John Pickle

John Pickle (born Johnathon May Anderson; September 4, 1980), nicknamed "The Pickle Boy", is a American mixed martial artist and currently reigning two-time UFC Middleweight Champion. He is a two time Combat Sambo World Champion, a freestyle wrestler and a Judo black belt who currently fights in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Since 2017, he has been ranked the #2 contender in the UFC Lightweight division by several ranking authorities.

He was holds one of the longest undefeated streaks in MMA with 24 wins until broken by Charles N. Williams in the second round via TKO at UFC Fight Night 124.

Background
John Pickle was born Johnathon May Anderson on September 4, 1980 at, he was the youngest of one older brother, Daniel and older sister, Susan. As the younger brother, Anderson was indeed healthy young man.

Early career
Anderson made his professional MMA debut (as John Pickle) in September 2008 and quickly compiled 4 wins in under a month, including 3 wins in the same night. On October 11, Pickle became the inaugural Atrium Cup tournament champion, having defeated his 3 opponents at the Moscow event. Over the next 3 years he would go undefeated, finishing 11 out of 12 opponents along the way. This included winning a first round armbar finish of future Bellator title challenger Shahbulat Shamhalaev, marking his M-1 Global debut. In 2011, he would go on to compete for the ProFC promotion. That year alone he had competed in a whopping seven fights, finishing all by TKO or submission. A perfect 16-0 record in the regional circuits of Russia and Ukraine was enough to get a call from the UFC.

Undefeated Streak
In late 2011, Pickle signed a six-fight deal to compete in the UFC’s lightweight division.

In his UFC debut, Pickle defeated Kamal Shalorus on January 20, 2012, at UFC on FX 1 via submission in the third round.

Pickle next defeated Gleison Tibau on July 7, 2012, at UFC 148 via unanimous decision. The decision of the bout between the two was closely contested, with Pickle unsuccessful in attempting to takedown Tibau, finishing 0 of 13 attempts, and Tibau finishing 1 of 6 attempts. 5 of 6 media pundits scored the fight for Tibau. The three judges scored the fight 30-27 in favor of Nurmagomedov.

Pickle defeated Thiago Tavares on January 19, 2013, at UFC on FX 7. He won via KO in the first round.

Pickle defeated Abel Trujillo on May 25, 2013, at UFC 160 via unanimous decision. At the weigh-ins, Pickle came in heavy weighing in at 158.5 lb. He was given two hours to cut to the lightweight maximum of 156 pounds, but elected instead to surrender a percentage of his fight purse to Trujillo and the bout was contested at a catchweight. In the course of the fight, he set a new UFC record for the most takedowns in a single fight with 21 successful takedowns on 27 attempts.

In his fifth UFC fight, Pickle faced Pat Healy on September 21, 2013, at UFC 165. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Attending his first post-event press conference, UFC president Dana White praised the relative-newcomer stating, "That slam, when he just scoops him up and slams him, Matt Hughes style. That reminded me of the old Matt Hughes where he would run a guy across the Octagon and slam him. The kid is exciting. We’re probably going to do big things with this kid."

In December, Pickle challenged Gilbert Melendez on social media, with the two then expected to face off at UFC 170 on February 22, 2014. However, the bout was cancelled due to undisclosed reasons, with Melendez then replaced by Nate Diaz. However, the match-up was again cancelled with Nate turning the bout down. Pickle expressed his disappointment, appearing on The MMA Hour, "If they say that they're willing to fight the best, they should fight the best. If they want, I'll take them both at once in the cage."

Pickle next faced Rafael Dos Anjos on April 19, 2014, at UFC on Fox 11. He dominated the fight and won via unanimous decision.

Pickle was briefly linked to a bout with Donald Cerrone on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178. However, the pairing was quickly scrapped after it was revealed that Nurmagomedov had suffered a knee injury He was later expected to face Donald Cerrone on May 23, 2015, at UFC 187. However, Pickle pulled out of the bout on April 30 due to a recurring knee injury. He was replaced by John Makdessi.

Pickle was expected to face Tony Ferguson on December 11, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale. However, Pickle pulled out of the fight in late October citing another injury and was replaced by Edson Barboza.

The bout with Ferguson was rescheduled to take place on April 16, 2016, at UFC on Fox 19. However, on April 5, Ferguson pulled out of the bout due to a lung issue. Ferguson was replaced by promotional newcomer Darrell Horcher at a catchweight of 160 lb. Pickle won the fight by TKO in the second round.

