Nicholas George Newell[1] (born March 17, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes in the lightweight division.
Newell has a very short yet muscular stump of his forearm which he learned from a young age to grasp objects with.
[3] Upon joining his wrestling team, he thought about quitting after his very first session because it was "the hardest thing I had done in my life", but his mother did not allow him to, and instead he worked hard from then on.
[4] After graduating from high school, Newell attended Western New England University where he continued wrestling.
They would watch The Ultimate Fighter, which was on the same channel right after WWE Raw, and Newell has said this is what inspired him to take up MMA.
The event was renamed 'Tribute' in honour of Nick's friend and fellow XFC signee Abi Mestre, who was killed in a motorcycle accident.
Mestre was a close friend and teammate of Newell's who joined Nick last year at the open tryouts for the XFC.
[12] Newell defeated Denis Hernandez at XFC 15 with a dominant 71 second submission (heel hook) victory.
[24] Newell came out of retirement on March 9, 2018, when he met Sonny Luque in a lightweight main event at LFA 35 in Houston.
He faced Alex Munoz on the July 24 edition of the series, and lost the fight by unanimous decision.
On September 18, 2019, Bellator president Scott Coker announced on his social media that Newell had signed a four-fight contract with the organization.
[34][35] Newell's life story is the focus of the film Notorious Nick, where he is played by Cody Christian.
[36] Newell currently runs an MMA school called Fighting Arts Academy in Milford, Connecticut.