Nick Newell, without question, owns one of the most inspirational stories in the history of our sport. Born with a congenital amputation that left him with one full arm, Newell has never allowed that to slow him down. Newell was able to join the high school wrestling team followed by a collegiate career as well, with over 300 wins total in his wrestling career.
Newell began his professional MMA career in 2009. And after an impressive 9-0 start, Newell was signed to the World Series of Fighting, where he went 4-1, with his lone loss coming to top-10 UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje. Finally, earlier this year, Newell was provided an opportunity to realize his dream of fighting in the UFC by being placed on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Unfortunately for Newell, he lost via unanimous decision to Alex Munoz, and White closed the door on Newell’s dream:
“I respect that kid very much,” White said of Newell. “Obviously, that’s why I gave him an opportunity. I just always believed that the UFC was a tough place for Nick. This is a tough place with two arms and two legs. This is the real deal. I put him in The Contender Series to see if he could make it to the UFC. He didn’t make it.”
But as has always been the case throughout his life, Nick Newell is not sitting around and feeling sorry for himself. He is hoping to land a new home in 2019, and the Connecticut native knows just the place to make his arrival:
Hey @ScottCoker I hear @BellatorMMA is coming to CT again? Nobody in CT is more popular or puts more asses in seats then I do & I am available pic.twitter.com/b0errX3jEe
— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) December 17, 2018
“Hey @ScottCoker I hear @BellatorMMA is coming to CT again? Nobody in CT is more popular or puts more asses in seats then I do & I am available.”
The Bellator card Newell is referring to takes place February 16, 2019 and will be headlined by Welterweight Grand Prix fighters and rivals Michael Venom Page and Paul Daley. Newell hopes to find a new MMA home during a homecoming, and you can be sure that many fans around the world and in Connecticut would love nothing more than to witness the next chapter in Newell’s amazing story.
Do you believe we will be seeing Nick Newell in Bellator MMA?
