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Anthony Birchak (born May 16, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2009. he formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Legacy Fighting Alliance, Bellator, Rizin and the MFC.

Background

Birchak is Mexican American and was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. Birchak was a highly decorated amateur wrestler at Sahuarita High School. Birchak attended Pima Community College and Grand Canyon University where he majored in Visual Communications. His wife Mercedes White acts as his manager. Together they have launched a mixed martial arts school TOROTech MMA.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Birchak made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2009 competing primarily in regional promotions across the Southwestern United States, before making an appearance at Bellator 41 where he earned a submission victory over Tyler Bialecki. After seven more fights and two titles later on the regional and Canadian circuit, where he compiled a record of 11–1, Birchak signed with the UFC in the summer of 2014.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Birchak was expected to make his promotional debut against Joe Soto on August 30, 2014, at UFC 177. However, on the day of the weigh-ins, event headliner Renan Barão had to be admitted to the hospital as a result of his attempts to cut weight. Soto was tabbed as his replacement against T.J. Dillashaw. Subsequently, Birchak was removed from the card entirely.

Birchak faced Ian Entwistle on December 13, 2014, at UFC on Fox 13. Birchak lost the bout via submission in the first round.

A rescheduled bout with Joe Soto took place on June 6, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 68. Birchak won the fight via knockout in the first round.

Birchak next faced Thomas Almeida on November 7, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 77. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Birchak next faced Dileno Lopes on July 7, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 90. He won the fight via split decision.

Despite winning his last fight, Birchak never received a new contract offer from the UFC and was released from the promotion in February 2017.

Post-UFC career

Rizin FF

Birchak quickly signed with Rizin Fighting Federation after his UFC release. He made his debut against Tatsuya Kawajiri on April 16, 2017, at Rizin FF 5. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Birchak next faced Takafumi Otsuka in the first round of the Rizin Bantamweight Grand Prix on July 30, 2017, at Rizin 6. He lost the fight via split decision.

Combate Americas

Birchak faced Adam Martinez at Combate Americas Mexico vs. USA on October 13, 2018. He won the fight via TKO only 51 seconds into the fight.

LFA

Birchak was expected to headline LFA 72 against Nohelin Hernandez on July 26, 2019. However, Hernandez stepped in to replace Sean O'Malley at UFC 239 and was replaced by Raphael Montini de Lima. Birchak won the fight in the first round via submission.

Combate Americas

After the victory in the LFA, Birchak was expected to face Erik Aguilar Radleim at Combate Americas' event on October 11, 2019. However, Radleim pulled out due to visa issues and was replaced by Jose Luis Calvo.

Return to UFC

Birchak faced Gustavo Lopez, replacing Felipe Colares, on November 7, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira. He lost the fight via a submission in round one.

Birchak was scheduled to face Johnny Eduardo on March 20, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 21. However, on March 15 Eduardo withdrew from the bout due to visa issues. It is unclear if a replacement would be sought by the promotion.

Birchak faced off against Tony Gravely, replacing Nate Maness on April 17, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 22. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

After the loss he was released by the UFC.

