Quick Facts
Biography
James Adam McSweeney (born 24 October 1980) is an English mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. A professional competitor since 2005, McSweeney is perhaps best known for being a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, but has also competed in British promotions such as Cage Rage and BAMMA.
Background
Born in London, England, McSweeney started kickboxing when he was six years old. At 15, he left school and moved to Thailand to train full-time in Muay Thai. An accomplished kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter, McSweeney won numerous titles.
In 2006, McSweeney transitioned to mixed martial arts and moved in with The Ultimate Fighter coach Rashad Evans. The two quickly struck up a bond after McSweeney helped prepare Evans for his bout against Forrest Griffin in December 2008. While training for his fight against Travis Browne, McSweeney switched his camp from Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, New Mexico to the Grudge Training Centre in Denver, Colorado to train full-time along with fellow UFC competitors Shane Carwin, Brendan Schaub and Nate Marquardt. McSweeney recently moved out of the Grudge Training Centre to return to the tutelage of European Muay Thai legend Lucien Carbin and to open up his own gym Sledgehammer MMA in Kent, England.
The Ultimate Fighter
McSweeney was on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights fighting alongside Team Rashad. McSweeney was the first overall pick and fought on the second episode of the show against Wes Shivers defeating him via majority decision. McSweeney moved on to the next round of the tournament, fighting teammate, Matt Mitrione. McSweeney won via guillotine choke in the first round. In the semi-finals, McSweeney lost against former IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson via TKO after getting caught in the crucifix position.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
McSweeney was given another chance by the UFC despite losing on The Ultimate Fighter. He fought Darrill Schoonover on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale card in Las Vegas, Nevada on 5 December winning by TKO in the third round.
McSweeney made his second appearance for the UFC on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale preliminary card, fighting against undefeated newcomer Travis Browne. The fight ended in a TKO victory for Browne due to punches at 4:32 of the first round. McSweeney claims he was hit with illegal elbows and briefly tried to appeal the loss. McSweeney later decided against the appeal to focus on his next fight instead.
McSweeney was to drop to the Light Heavyweight division at UFC 120 to fight Tom Blackledge. However, McSweeney would instead face Fábio Maldonado after Blackledge was forced to pull out of the bout. McSweeney lost the bout in the third round via TKO due to punches.
As of 20 January 2011, conversations over McSweeney's Twitter account were strongly indicative that he is no longer a part of the UFC.
Independent Promotions
McSweeney has gone 10-6 since his release from the UFC.
McSweeney lost a unanimous decision to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez at BAMMA 5: Daley vs Shirai on 26 February 2011. He then had a further loss to submissions ace Francisco France in April 2011 at a Crowbar MMA event. Fighting on 22 July 2011, Mcsweeney defeated Lee Mein by TKO (Punches) in the 1st round. On 20 August 2011, McSweeney defeated Sam Brown by Submission (armbar) in the 1st round.
McSweeney faced former MFC Light Heavyweight Champion Emanuel Newton at Superior Cage Combat 3. He lost by submission in the first round.
McSweeney faced fellow UFC veteran Paul Buentello in a Light Heavyweight bout on 23 August 2013 at Legacy Fighting Championship 22. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Since then, he has won his last two fights, one by submission and one by KO.
ONE Championship
In 2014, McSweeney signed with the Asian promotion ONE Championship. He faced Chris Lokteff in his debut at ONE Fighting Championship: Rise of Heroes in May and won via KO due to a flying knee in round 1.
In his second fight for the promotion, McSweeney faced Cristiano Kaminishi at ONE FC: Reign of Champions in August. He again won the fight via KO in the first round.
For his third fight with the promotion, McSweeney faced Roger Gracie at ONE FC 23: Warrior's Way in December. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.
