Austin Tweedy Record: 11-4-0

The submission specialist emerges

The fights that defined Tweedy's prospect status came in 2015 and 2016. In September 2015 he submitted the once-beaten Brandon Jenkins by first-round rear-naked choke at Midwest Fight Series 13, then opened 2016 by choking out the experienced 14-8 Jason Gilliam, again by rear-naked choke in the first round at Midwest Fight Series 14. The back-to-back finishes of credentialed opposition marked him as a legitimate lightweight to watch and set up his shot at the big stage.

Contender Series and the road since

Tweedy's UFC opportunity arrived in June 2018, when, carrying a 10-1 record, he was tapped to fight on Dana White's Contender Series against Te Edwards. The night didn't go his way – Edwards stopped him with a punch in the first round, denying him a contract. He answered in 2019 with a first-round TKO of David Putvin, but later that year was knocked out by Chris Brown at WXC 84. In more recent years Tweedy has branched into striking-rules bouts, including a 2024 kickboxing loss to Khama Worthy, while carrying an 11-4 MMA record.

Fighting style

Tweedy is a finisher in the truest sense: every one of his MMA wins has come inside the distance, with nine submissions and two knockouts and not a single decision on his ledger – a 100% finish rate across his victories. The rear-naked choke is his signature weapon, the natural payoff of his wrestling base and scrambling, and he is at his most dangerous in the opening round, where the bulk of his finishes have come. The trade-off is a high-variance, all-or-nothing profile: when an opponent can keep him at range and crack him, the fight can end quickly the other way, as his two knockout losses show. But few regional lightweights have been as consistently lethal once a fight hits the mat.

Career highlights

• Perfect finishing record — all 11 of his MMA wins have come by stoppage, nine by submission, giving him a 100% finish rate among his victories.
• Contender Series fighter — earned a spot on Dana White's Contender Series in 2018 against Te Edwards on the strength of a 10-1 record.
• Signature submission — choked out the experienced 14-8 Jason Gilliam in the first round, one of his marquee regional wins.