Chris Honeycutt
Chris Honeycutt currently competes in Bellator MMA's welterweight division.
Before entering MMA, Chris Honeycutt crafted a successful amateur wrestling career. The Massachusetts native won high school state titles in his home state and in Ohio, wrestling for nationally ranked prep powerhouse Lakewood St. Edward High School in suburban Cleveland.
Honeycutt continued to find success in college on the mat at Edinboro University in western Pennsylvania. Honeycutt earned NCAA All-American honors by placing fifth in the 184-pound weight class at the 2011 NCAA’s, and runner-up at 197 in 2012. He was a two-time EWL (Eastern Wrestling League) champ in 2009 and 2011, losing in the 2012 EWL finals – his only loss his senior year prior to the NCAA’s.
Honeycutt announced his intention to compete in MMA the night before his appearance in the 2012 NCAA title match, which he lost to Cornell's Cam Simaz, 7-5.
Just sixteen months after declaring his intention to compete in MMA, and six months after making his debut, Honeycutt claimed a world title winning the world middleweight championship for the Up & Comers Unlimited promotion at their UPC 16 event at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Honeycutt won the title by unanimous decision over Manny “Sergeant” Murillo in a five-round bout.
Honeycutt continued his winning ways against Jake Gallagher at UPC 18 on January 4, 2014 with TKO victory in the first round.
In his Bellator debut, Honeycutt beat Aaron Wilkinson by TKO in the second round at Bellator 125 on September 19, 2014 to preserve his unblemished professional MMA record at 5-0.
Honeycutt faced Clayton MacFarlane at Bellator 133 on February 13, 2015. He won the fight via TKO in the third round to extend his professional record to 6-0.
In his third fight for the promotion, Honeycutt faced Paul Bradley at Bellator 140 on July 17, 2015. The fight ended midway through the second round after an accidental clash of heads between the two fighters, resulting in a cut on Bradley that the doctor deemed too bad to allow the fighter to continue. The official result was a No Contest.
A rematch with Bradley was held on January 29, 2106 Bellator 148. Despite again being the betting favorite, Honeycutt lost the bout via TKO early in the first round, resulting in the first loss of his MMA career.
Since that defeat, Honeycutt has won three bouts in a row to bring his record to 9-1-1. Honeycutt defeated Matt Secor at Bellator 153 on April 22, 2016, Mikkel Parlo at Bellator at Bellator 156 on June 17, 2016 and Ben Reiter at Bellator Bellator 166 on December 2, 2016. All of the wins came by unanimous decision.
Honeycutt faced Ben Reiter at Bellator 166 on December 2, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Honeycutt faced Kevin Casey at Bellator 182 on August 25, 2017. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.
Honeycutt faced Rafael Lovato Jr. at Bellator 189 on December 1, 2017. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Honeycutt faced Leo Leite at Bellator 202 on July 13, 2018. He won the fight via unanimous decision, getting three 30-25 score cards from the judges.
Honeycutt faced Azamat Bekoev on April 23, 2021 at Absolute Championship Akhamt (ACA) 122, where he lost by rear-naked choke in round 2.
Honeycutt faced Arbi Agujev on September 11, 2021 at ACA 128, where he won by unanimous decision.
Honeycutt faced Nikola Dipchikov at November 18, 2021 at ACA 132: Johnson vs. Vakhaev. He lost the bout after getting knocked out via elbows from the bottom.
Honeycutt faced Vasily Kurochkin on March 9, 2023 at ACA 153, winning the bout via unanimous decision.
Honeycutt faced Abdul-Rakhman Dzhanaev in the Quarter-final of the 2023 ACA Middleweight Grand Prix on August 11, 2023 at ACA 161, losing the bout via TKO stoppage in the first round.
Honeycutt faced former champion Salamu Abdurakhmanov on November 24, 2023 at ACA 166, losing the bout via unanimous decision.
Honeycutt faced Mikhail Dolgov on April 19, 2024 at ACA 174, losing via unanimous decision.