Darren Stewart
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Darren Erdley Stewart (born 30 December 1990) is a retired English mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2013, he competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Cage Warriors.
Background
Stewart was born in Poplar, East London, England. His father was from Jamaica and his mother was from St Vincent. Encouraged by his mum, Stewart started MMA training at 13 for self-defence due to the crime rate was high in London with the youth during that time. His friend Regan Lawrence was at The MMA Clinic at that time and invited him to try on MMA, even though his initial thought was "I’m not doing that crap, cage fighting. I’ve seen the blood on TV. No way", but he eventually found MMA full contact striking exciting, and thrived where he competed in the UK and abroad.
Stewart worked as a full-time prison officer for the Crown Court in London Bridge.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Stewart fought most of the fights in England and picked up seven consecutive wins with five by knockout before signed by UFC. He was the former Killacam light heavy weight champion in England.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Light heavyweight
Stewart made his promotional debut on 17 September 2016, at UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Nogueira 2 against Francimar Barroso at São Paulo, Brazil. Stewart was initially declared the winner of the fight via TKO, but the decision was overturned by Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA), after an appeal from Borroso, as a result from an accidental head butt prior Stewart rained down a series of heavy punches. The bout was finally declared as no contest. Calling for a rematch when UFC would return to London, Stewart was displeased with the CABMMA decision and commented "The entire situation stinks. I put a lot of time and money into this fight, won the fight, and his mates at the Brazilian MMA Commission overturned the decision. Fighting a Brazilian in Brazil is something that every fighter should think very strongly about. Had I lost and made an appeal to the Brazil commission, I doubt it would be overturned because I’m not from Brazil.”
The match with Francimar Barroso was rescheduled on 18 March 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Middleweight
After losing to Barroso in March 2017, Stewart announced he would compete in the middleweight division.
Stewart faced Karl Roberson on 11 November 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.
Stewart faced promotional newcomer Julian Marquez on 16 December 2017 at UFC on Fox 26. He lost the back-and-forth bout via submission in the second round. Even though he lost the fight, he was awarded a Fight of the Night bonus award.
Stewart faced Eric Spicely on 27 May 2018 at UFC Fight Night 130. He won the fight via technical knock out in the second round. The win earned him his first Performance of the Night award.
Stewart faced Charles Byrd on 8 September 2018 at UFC 228. He won the fight via technical knockout.
Stewart faced promotional newcomer Edmen Shahbazyan on 30 November 2018 at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. He lost the fight via split decision.
Stewart faced Bevon Lewis on 8 June 2019 at UFC 238. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Stewart faced Deron Winn on 18 October 2019 at UFC on ESPN 6. At the weigh-in, Winn weighed in at 188.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the middleweight non-title fight limit of 186. The bout was held at catchweight and winn was fined 20% of his purse which went to their opponents Stewart. He won the fight via split decision.
Stewart was scheduled to face Marvin Vettori on 21 March 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UFC bout was moved to Cage Warriors 113 main event in which he faced Bartosz Fabiński instead. Stewart lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Stewart faced Maki Pitolo on 8 August 2020 at UFC Fight Night 174. He won the fight via a guillotine choke in round one. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Stewart faced Kevin Holland on 19 September 2020 at UFC Fight Night 178. He lost the fight via split decision.
Stewart faced Eryk Anders on 13 March 2021 at UFC Fight Night 187. Due to an illegal knee thrown by Anders in round one, the fight was declared a no contest.
Stewart rematched Eryk Anders on 12 June 2021 at UFC 263. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Stewart faced Dustin Jacoby on 28 August 2021 at UFC on ESPN 30. He lost the fight via TKO in round one.
On 31 August 2021, it was announced that Stewart was released by UFC.
Return to Cage Warriors
Stewart faced Mick Stanton at Cage Warriors 141 on 22 July 2022. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.
Stewart faced Guilherme Cadena on 31 December 2022 at Cage Warriors 148, winning the bout via TKO stoppage in the first round due to elbows and punches on the ground.
Stewart returned to Cage Warriors on 6 May 2023 at Cage Warriors 154, taking on Leon Aliu and winning the bout via unanimous decision.
Stewart faced Matthew Bonner on 1 July 2023 at Cage Warriors 156, winning the bout via unanimous decision.
Stewart faced Antonio Zovak on 25 November 2023 at Cage Warriors 164, winning the bout via first round TKO stoppage.
On 30 March 2024, Stewart faced Carlos Pereira in a 195 lb bout at Cage Warriors 169, losing the bout via TKO stoppage in the second round.
On 27 August 2024, Stewart announced his retirement from MMA citing financial difficulties as the primary reason.
Boxing career
On 15 February 2025, Stewart was announced to make his professional boxing debut against Darren Till on the undercard of Misfits 21 – Unfinished Business on 29 March at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. However, on 21 March the event was postponed due to the headline fighter KSI falling ill. On 17 April, the bout was rescheduled for 16 May at the Vaillant Live in Derby, becoming the new headliner for Misfits 21 – Blinders & Brawls. Stewart lost to Till via unanimous decision.
