Casey O'Neill

Scottish-Australian mixed martial artist

Casey O'Neill
Born (1997-10-07) 7 October 1997 (age 26)
Irvine, Scotland, United Kingdom
Other namesKing
NationalityAustralian
British
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight125 lb (57 kg; 8 st 13 lb)
DivisionFlyweight
Reach69 in (175 cm)
StyleKickboxing
Fighting out ofLas Vegas, Nevada, United States[1]
TeamTiger Muay Thai (2019–2020)[2]
Xtreme Couture MMA (2020–present)[1]
RankBrown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Casey Halstead[3]
Years active2019–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total11
Wins9
By knockout3
By submission2
By decision4
Losses2
By submission1
By decision1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Casey O'Neill (born 7 October 1997) is a Scottish Australian mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 26 March 2024, she is #14 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings.[4]

Early life

O'Neill was born in Irvine, Scotland and spent the early years of her life living in Kilmarnock.[5] Her father, Cam, was a professional kickboxer[6] and she began training in kickboxing at the age of four. At the age of 10 she moved with her family to Australia's Gold Coast where she attended Coombabah State High School.[7] At the age of 13, O'Neill began training in other martial arts such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu.[8]

Her father eventually relented and allowed O'Neill to compete in her first amateur MMA fight at the age of 15 where she was soundly beaten in the first round by an opponent four years her senior.[9] She competed in another amateur fight the following year and was again defeated early in the first round. O'Neill then committed to honing her skills and spent the next two years training before returning to amateur circuit at 19 years of age. She then strung together five consecutive amateur wins before turning professional at 21 years of age.[10] In 2019, O'Neill relocated to Phuket, Thailand to begin training at the renowned Tiger Muay Thai gym.[11]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

O'Neill made her professional debut against Amira Hafizović at the Eternal MMA 43 event on 5 April 2019 and was victorious via a unanimous decision.[12] She then secured three more wins domestically against Jada Ketley, Miki Motono, in which she missed weight by 0.2 kg and was forced to vacate her title,[13] and Caitlin McEwen before accepting her first fight overseas with the UAE Warriors promotion. In September 2020 she defeated Christina Stelliou via a second-round knockout at UAE Warriors 13.[14]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In her UFC debut, O'Neill won with a second-round knockout victory over Shana Dobson at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis on 20 February 2021.[15][16][17]

O'Neill faced Lara Procópio on 19 June 2021 at UFC on ESPN: The Korean Zombie vs. Ige.[18] She won the bout after choking Procópio unconscious in the third round via rear-naked choke.[19]

O'Neill faced Antonina Shevchenko on 2 October 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker.[20] She won the fight via technical knockout in round two.[21] This win earned her the Performance of the Night award.[22]

O'Neill faced Roxanne Modafferi on 12 February 2022 at UFC 271.[23] She won the fight via split decision.[24] 19 out of 19 media outlets scored the fight for O'Neill.[25] Judge Robert Alexander, who scored the fight 29-28 for Modafferi, received criticism for his scorecard. Michael Bisping, as part of the live commentary team for the broadcast, said "I don't think [Alexander] should be judging MMA. That judge does not know what he's looking at."[26]

O'Neill was scheduled to face Jessica Eye on 2 July 2022 at UFC 276.[27] However, O'Neill withdrew in late April due to torn ACL and was replaced by Maycee Barber.[28]

O'Neill faced Jennifer Maia on 18 March 2023 at UFC 286.[29] She lost the fight via unanimous decision.[30]

O'Neill was scheduled to face Viviane Araújo on 9 September 2023 at UFC 293.[31] However, O'Neill pulled out in early August due to injury and Araújo was rebooked for a new bout.[32]

O'Neill faced Ariane Lipski on 16 December 2023 at UFC 296.[33] She lost the fight via an armbar submission in the second round.[34]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
11 matches 9 wins 2 losses
By knockout 3 0
By submission 2 1
By decision 4 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 9–2 Ariane Lipski Submission (armbar) UFC 296 16 December 2023 2 1:18 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 9–1 Jennifer Maia Decision (unanimous) UFC 286 18 March 2023 3 5:00 London, England
Win 9–0 Roxanne Modafferi Decision (split) UFC 271 12 February 2022 3 5:00 Houston, Texas, United States
Win 8–0 Antonina Shevchenko TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker 2 October 2021 2 4:47 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Performance of the Night.
Win 7–0 Lara Procópio Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on ESPN: The Korean Zombie vs. Ige 19 June 2021 3 2:54 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 6–0 Shana Dobson TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis 20 February 2021 2 3:41 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 5–0 Christina Stelliou KO (punches) UAE Warriors 13 25 September 2020 2 2:12 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 4–0 Caitlin McEwen Decision (unanimous) Eternal MMA 51 29 February 2020 3 5:00 Perth, Australia Flyweight debut.
Win 3–0 Miki Motono Decision (unanimous) Eternal MMA 48 4 October 2019 5 5:00 Melbourne, Australia O'Neill missed weight (115.4 lb) and was stripped of the Eternal MMA Strawweight Championship. Only Motono was eligible to win the title.
Win 2–0 Jada Ketley Submission (rear-naked choke) Eternal MMA 46 27 July 2019 1 2:32 Melbourne, Australia Defended the Eternal MMA Strawweight Championship.
Win 1–0 Amira Hafizović Decision (unanimous) Eternal MMA 43 5 April 2019 5 5:00 Adelaide, Australia Strawweight debut. Won the Eternal MMA Strawweight Championship.

[37]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Brendan Bradford (18 February 2021). "Casey O'Neill ready for UFC debut after training with and cornering Loma Lookboonme". sportingnews.com.
  2. ^ Nick Hart (28 February 2020). "Casey O'Neill: One Way Ticket to the Top". fightnewsaustralia.com.
  3. ^ @kingcaseymma (20 June 2021). "Officially a brown belt! Best weekend of my life, words can't explain how much it means to me". Retrieved 2 April 2023 – via Instagram.
  4. ^ "UFC Rankings, Division Rankings, P4P rankings, UFC Champions | UFC.com". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  5. ^ Susan Egelstaff (31 October 2021). "From Down Under to top of the sport: Casey O'Neill on joining the UFC". The Herald Scotland. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  6. ^ Zac Pacleb (2 February 2021). "Casey O'Neill thrives in uncomfortable situations". ufc.com. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  7. ^ "King Casey O'Neill - Episode 42". The Run It Back MMA Podcast. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  8. ^ Matt Bungard (19 February 2021). "Aussie young gun Casey O'Neill's 'movielike' journey to UFC". wwos.nine.com.au. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  9. ^ Bec Clegg (19 February 2021). "One to watch at UFC Vegas 19: Casey O'Neill". readmma.com. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  10. ^ Chris Post (20 October 2020). "Eternal champ Casey O'Neill announces UFC Signing". Fight News Australia. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  11. ^ Nick Walshaw (19 February 2019). "UFC fighter Casey O'Neill reveals her battle with COVID and traversing four countries for Octagon debut". news.com.au. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  12. ^ Genevieve Gao (2 June 2019). "Chatting with Southside MMA's Casey O'Neill". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Eternal 48 Results". Fight News Australia. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  14. ^ FNA Staff (28 September 2020). "Casey O'Neill remains undefeated with win at UAE Warriors 13". Fight News Australia. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  15. ^ Thomas Gerbasi (21 February 2021). "UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Lewis fight results". UFC.com. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  16. ^ Eddie Mercado (20 February 2021). "UFC Vegas 19 prelims results & video: Aiemann, Castaneda, Erosa, O'Neill, & Spivak all finish with strikes". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  17. ^ Jay Anderson (20 February 2021). "Casey O'Neill Debuts in Style, Finishes Shana Dobson". Cageside Press. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  18. ^ Mike Heck and Guilherme Cruz (18 March 2021). "Casey O'Neill vs. Lara Procopio set for UFC event on June 19". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  19. ^ Anderson, Jay (19 June 2021). "UFC Vegas 29 Results: Casey O'Neill Puts Lara Procopio to Sleep". Cageside Press. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  20. ^ Farah Hannoun (27 August 2021). "Casey O'Neill vs. Antonina Shevchenko added to UFC Fight Night 193 on Oct. 2". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  21. ^ Anderson, Jay (2 October 2021). "UFC Vegas 38 Results: Casey O'Neill Stays Perfect, Pounds Out Antonina Shevchenko". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  22. ^ a b "UFC Fight Night 193 bonuses: Four prelim fighters pocket 'Performance of the Night' awards". MMA Junkie. 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  23. ^ Behunin, Alex (2 November 2021). "Casey O'Neill vs. Roxanne Modafferi Added To UFC 271". Cageside Press. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  24. ^ Anderson, Jay (12 February 2022). "UFC 271: Casey O'Neill Sends Roxanne Modafferi Into Retirement in Fun, High-Volume Scrap". Cageside Press. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Casey O'Neill def. Roxanne Modafferi :: UFC 271 :: MMA Decisions". mmadecisions.com. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  26. ^ "'F*** you': Aussie flips the bird, unleashes at booing crowd in X-rated rant". Fox Sports. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  27. ^ "UFC 276 | Eye vs. Casey in belangrijke partij voor de vlieggewicht rankings". Eurosport (in Dutch). 25 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  28. ^ Damon Martin (28 April 2022). "Casey O'Neill out, Maycee Barber now expected to face Jessica Eye at UFC 276". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  29. ^ Jay Anderson (6 January 2023). "Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O'Neill Lined Up for UFC 286 in London". Cageside Press. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  30. ^ Jay Anderson (18 March 2023). "UFC 286: Jennifer Maia turns back Casey O'Neill, serves up prospect's first loss". Cageside Press. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  31. ^ Cruz, Guilherme (9 June 2023). "Viviane Araujo vs. Casey O'Neill booked for UFC 293 in Australia". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  32. ^ "With Casey O'Neill out of UFC 293, Viviane Araujo will now face Jennifer Maia on Oct. 14". MMA Junkie. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  33. ^ Segura, Danny (28 September 2023). "Ariane Lipski vs. Casey O'Neill booked for UFC 296". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  34. ^ Anderson, Jay (16 December 2023). "Queen of Violence Indeed! Ariane Lipski Rocks, Submits Casey O'Neill at UFC 296". Cageside Press. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  35. ^ Thomas Gerbasi (20 December 2021). "The 10 Best Newcomers Of 2021". Ultimate Fighting Championship.
  36. ^ Heck, Mike (31 December 2021). "MMA Fighting's 2021 Rookie of the Year: Casey O'Neill". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  37. ^ Sherdog.com. "Casey". Sherdog. Retrieved 2 October 2021.

External links

  • Casey O'Neill at UFC
  • Professional MMA record for Casey O'Neill from Sherdog