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Chris Lytle
Born	(1974-08-18) August 18, 1974 (age 50) Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Other names	Lights Out
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Division	Heavyweight Light Heavyweight Middleweight Welterweight
Reach	68 in (173 cm)
Style	Wrestling, Boxing, Tang Soo Do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Submission Fighting, Muay Thai
Stance	Orthodox
Team	Integrated Fighting Academy
Trainer	Pat McPherson (MMA) Keith Palmer (Boxing)
Years active	1999–2011 (MMA) 2002–2005 (Boxing)
Professional boxing record
Total	15
Wins	13
By knockout	7
Losses	1
Draws	1
Mixed martial arts record
Total	54
Wins	31
By knockout	6
By submission	19
By decision	6
Losses	18
By knockout	2
By decision	16
Draws	5
Other information
Occupation	Firefighter
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: September 15, 2009

Chris Scott Lytle (born August 18, 1974) is an American retired mixed martial artist and boxer. A professional from 1999 until 2011 and twenty-fight veteran of the UFC, Lytle also fought in Pancrase, Cage Rage, and the WEC. He held the inaugural Cage Rage World Welterweight Championship and was a finalist on The Ultimate Fighter 4. During his tenure in the UFC, he was awarded "Fight of the Night" honors six times.

Background

Lytle was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and graduated from Southport High School in 1993. At Southport, he was an active member of the Wrestling team, finishing 4th at the Indiana State Wrestling Finals in his junior year and 2nd place his senior year. In fact, to this day, he still participates in workouts at the Southport High School with the wrestling team, Coach Petty and Coach Dildine. He has also helped coach at New Palestine High School. Lytle attended Indiana University, where he achieved a degree in sports management, and studied the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Lytle started training for fighting in 1998, saying that it was "something to keep me active". He trains part-time outside of his regular job as a firefighter, attending single-discipline gyms rather than MMA camps. He has held championships in the Hook N' Shoot and Absolute Fighting Championship promotions and won the Cage Rage World Welterweight Championship. He became the 175 lb Indiana state boxing champion, saying, "By the end of the year (2004), I think I'll have a few more smaller boxing titles."

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 2006 Lytle was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 4 on Spike, where he defeated Pete Spratt and Din Thomas in exhibition bouts to proceed to the welterweight finale. On November 11, Matt Serra defeated Lytle by split decision in The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale. Lytle was the more active fighter standing up, with Serra tying up and using foot stomps until he got takedowns, at which time he became the more active fighter, with Lytle holding guard and seemingly waiting for the referee to stand the fight up. Two judges scored the bout 30–27 for Serra and one judge scored the fight 30–27 for Lytle, but despite the scores the match was very close.

He lost to former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes on March 3 at UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio via unanimous decision.

Lytle fought Jason Gilliam at UFC 73 on July 7, 2007. Lytle controlled the pace of the fight in the first round and eventually brought Gilliam to the ground. Lytle worked from top position, and eventually sunk in an inverted triangle choke from top position. To seal the fight he locked in an inverted armbar on Gilliam's free arm, forcing him to tap.

At a United Fight League show taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana on August 11, 2007, Lytle defeated Matt Brown by a guillotine choke in the second round.

Chris later lost to Thiago Alves at UFC 78 via a controversial doctor stoppage due to a cut at the end of the second round. Many fans booed as the cut was under the eye and fairly small. Typically doctors stop fights when blood his seeping into a fighters eye and impede vision.

Lytle went on to defeat Kyle Bradley at UFC 81 by KO at 33 seconds of the first round. In an interview after the fight, Lytle stated that he had a new outlook on fighting; he would no longer pursue an "overly-technical" approach to each fight, but would go into his next fight and "not be afraid to lose."

On July 5, 2008, at UFC 86 Lytle lost to Josh Koscheck in a UFC Welterweight title eliminator fight. Koscheck used an effective ground and pound style to open up massive cuts on Lytle's face and ultimately won by decision.

Lytle's next fight was against British fighter Paul Taylor at UFC 89 on October 18, 2008, in Birmingham, England. Lytle won a unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, and 29–28). The decision resulted in loud boos and Taylor was surprised at Lytle being awarded the judges' decision.

Lytle's next fight was on January 17, 2009, against Marcus Davis at UFC 93. Both fighters are former boxers and had discussed a potential fight in their futures since early 2008. Lytle called out Davis after his win at UFC 89. He suggested that the fight take place in Ireland, where Davis had garnered a substantial following due to his emphasis on his Irish roots. Leading up to the event, both fighters promised to stand and trade blows for the entire fight, rather than engage in grappling. Lytle managed to stun Davis several times, but Davis used superior footwork, counterpunching, and kicks to win a split decision The bout shared Fight of the Night honors with the Coleman/Rua co-main event, earning Lytle a $40,000 bonus.

Lytle again won Fight of the Night at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale, defeating Kevin Burns, Lytle received a $25,000 bonus along with Diego Sanchez, Clay Guida, Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz whose respective fights also won Fight of the Night. He was scheduled to fight Carlos Condit on September 16, 2009, at UFC Fight Night 19, but had to pull out due to a knee injury.

Lytle was expected to face Dong Hyun Kim on February 21, 2010, at UFC 110. This fight was later cancelled after Kim suffered a knee injury. Lytle instead faced Brian Foster at UFC 110 and was victorious via first round kneebar submission.

Lytle defeated Matt Brown on July 3, 2010, at UFC 116 via straight armbar/triangle choke in a rematch from 2007. The submission was very technical and was a strong contender for yet another Submission of the Night bonus, but said award was won by Brock Lesnar for the surprising arm triangle choke used on Shane Carwin, a choice that created minor controversy among fans. Although not another official fight bonus, Lytle was later awarded an undisclosed bonus for managing another exciting finish.

Lytle faced former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra on September 25, 2010, at UFC 119 in a rematch of their 2006 bout at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale which he won via unanimous decision, out striking Serra throughout all three rounds.

Lytle was expected to face Carlos Condit on February 27, 2011, at UFC 127. However, Condit was forced from the bout after suffering a knee injury while training and replaced by UFC newcomer Brian Ebersole. Ebersole defeated Lytle via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, and 29–28), again winning Fight of the Night.

Lytle faced former UFC welterweight title contender Dan Hardy on August 14, 2011, at UFC on Versus 5. Chris Lytle stated at the weigh-ins he would retire after the bout regardless of the outcome. Regarding his retirement, Chris has been quoted as saying "“I feel like I’m not being the type of dad I want to. I got four kids and lots of time I feel just an immense sense of guilt for not being there in times when I should.” Lytle defeated Hardy via guillotine choke submission in the third round after being successful early on by utilizing his superior boxing, thus closing out his MMA career with a victory and 10–10 record in the UFC. Lytle walked away with Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night honors, and earned a 2012 Softail Blackline motorcycle from Harley-Davidson for the performance.

Personal life

Lytle currently resides in New Palestine, Indiana and is married to Kristin and has four children. He works full-time as a firefighter at the Indianapolis Fire Department in addition to his fighting career. He also ran for the Indiana State Senate in District 28 in 2012 but lost.

On July 11, 2014, it was announced that Lytle was the latest to join the panel of MMA analysts for Fox Sports 1.

Currently Lytle hosts the Lights Out Chris Lytle Show for City 360 TV in Indianapolis, Indiana.

On July 10, 2020 Lytle, along with Mike Davis and Miguel Iturrate, launched the Lytes Out Podcast.

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • First Fighter to win Fight, Submission and Knockout of the Night bonuses
  • Fight of the Night (Six times)
  • Knockout of the Night (One time)
  • Submission of the Night (Three times)
    • Most Post-Fight bonuses in UFC Welterweight division history (10)
  • The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finalist
  • Tied (Demian Maia & Vicente Luque) for second most submissions in UFC Welterweight division history (6)
  • Most submission attempts in UFC Welterweight division history (31)
• Cage Rage
  • Cage Rage World Welterweight Championship (One time)
• Sherdog
  • 2010 All-Violence First Team

Boxing

• Indiana Boxing Association
  • Indiana Boxing Association Light Heavyweight Title (One time)
  • Two successful title defenses

Mixed martial arts record

Professional boxing record

13 Wins (7 knockouts, 6 decisions), 1 Loss (1 decision), 1 Draw
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	13–1–1	Omar Pittman	TKO	7 (8), 0:42	June 18, 2005	Rising Sun, IN
Win	12–1–1	Verdell Smith	UD	8	November 27, 2004	Rising Sun, IN
Win	11–1–1	Thomas Kirk	UD	6	October 19, 2004	Indianapolis, IN
Win	10–1–1	Jonathan Corn	UD	8	May 1, 2004	Indianapolis, IN
Win	9–1–1	Reggie Strickland	UD	6	February 3, 2004	Indianapolis, IN
Loss	8–1–1	Shay Mobley	UD	8	October 17, 2003	Merrillville, IN
Win	8–0–1	Darin Johnson	KO	3 (8), 1:37	October 7, 2003	Indianapolis, IN
Win	7–0–1	Mike Paul	TKO	1 (4), 1:08	August 5, 2003	Indianapolis, IN
Win	6–0–1	John Moore	UD	8	June 25, 2003	Evansville, IN	Retained Indiana Boxing Association Light Heavyweight Title.
Win	5–0–1	Guy Solis	TKO	1 (8), 2:59	June 3, 2003	Indianapolis, IN	Retained Indiana Boxing Association Light Heavyweight Title.
Win	4–0–1	John Moore	TKO	8 (8), 1:43	April 1, 2003	Indianapolis, IN	Won Indiana Boxing Association Light Heavyweight Title.
Win	3–0–1	Ruben Ruiz	TKO	1 (4), 2:59	December 3, 2002	Indianapolis, IN
Win	2–0–1	Donnie Penelton	UD	4	October 1, 2002	Indianapolis, IN
Win	1–0–1	Toris Smith	TKO	1 (4)	August 6, 2002	Memphis, TN
Draw	0–0–1	Matt Putnam	PTS	4	June 25, 2002	Baraboo, WI

Bare knuckle record

See also

• List of mixed martial artists with professional boxing records

Notes and references

1. "Chris Lytle: Fireman, Father, UFC Star". Archived from the original on 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
2. Episode Recap mentioning his children and his job as a firefighter
3. ^ "Lytle eyeing a hometown advantage". SUNTIMES.com. 2010-07-23. Archived from the original on July 27, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
4. Gerbasi, Thomas. "Lytle considering run for office in 2012". www.UFC.com. UFC. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
5. "UFC veteran Chris Lytle latest addition to panel of MMA analysts for FOX Sports 1 (Updated)". mmamania.com. July 11, 2014.
6. ^ UFC (December 7, 2024). "UFC Welterweight Division - Stats". UFC.com.
7. "Sherdog's 2010 All-Violence Team - First Team".
8. "Chris Lytle - Boxer". Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
9. "Chris Lytle's career boxing record". Boxrec.com. Retrieved 2008-10-18.

External links

• Professional MMA record for Chris Lytle from Sherdog
• Official UFC Profile
• Boxing record for Chris Lytle from BoxRec (registration required)

• 1974 births
• Living people
• American male mixed martial artists
• Boxers from Indiana
• Mixed martial artists from Indiana
• Welterweight mixed martial artists
• Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing
• Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling
• Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
• Light-heavyweight boxers
• American bare-knuckle boxers
• American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
• Sportspeople from Indianapolis
• American male boxers
• Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
• 20th-century American sportsmen