Richard Walsh (born 1 December 1988) is an Australian mixed martial artist. He previously competed in the Welterweight division of the UFC. He was also a semi-finalist on The Ultimate Fighter: Canada vs. Australia.
Background Walsh graduated from St. Ignatius College in Sydney in 2006. He went on to complete a bachelor's degree in construction at the University of New South Wales before going to study abroad at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Walsh also enrolled in postgraduate law, but chose instead to pursue mixed martial arts. He trains out of VT1 Martial Arts in Chatswood."http://richywalsh.com.au/bio/ ". richywalsh.com.au. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.
Mixed martial arts career
Amateur career Walsh competed extensively before becoming a professional athlete. He has fought in both amateur Muay Thai and western boxing where he holds records of 10–0 and 6–0 respectively. He is also a former Brazilian jiu-jitsu state champion."http://www.ufc.com/tuf/fighter/richard-walsh". UFC.com. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.
Early professional career Walsh made his professional mixed martial arts debut on 29 May 2009 when he defeated Tahu Pauro by first-round submission. He went on to fight seven more times, four of which ended in first round victories, before auditioning for TUF: Nations.
The Ultimate Fighter On 5 December 2013, it was announced that Walsh had been selected as one of the welterweight fighters representing Australia for The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia. The reality show was led by Patrick Côté and Kyle Noke and premiered in early 2014.Helwani, Ariel. "TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia cast revealed", "mmafighting.com". 5 December 2013. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.
In episode five of the show Walsh, who was placed on Team Noke, faced Matt DesRoches from Team Cote. Dominating the fight from start to finish, Walsh scored a unanimous decision and earned the second win for his team. He proceeded to the semi-finals of the competition.Downes, Dan. "TUF Nations: Episode 5 Recap", "ufc.com". 12 February 2014. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.
In the semi-finals, Walsh faced the much-touted Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Walsh was defeated in the first round via rear-naked choke.Bohn, Mike. "TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia cast revealed", "mmajunkie.com". 2 April 2014. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Walsh fought former teammate Chris Indich on the undercard of The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale: Bisping vs. Kennedy.Ducey, Liam. "Perth mixed martial arts fighter Chris Indich needs decisive victory in UFC showdown", "The Sydney Morning Herald", Australia, 15 April 2014. Retrieved on 24 July 2014. The event took place on 16 April 2014 at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.Grienke, Keith. "UFC Headed To Quebec City For April 16 Event", "TopMMANews.com",10 December 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2014. Walsh was able to control the fight for three rounds and was awarded a unanimous decision as a result.Ducey, Liam. "Perth fighter Chris Indich outclassed in UFC debut", "The Sydney Morning Herald", Australia, 17 April 2014. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.Herbertson, Lisa. "Polished Fighter Earns UFC Fans", "North Shore Times", Australia, 30 April 2014. Retrieved on 24 July 2014.
Walsh faced Kiichi Kunimoto at UFC Fight Night 52. He lost the fight via controversial split decision. Many prominent MMA sites and fighters scored the bout in Walsh's favour given his dominance in the first two rounds of the fight.Al-Shatti, Shaun. "UFC Fight Night 52 in Tweets: Pros react to Mark Hunt's walk-off KO of Roy Nelson, more", "MMA Fighting",20 September 2014. Retrieved on 21 September 2014.
Walsh faced Alan Jouban on 28 February 2015 at UFC 184. Jouban won the fight via knockout in the first round.
Walsh faced Steve Kennedy on 15 November 2015 at UFC 193. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Walsh faced Viscardi Andrade on 20 March 2016 at UFC Fight Night 85. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Walsh next faced Jonathan Meunier on 27 November 2016 at UFC Fight Night 101. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
In May 2017, Walsh was released from the company.
Post Ultimate Fighting Championship
Walsh was awarded his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in January 2018. He is currently working at the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai.
Personal life Walsh trained at the same gym as fellow UFC fighter and TUF 20 alumni Alex Chambers prior to the latter's departure in mid 2015. Unlike Chambers, Walsh originally had no intention of competing. However, he has been a longtime fan of MMA and combat sports which finally led to his decision to turn professional.Murray, Oliver. "VT1 Academy fighters Richard Walsh and Alex Chambers take step closer to Ultimate Fighting Championship dreams", "Daily Telegraph", Sydney, 16 December 2013. Retrieved on 23 July 2014.
Mixed martial arts record
| Loss | align=center | | Jonathan Meunier | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson | | align=center | 3 | align=center | 5:00 | Melbourne, Australia
| NC | align=center | 9–3 (1) | Viscardi Andrade | No Contest (overturned) | UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir | | align=center | 3 | align=center | 5:00 | Brisbane, Australia
| Win | align=center | 9–3 | Steve Kennedy | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 193 | | align=center | 3 | align=center | 5:00 | Melbourne, Australia
| Loss | align=center | 8–3 | Alan Jouban | KO (elbow and punches) | UFC 184 | | align=center | 1 | align=center | 2:19 | Los Angeles, California, United States
| Loss | align=center | 8–2 | Kiichi Kunimoto | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Nelson | | align=center | 3 | align=center | 5:00 | Saitama, Japan
| Win | align=center | 8–1 | Chris Indich | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale: Bisping vs. Kennedy | | align=center | 3 | align=center | 5:00 | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
| Win | align=center | 7–1 | Aaron Forsterling | Decision (unanimous) | BRACE 18 | | align=center | 3 | align=center | 5:00 | Canberra, Australia
| Win | align=center | 6–1 | Amer Hussein | TKO (punches) | Proud Warrior Productions 5: Magalhaes vs. Brown | | align=center | 1 | align=center | | Sydney, Australia
| Win | align=center | 5–1 | Callan Potter | KO (knee) | Gladiators Cage Fighting: Series 2 | | align=center | 1 | align=center | 4:15 | Cronulla, Australia
| Win | align=center | 4–1 | Josh Russell | KO (punches) | War on the North Shore 15 | | align=center | 1 | align=center | 1:10 | Kallangur, Australia
| Win | align=center | 3–1 | Adriano Magnani | TKO (punches) | Pro Cagefighting 1: Gladiators | | align=center | 1 | align=center | 4:30 | Sydney, Australia
| Loss | align=center | 2–1 | Robert Whittaker | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Cage Fighting Championships 11 | | align=center | 2 | align=center | 2:40 | Sydney, Australia
| Win | align=center | 2–0 | Blake Doering | Decision (unanimous) | War on the North Shore 10 | | align=center | 3 | align=center | 5:00 | Sydney, Australia
| Win | align=center | 1–0 | Tahu Pauro | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Elite Fight Night 8 | | align=center | 1 | align=center | 3:30 | Penrith, Australia |
See also List of current UFC fighters List of male mixed martial artists
References
External links