Born and raised in the heart of Chicago's South Side, Taylor learned to defend himself from a young age. After being arrested at around age 16 for fighting a group of four gang members attacking him, Taylor was introduced to a high school wrestling coach and former Olympic alternate Ken Binge, by his pastor. Taylor, a sophomore at the time, later moved in with an uncle so that he could attend the school and compete. Highly talented, Taylor was a two-time state qualifier, and became the first competitor from a Chicago public school to compete in the state tournament. He later went on to wrestle for Lassen Community College in Susanville, California. At-then junior college powerhouse Lassen, Taylor was introduced to MMA and wrestled for two seasons before transferring to Eastern Illinois University. Competing at 174 lbs. under legendary former UFC champion and EIU coach Matt Hughes, Taylor excelled. Later, Taylor returned to Chicago to coach his former high school team, before transitioning to MMA at the age of 28.
Taylor had three amateur fights before making his professional debut in 2007 as a Light Heavyweight. Taylor compiled a record of 4-0 before debuting for Strikeforce.
Taylor was at the tryouts for The Ultimate Fighter 13 on November 4, 2010. He did not make the final cast to get onto the show which debuted on March 30, 2011.
Strikeforce
Taylor made his Strikeforce debut at on November 7, 2009 against Nate Moore and was defeated via submission due to punches in the second round. He would make his next appearance for the promotion in the main event of Strikeforce Challengers: Riggs vs. Taylor on August 13, 2010 against former WEC Welterweight ChampionJoe Riggs and was defeated via submission due to punches in the third round.
Combat USA
Taylor fought Jason Louck on May 14, 2011 to determine the Middleweight Combat USA State Champion of Illinois. Taylor won the fight by submission and was then supposed to face the Middleweight Combat USA State Champion of Wisconsin, Herbert Goodman. Unfortunately, Taylor Combat USA would not release Taylor from his contract.
Bellator Fighting Championships
Taylor first fought for Bellator at Bellator 14 on April 15, 2010 and won by KO due to a head kick in the first round over Ryan Sturdy. Taylor fought for the promotion again on December 14, 2012 at against UFC veteran Joe Vedepo. Taylor defeated Vedepo via first-round knockout.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
After an injury forced Costas Philippou out of his bout with Uriah Hall, it was announced on January 2, 2015, that Taylor had signed on to face Hall on short notice at on January 18, 2015. However, on January 11, it was announced that Taylor pulled out of the fight due to a pulled muscle in his back and had his contract terminated as result.
On March 12, 2016, Taylor made his World Series of Fighting debut at against Cory Devela. He won via guillotine choke submission in 29 seconds of the first round. On July 30, 2016, Taylor faced undefeated fighter Phil Hawes at. He won via guillotine choke submission in the second round.
Professional Fighters League
Taylor faced Anderson Goncalves at PFL 3 in Washington D.C. on July 5, 2018. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. In the fall of 2018, Taylor entered the PFL Middleweight tournament. At PFL 10 on October 20, 2018, he defeated Rex Harris by unanimous decision in the quarterfinal round. He then fought John Howard to a technical draw in the semifinal round; Taylor advanced to the finals by having won the first round. Taylor faced Abuspiyan Magomedov in the finals at PFL 11 on December 31, 2018. He won the fight via knockout just 33 seconds into the first round, winning the PFL Middleweight Championship and earning the $1 million cash prize. For the second season of PFL, Taylor is expected to drop down to welterweight and face Chris Curtis on May 9, 2019. However just a week before the second season's start, Taylor announced that he had withdrawn from the tournament.
Personal life
Taylor is married and has children.
Championships and accomplishments
World Series of Fighting
*Fastest Submission in WSOF History vs. Cory Devela
