Cody Gibson


Cody Gibson is an American mixed martial artist who competes in Tachi Palace Fights and formerly competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Background

Born in Blackwell, Oklahoma, in 1987, Gibson's family moved west two years later, settling in the small town of Visalia, California.

Early mixed martial arts career

Regional circuit

While home for the summer during college, Cody's friend invited him to a mixed martial arts gym in Exeter, California, to give it a try. He quickly found out that he enjoyed fighting and took his first professional fight only a few weeks after beginning training. Over the course of the next two years, Cody, still wrestling in college, would take a total of three professional fights, despite not having been trained extensively in any discipline other than wrestling. Still, he managed to begin his MMA career with a 3–0 start. After graduating from college, Cody had a lot of regrets about not meeting his potential as a college wrestler. He never felt like his priorities as an athlete were in order and left college with a lot of regrets. Upon moving back to Visalia, California, he found a local gym called Elite Team Visalia under head coach, judo and jiu-jitsu black belt Tom Knox. Over the next three years, Cody fought on the local circuit while learning the arts of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay thai, and boxing. He fought on shows such as Porterville, California's The Warriors Cage, Lemoore, California's Tachi Palace Fights, and made appearances for Nick Diaz's foray into promoting show called WAR MMA as well as for AXSTV's Titan Fighting Championship.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In February 2014, riding a six-fight win streak, Gibson was signed by the UFC as a short-notice replacement to fight fellow newcomer Aljamain Sterling on February 22, 2014 at UFC 170. Gibson lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Gibson faced Johnny Bedford on June 28, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 44, replacing an injured Rani Yahya. Gibson won the fight via TKO 38 seconds into the first round.
Gibson faced Manvel Gamburyan on September 27, 2014 at UFC 178. Gibson lost the fight via submission in the second round
Gibson faced Douglas Silva de Andrade on February 22, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 61. He lost the fight by unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Post-UFC fighting career

In April 2016 Gibson made his return to the cage after a year off due to injury. Gibson defeated Justin Linn by unanimous decision at The Warriors Cage: Showdown.
Gibson then went on to defeat Rolando Velasco to win the Tachi Palace Fights Bantamweight title via unanimous decision at Tachi Palace, Lemoore, California, on May 19, 2016 in the 5 round main event at TPF27: Mayhem.
In September 2016 it was announced that Gibson will defend his TPF championship against Kyle Reyes at Tachi Palace Fights 29 on November 3rd. Gibson won the fight by knock out in the second round.
On May 18, 2017 Gibson vacated his Bantamweight title and moved up a weight class to fight Adrian Diaz for the TPF Featherweight Championship.
Cody Gibson then moved on to teaching school. He started teaching at Woodlake High School, where he taught students for 2 years. Now he is a teacher at El Diamante High School in Visalia.

Mixed martial arts record

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts