Nam Phan

Nhat Nam Si Phan (born March 13, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who competes for Bellator MMA. A professional competitor in mixed martial arts since 2001, Phan has also competed for the UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, World Victory Road, and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck.

Background

Born and raised in California, Phan began training in Tae Kwon Do at the age of four. A few years later, Phan began karate and he did that for eight years. By the age of 16, he had earned a second degree black belt in Việt Quyền Đạo, a Vietnamese combat martial art, and also holds a black belt in karate. Phan then began studying Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the year 2000. He is also a professional boxer with a record of 3-1.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Phan made his professional mixed martial arts debut against Jason Maxwell in October 2001, and won due to a second-round TKO. He then won his following three fights also, before tasting defeat at the hands of Rob McCullough in April 2003. In December 2006, and now with a 12-2 record, he made his promotonal debut with Strikeforce against Josh Thomson at Strikeforce: Triple Threat. He lost via unanimous decision, however, and was also defeated in his next, and last, Strikeforce fight against Billy Evangelista at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson.