fighter's Wikipedia record table (Brian Kelleher) — results only, no strike stats; UFC bouts are marked and carry full stats in the fight history above.
Division context
Headshot of Brian Kelleher by UFC · Official UFC athlete photo (copyright UFC; not freely licensed) · Wikimedia Commons · flattened onto dark background, cropped/resized