5 Things You Might Not Know About Parker Porter

It seems safe to assume that Parker Porter has exceeded all reasonable expectations since he joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship nearly two years ago.

The 37-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt will attempt to keep the good times rolling when he challenges the fast-rising Jailton Almeida as part of the UFC Fight Night 206 undercard on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Porter climbs into the Octagon with the wind of three consecutive victories at his back. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 201, where he was awarded a unanimous decision over Alan Baudot on Feb. 19.

As Porter makes final preparations for his heavyweight clash with Almeida, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. His tires have plenty of tread left on them.

Porter has fought a total of 18 times since he turned professional in October 2007—an average of roughly 1.3 outings every 12 months. In fact, he has never competed more than twice in a single calendar year. Porter appeared just once in 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2021, and he did not fight at all in 2012, 2014, 2016 or 2017.

2. He had his brush with greatness.

The Hartford, Connecticut, native in his third pro assignment faced a nascent 20-year-old Jon Jones at World Championship Fighting 3 in 2008. The future UFC light heavyweight titleholder took care of Porter with a right cross and follow-up punches a mere 36 seconds into their encounter. It remains one of only two sub-minute finishes on the Jones resume.

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3. The regional penthouse did not escape him.

Porter captured the vacant Reality Fighting heavyweight championship when he wiped out Mike Dexter with punches 1:36 into the first round of their Feb. 26, 2011 confrontation. However, his reign did not last long. Porter surrendered the title when he submitted to a Gabriel Gonzaga arm-triangle choke a little more than seven months later.

4. His passport remains untouched.

A Bellator MMA and CES MMA alum, Porter has never fought outside the continental United States. In fact, the entirety of his career has been confined to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Florida and Nevada.

5. He excels in marathons.

Porter has gone the distance on four different occasions and carries a perfect 4-0 record in those bouts. He earned unanimous decisions over Randy Smith at Combat Zone 25 on Jan. 12, 2008, Josh Parisian at UFC on ESPN 18 on Nov. 28, 2020, Chase Sherman at UFC on ESPN 29 on Aug. 21, 2021 and Baudot at UFC Fight Night 201 on Feb. 19, 2022.

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC Fight Night 206 “Holm vs. Vieira” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.