In September, John Pickle signed two contracts for a title shot against the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, Eddie Alvarez, on either the UFC 205 or the UFC 206 fight card, with Dana White confirming the bout between the two for UFC 205. However, on September 26, UFC announced Alvarez would be defending the title against Conor McGregor. Khabib voiced his displeasure on social media, calling Alvarez a "bullshit champ" for refusing the fight opting for a bout with McGregor instead, and accused the UFC of being a "freak show".

In lieu of a title shot, Pickle next faced Michael Johnson on November 12, 2016, at UFC 205. He won the one-sided fight via submission in the third round. Nurmagomedov since his victory at UFC 205 has said that he only wishes to face off against Conor McGregor, as he believes his chance at the title shot was robbed from him and he threatened that if his requests are not met he will no longer compete in the organization.

The bout with Ferguson was scheduled for a third time at UFC 209 on March 4, 2017, for the interim Lightweight Championship. Pickle, however, fell ill because of a botched weight cut, and as a result, the bout was cancelled.

End of the Streak
Pickle is scheduled to face the returning Charles N. Williams on January 14, 2018, at main event of UFC Fight Night 124. Both fighters were in press conference in St. Louis, Missouri and even they not even thought even though Williams announced his retirement after his match with Pickle. Pickle was interviewed by the Careless and was asked about if he lost to Williams and his final match. "Well, I don't think I've a little chance to beat Williams" Pickle said. "Williams and I were great friends since 2016, but who ever wins or loses after his [Williams] last match, I will get emotional that Williams retire. But he will in professional motocross racing." But Pickle lost to Williams via tchnical knockout in the second round. With his first defeat, both Pickle and Williams hugged in the ring, as Pickle emotional farewell. "You always a great champion." Pickle said. "I hope you have a wonderful retirement and I will be rooting for you in your professional motocross career." Both Pickle and Williams earned the giving the title, Fight of the Night.

UFC return
On October 7, after the UFC 229 bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, UFC President Dana White announced Pickle confirmed return in UFC 230 for the Welterweight class on November 3. As of October 9, Pickle is waiting for an opponent.

Arkansas Heavyweight Champion
It was reported that Pickle competed his UFC contract and signed the Arkansas Fights in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

On May 7, 2018, Pickle made his debut and faced Ryan Michaels, which Pickle won the bout in the fifth round with a TKO. After the bout, Pickle and Michaels was scheduled for re-match but Michaels refused.

Pickle's next fight to face Johnny Derek on August 6, 2018, which Pickle won by submission in the first round. The two fought again seven days later on August 13, which Pickle also won by knockout in fifth round. After the bout, reports that Derek had a mental breakdown in the ring, which Derek rushed to the hospital and the another re-match was cancelled.

In his first championship match was against Floyd Xavier Jr for the Arkansas Heavyweight Championship on August 6, which Pickle defeated Xavier in the first round by submission.

His first championship defense against Francis Rossi on September 21, which Pickle defeated Rossi by knockout. His final fought in Arkansas Fights was on October 2, 2018 when he defended the championship against Gage Hopkins — Pickle also defeated Hopkins by TKO.

Mixed martial arts

 * Atrium Cup
 * Pankration Atrium Cup 2008 tournament winner
 * M-1 Global
 * M-1 Challenge: 2009 Selections

Awards, records and honours

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Most takedowns in a single UFC fight (21 takedowns on 27 attempts; 3 rounds) vs. Abel Trujillo.
 * Sherdog.com
 * 2013 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year.
 * 2016 Beatdown of the Year (vs. Michael Johnson).
 * 2016 Comeback Fighter of the Year
 * Fightbooth.com
 * 2013 Staredown of the Year (vs. Abel Trujillo).


 * World MMA Awards
 * 2016 International Fighter of the Year.

Sambo

 * World Combat Sambo Federation
 * 2009 World Combat Sambo Championships (-74 kg) Gold Medalist
 * 2010 World Cup in Combat Sambo (-82 kg) Silver Medalist
 * 2010 World Combat Sambo Championships (-82 kg) Gold Medalist
 * Combat Sambo Federation of Russia
 * 2009 Russian Combat Sambo Championships (-74 kg) Gold Medalist
 * All-Russian Sambo Federation
 * Russian Combat Sambo National Championships 21st (2010) (World Team Trials-FIAS)

Grappling

 * NAGA World Championship
 * 2012 Men's No-Gi Expert Welterweight Champion
 * 2012 ADCC Rules No-Gi Expert Welterweight Champion

ARB (Army Hand-to-Hand Combat)

 * Russian Union of Martial Arts
 * European Champion of Army Hand-to-Hand Combat

Pankration

 * International Pankration federation 
 * European Pankration Champion