Championships and accomplishments

• Maximum Fighting Championship
  • MFC Bantamweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. ^ "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Boetsch vs. Henderson". UFC.com. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
2. Anthony Birchak (June 5, 2019). "I was promoted to 10th Planet Blackbelt tonight by my mentor, coach, sensei @coachcasey10 and cant wait to represent 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu at the Blackbelt level!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
3. "Anthony Birchak - Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
4. Gonzalez, Norma (October 18, 2018). "Tucson native Anthony Birchak will bring Bushido code to Saturday's MMA fight". Tucson.com. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
5. Sahuarita High School#cite note-3
6. "TOROTech Mixed Martial Arts". www.facebook.com. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
7. "Home - Anthony Birchak". Anthony Birchak. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
8. Zane Simon (August 14, 2014). "Welcome to the UFC, Felder, Birchak, & Soto". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
9. Thomas Gerbasi (August 12, 2014). "Soto-Birchak completes UFC 177 card". UFC.com. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
10. "Renan Barao out of UFC 177, Joe Soto meets T.J. Dillashaw for title". MMAjunkie.com. August 29, 2014.
11. Jacob Cooper (September 23, 2014). "Ian Entwistle faces Anthony Birchak at UFC on FOX 13". fansided.com. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
12. Steven Marrocco (December 13, 2014). "UFC on FOX 13 results: Ian Entwistle leglock halts Anthony Birchak in 64 seconds". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
13. Marc Raimondi (March 18, 2015). "Joe Soto returns to meet Anthony Birchak at UFC Fight Night in New Orleans". mmafighting.com. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
14. Damon Martin (June 6, 2015). "Anthony Birchak face plants Joe Soto with crushing first-round KO". foxsports.com. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
15. Marc Raimondi (September 9, 2015). "Thomas Almeida, Anthony Birchak to meet in Sao Paulo". mmafighting.com. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
16. Steven Marrocco (November 7, 2015). "UFC Fight Night 77 results: Thomas Almeida stays perfect, flattens Anthony Birchak". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
17. Tristen Critchfield (April 29, 2016). "Anthony Birchak vs. Dileno Lopes added to UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas on July 7". sherdog.com. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
18. Brent Brookhouse (July 7, 2016). "UFC Fight Night 90 results: Anthony Birchak edges Dileno Lopes by split decision". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
19. Lee, Joseph (April 15, 2017). "Anthony Birchak Talks About His Exit From the UFC". 411mania.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
20. Segura, Danny (March 15, 2017). "Anthony Birchak vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri, more added to Rizin FF event in April". mmafighting.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
21. Hashimoto, Norihiro (April 22, 2017). "新たな風景を見せるRIZINのリングで". number.bunshun.jp. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
22. "大塚選手が勝利いたしました！RIZIN バンタム級トーナメント。". tgriptokyo.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
23. Jesse Holland (September 18, 2018). "Erik Perez vs John Castaneda headlines Combate Americas 'Mexico vs USA' on Oct. 13 in Tucson". mmamania.com.
24. Winn, Daniel (October 14, 2018). "Tucson's Birchak TKO's opponent in less than a minute on national TV". kvoa.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
25. Nolan King (June 18, 2019). "UFC veteran Anthony Birchak, top prospect Nohelin Hernandez headline LFA 72 in Phoenix". mmajunkie.com.
26. Hammond, Mick (July 23, 2019). "Anthony Birchak Says He Brings Too Much To The Table For His LFA 72 Late Replacement". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
27. Tristen Critchfield (October 2, 2019). "Jose Alday vs. Joby Sanchez to Headline Combate Americas Card in Tucson on Oct. 11". sherdog.com.
28. DNA, MMA (November 4, 2020). "Anthony Birchak keert terug in de UFC, treft Gustavo Lopez aanstaande zaterdag in Las Vegas". MMA DNA. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
29. Evanoff, Josh (November 7, 2020). "UFC Vegas 13 Results: Gustavo Lopez Finishes Anthony Birchak". Cageside Press. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
30. Nolan King and Farah Hannoun (February 18, 2021). "Johnny Eduardo returns from 33-month layoff, fights Anthony Birchak at March 20 UFC event". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
31. Guilherme Cruz and Mike Heck (March 15, 2021). "Johnny Eduardo out of UFC Vegas 22 fight with Anthony Birchak - MMA Fighting". mmafighting.com. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
32. DNA, MMA (March 26, 2021). "Anthony Birchak vervangt Nate Maness tegen Tony Gravely tijdens UFC evenement op 17 april". MMA DNA. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
33. Behunin, Alex (April 17, 2021). "UFC Vegas 24 Results: Tony Gravely Scores Second-Round Knockout of Anthony Birchak". Cageside Press. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
34. Hiergesell, Dan (May 8, 2021). "Sanders Leads Pack Of Recent UFC Cuts". MMAmania.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.

External links

• UFC Fight Night 68 results: Anthony Birchak gets knockout upset of Joe Soto at MMAjunkie.com}
• Anthony Birchak at UFC
• Professional MMA record for Anthony Birchak from Sherdog

• 1986 births
• Living people
• American male mixed martial artists
• Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
• American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent
• Bantamweight mixed martial artists
• Featherweight mixed martial artists
• Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling
• Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
• Sportspeople from Tucson, Arizona
• Mixed martial artists from Arizona
• American male sport wrestlers
• Amateur wrestlers
• American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
• People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu