John Makdessi

Overview

Twenty UFC fights, and 14 of them went the distance.

John Makdessi, "The Bull," is a Halifax-born lightweight who sits at 11-9 in the UFC. Eight of his 11 wins came by decision, and he took nine of those 20 fights to the scorecards and lost six of them there. His 18-9-0 professional record includes fights outside the UFC; the UFC mark is 11-9. He debuted in December 2010 and has fought on the promotion's biggest cards, including UFC 124, UFC 140, UFC 187, UFC 194 and UFC 293.

He comes into his next fight on a two-fight losing streak.

UFC Career

Makdessi started 2-0 in 2010 and 2011, beating Pat Audinwood by unanimous decision and Kyle Watson by third-round TKO at 1:27. Then came a first-round submission loss to Dennis Hallman at UFC 140 and a decision loss to Anthony Njokuani.

A three-fight winning streak followed, the longest of his UFC run: Sam Stout and Daron Cruickshank by unanimous decision, then Renee Forte by TKO at 2:01 of round 1. Alan Patrick ended the run with a decision in January 2014.

The middle of his career was the roughest stretch. After a first-round TKO of Shane Campbell, Makdessi lost to Donald Cerrone by TKO at 4:44 of round 2. Our model rates Cerrone as an elite opponent, the highest tier any of his opponents reached. Yancy Medeiros took a split decision at UFC 194, and Lando Vannata stopped him in the first round at UFC 206.

He rebuilt with unanimous decisions over Abel Trujillo, Ross Pearson and Jesus Pinedo, and he beat Ignacio Bahamondes by split decision in 2021. His other recent results were losses: Francisco Trinaldo (a strong opponent by our model's tiers), Nasrat Haqparast and Jamie Mullarkey, all by unanimous decision.

Eleven wins, none against an elite opponent.

Fighting Style

John Makdessi is a busy, accurate striker who is hard to hit. He lands more per minute than most UFC fighters and is also very good at avoiding strikes. He still absorbs punches at a normal rate, so he gets hit about as often as the typical fighter.

He rarely shoots for takedowns and doesn't hunt for submissions, but he is hard to take down. That fits a record with no submission wins and one submission loss.

The finish pattern is clear. All three of his finishes were TKOs: two in round 1 and one in round 3. The other eight wins went to the scorecards.

Notable Wins

• Sam Stout — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC 154 (2012)
• Renee Forte — KO/TKO, round 1 (2:01), UFC 165 (2013)
• Shane Campbell — KO/TKO, round 1 (4:53), UFC 186 (2015)
• Ignacio Bahamondes — split decision, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Holland (2021)

Quick Facts

• Division: Lightweight
• UFC record: 11-9 (3 wins by KO/TKO, 8 by decision)
• Professional record (all promotions): 18-9-0
• UFC debut: December 2010
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 5'8" / 68"
• Team: Fight Ready, Scottsdale, AZ
• Born: Halifax, Canada