Kickboxing record
| Kickboxing record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss |  Brian Douwes | KO (left hook) | K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Amsterdam | 16 April 2008 | 1 | 1:10 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| Win |  Marin Došen | TKO (flying knee) | WFC 4 | 29 March 2008 | 2 | N/A | Ljubljana, Slovenia | |
| Win |  Michael McDonald | Decision (majority) | Cage Rage 21: Judgement Day | 21 April 2007 | 3 | 3:00 | London, England | |
| Loss |  Roman Kupcak | KO (strikes) | K-1 European League 2006 in Bratislava | 17 February 2006 | 2 | N/A | Bratislava, Slovakia | |
| Loss | Koos Wessels | Decision | Fights at the Border IV | 10 December 2005 | 3 | 3:00 | Lommel, Belgium | |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest | ||||||||
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 30 matches | 15 wins | 15 losses |
| By knockout | 9 | 10 |
| By submission | 6 | 4 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 15–15 | Tai Tuivasa | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | AFC MMA Fight 17 | 15 October 2016 | 1 | 5:00 | Melbourne, Australia | For the AFC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Loss | 15–14 | Karol Bedorf | TKO (elbows) | KSW 34: New Order | 5 March 2016 | 1 | 3:33 | Warsaw, Poland | For the KSW Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 15–13 | Marcin Rózalski | Submission (rear-naked choke) | KSW 32: Road To Wembley | 31 October 2015 | 1 | 2:16 | London, England | |
| Loss | 14–13 | Denis Goltsov | TKO (head kick and punches) | Tech-Krep FC - Prime Selection 4: Grandmasters | 24 July 2015 | 2 | 0:46 | Krasnodar, Russia | |
| Loss | 14–12 | Roger Gracie | TKO (front kick to the body and punches) | ONE FC 23: Warrior's Way | 5 December 2014 | 3 | 3:15 | Pasay City, Philippines | |
| Win | 14–11 | Cristiano Kaminishi | KO (punch and soccer kick) | ONE FC: Reign of Champions | 29 August 2014 | 1 | 1:17 | Dubai, UAE | |
| Win | 13–11 | Chris Lokteff | KO (flying knee) | ONE Fighting Championship: Rise of Heroes | 2 May 2014 | 1 | 3:04 | Pasay City, Philippines | |
| Win | 12–11 | Stefan Traunmuller | Submission (armbar) | FFC09: McSweeney vs. Traunmuller | 15 November 2013 | 1 | 0:35 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | Return to Heavyweight |
| Loss | 11–11 | Paul Buentello | TKO (body punch) | Legacy FC 22 | 23 August 2013 | 2 | 2:44 | Lubbock, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 11–10 | Dion Staring | TKO (head kick and punches) | CFA 10: McSweeney vs. Staring | 2 March 2013 | 1 | 0:38 | Coral Gables, Florida, United States | |
| Loss | 10–10 | Matti Mäkelä | TKO (punches) | Superior Challenge 8 | 6 October 2012 | 2 | 0:00 | Malmö, Sweden | |
| Win | 10–9 | Jeff King | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Shamrock Events Kings of Kombat 7 | 23 June 2012 | 1 | 2:30 | Melbourne, Australia | |
| Win | 9–9 | Kym Robinson | TKO (punches and elbows) | Shamrock Events Night of Mayhem 4 | 14 April 2012 | 1 | 3:03 | Dandenong, Victoria, Australia | Return to Light Heavyweight |
| Win | 8–9 | Felis Leniu | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Shamrock Events Kings of Kombat 6 | 17 March 2012 | 1 | 0:00 | Keysborough, Victoria, Australia | Heavyweight bout |
| Win | 7–9 | Doug Viney | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Shamrock Events Kings of Kombat 5 | 10 December 2011 | 1 | 2:30 | Keysborough, Victoria, Australia | |
| Loss | 6–9 | Emanuel Newton | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Superior Cage Combat 3 | 4 November 2011 | 1 | 1:45 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6–8 | Sam Brown | Submission (armbar) | Shamrock Events Kings of Kombat 4 | 20 August 2011 | 1 | 2:25 | Melbourne, Australia | |
| Win | 5–8 | Lee Mein | TKO (punches) | Bully's Fight Night 2 | 22 July 2011 | 1 | 2:01 | Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada | |
| Loss | 4–8 | Francisco France | Submission (kimura) | Crowbar MMA Spring Brawl 2011 | 29 April 2011 | 1 | 1:35 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | |
| Loss | 4–7 | Ricco Rodriguez | Decision (unanimous) | BAMMA 5: Daley vs. Shirai | 26 February 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Manchester, England | 215 pound catchweight bout |
| Loss | 4–6 | Fábio Maldonado | TKO (punches) | UFC 120 | 16 October 2010 | 3 | 0:48 | London, England | Light Heavyweight debut |
| Loss | 4–5 | Travis Browne | TKO (punches) | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale | 19 June 2010 | 1 | 4:32 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 4–4 | Darrill Schoonover | TKO (punches and knees) | The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale | 5 December 2009 | 3 | 3:20 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 3–4 | Ricardo Romero | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Ring of Combat 24 | 17 April 2009 | 1 | 2:27 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Loss | 3–3 | Neil Grove | KO (punches) | UCMMA 1: Bad Breed | 6 December 2008 | 2 | 1:38 | London, England | |
| Win | 3–2 | Roman Webber | KO (knee) | Cage Rage 28 | 20 September 2008 | 1 | 0:10 | London, England | |
| Win | 2–2 | Chris Cooper | TKO (punches) | FX3: Fight Night 9 | 13 September 2008 | 1 | 3:09 | Reading, Berkshire, England | |
| Loss | 1–2 | Mostapha al-Turk | TKO (punches) | Cage Rage 27 | 12 July 2008 | 1 | 2:06 | London, England | For the Cage Rage British HW title |
| Loss | 1–1 | Robert Paczków | Submission (smother choke) | Cage Rage 24 | 1 December 2007 | 1 | 2:09 | London, England | |
| Win | 1–0 | Mark Buchanan | TKO (punches) | Cage Rage 22 | 14 July 2007 | 1 | 1:30 | London, England |
Mixed martial arts exhibition record
| Exhibition record breakdown | ||
| 3 matches | 2 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2–1 | Roy Nelson | TKO (punches) | The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights | 1 | 4:13 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Semi-finals | |
| Win | 2–0 | Matt Mitrione | Submission (guillotine choke) | The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights | 1 | 3:38 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Quarter-finals | |
| Win | 1–0 | Wes Shivers | Decision (majority) | The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights | 2 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Preliminary bout |