Personal life
Stewart's moniker "The Dentist" refers to his opponents, whereby "He (his opponent) is just another patient who's gonna get drilled".
Stewart is an avid dancer and was a student of contemporary dance, ballet and street dance for GCSE. He was also a salsa dancing champion.
Stewart lives in Barking, London with his fiancée Katherine, an Ecuadorian, and his sons Marlon and Tyler.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Julian Marquez Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Eric Spicely and Maki Pitolo UFC.com Awards 2017: Ranked #10 Fight of the Year vs. Julian Marquez
- Killacam Promotions Killacam Promotions Light Heavyweight Champion (One time) One successful title defence
Mixed martial arts record
| 28 matches | 16 wins | 10 losses |
| By knockout | 9 | 2 |
| By submission | 1 | 2 |
| By decision | 6 | 6 |
| No contests | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 16–10 (2) | Carlos Pereira | TKO (punches) | Cage Warriors 169 | 30 March 2024 | 2 | 0:28 | London, England | Catchweight (195 lb) bout. |
| Win | 16–9 (2) | Antonio Zovak | TKO (punches) | Cage Warriors 164 | 25 November 2023 | 1 | 1:43 | Newcastle, England | Return to Light Heavyweight. |
| Win | 15–9 (2) | Matthew Bonner | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Warriors 156 | 1 July 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Cardiff, Wales | |
| Win | 14–9 (2) | Leon Aliu | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Warriors 154 | 6 May 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Rome, Italy | |
| Win | 13–9 (2) | Guilherme Cadena | TKO (elbow and punches) | Cage Warriors 148 | 31 December 2022 | 1 | 2:07 | London, England | Catchweight (195 lb) bout. |
| Loss | 12–9 (2) | Mick Stanton | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Warriors 141 | 22 July 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | Return to Middleweight. |
| Loss | 12–8 (2) | Dustin Jacoby | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze | 28 August 2021 | 1 | 3:04 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 12–7 (2) | Eryk Anders | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 263 | 12 June 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Glendale, Arizona, United States | Return to Light Heavyweight. |
| NC | 12–6 (2) | Eryk Anders | NC (illegal knee) | UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad | 13 March 2021 | 1 | 4:37 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Anders landed an illegal knee to Stewart's head, who was a downed opponent. |
| Loss | 12–6 (1) | Kevin Holland | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley | 19 September 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 12–5 (1) | Maki Pitolo | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik | 8 August 2020 | 1 | 3:41 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 11–5 (1) | Bartosz Fabiński | Decision (unanimous) | Cage Warriors 113 | 20 March 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Manchester, England | |
| Win | 11–4 (1) | Deron Winn | Decision (split) | UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman | 18 October 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | Catchweight (188.5 lb) bout; Winn missed weight. |
| Win | 10–4 (1) | Bevon Lewis | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 238 | 8 June 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Loss | 9–4 (1) | Edmen Shahbazyan | Decision (split) | The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters Finale | 30 November 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 9–3 (1) | Charles Byrd | TKO (punches and elbows) | UFC 228 | 8 September 2018 | 2 | 2:17 | Dallas, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 8–3 (1) | Eric Spicely | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till | 27 May 2018 | 2 | 1:47 | Liverpool, England | Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 7–3 (1) | Julian Marquez | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos | 16 December 2017 | 2 | 2:42 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | Fight of the Night. |
| Loss | 7–2 (1) | Karl Roberson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis | 11 November 2017 | 1 | 3:41 | Norfolk, Virginia, United States | Middleweight debut. |
| Loss | 7–1 (1) | Francimar Barroso | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson | 18 March 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | |
| NC | 7–0 (1) | Francimar Barroso | NC (overturned) | UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Nogueira 2 | 19 November 2016 | 1 | 1:34 | São Paulo, Brazil | Originally a TKO (punches) win for Stewart; overturned by CABMMA due to an inadvertent headbutt. |
| Win | 7–0 | Boubacar Balde | TKO (punches) | Cage Warriors 77 | 8 July 2016 | 3 | 1:28 | London, England | |
| Win | 6–0 | James Hurrell | TKO (punches) | Cage Warriors 75 | 15 April 2016 | 1 | 0:37 | London, England | |
| Win | 5–0 | Grégory Pierre | Decision (unanimous) | Killacam Fight Night 9 | 12 December 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Kent, England | Defended the Killacam Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 4–0 | Carl Kinslow | KO (knee) | Killacam Fight Night 8 | 4 July 2015 | 1 | 4:56 | Kent, England | Won the Killacam Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 3–0 | Lloyd Clarkson | Decision (unanimous) | Warrior Fight Series 3 | 23 May 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | |
| Win | 2–0 | Pelu Adetola | TKO (knees) | Cage Warriors 74 | 15 November 2014 | 1 | 2:24 | London, England | |
| Win | 1–0 | Michael Revenscroft | TKO (elbows) | Cage Warriors 69 | 7 June 2014 | 1 | 1:23 | London, England |
MF–Professional boxing record
| 1 fight | 0 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Loss | 0–1 | Darren Till | UD | 8 | 16 May 2025 | Vaillant Live, Derby, England |