Shane Young

Shane Young (born 7 July 1993) is a New Zealander mixed martial artist (MMA) who currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Young is affiliated with the Maori tribe Ngāti Kahungunu.

Shane Young
Shane Young post fight interview at UFC 234
Born	(1993-07-31) 31 July 1993 Napier, New Zealand
Other names	Sugar
Nationality	New Zealander
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Division	Featherweight
Fighting out of	Auckland, New Zealand
Team	City Kickboxing
Years active	2012–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	17
Wins	13
By knockout	6
By submission	4
By decision	3
Losses	4
By decision	4
Website	https://shaneyoung.co.nz/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Young was born in Napier, New Zealand,[1] He trains at Auckland's City Kickboxing gym where he is the teammate of UFC fighter Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker [2] and Kai Kara-France.[3] Young is of half European and half Māori descent[4] and he uses fighting as the platform to inspire New Zealand mixed-blood Māori to accept their Māori roots and to be sporting stars.[5]

I wanted to see sporting stars ... especially half-cast people, people of European and Māori decent – the colonised and the coloniser. I wanted them to try and inspire Māori people. So many people especially at my age feel very whakamā, feel very shy to let people know that they're Māori because of the stigma attached to it.[6]

I feel like Māori is magical and people need to see that magic.

I want to do it for my community and where I'm from. I want to be an inspiration to them. It also helps me and gives me mana. My ancestors were warriors, fighting to the death in battle. I'll talk about it and I'll say Māori words, and it gives me goosebumps. You can't fake that stuff, it gives you power.[7]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Young started his professional MMA career in 2012 and amassed a record of 11-3 before being signed by the UFC.[8]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Young made his promotional debut as a short notice replacement against Alexander Volkanovski on 19 November 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura.[9] The bout proceeded at a catchweight of 150 pounds.[10] Young lost the fight via unanimous decision.[11]

Young was scheduled to face Rolando Dy on 23 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Edwards.[12] He won the fight via technical knockout in round two.[13] This win earned him the Fight of the Night award.[14]

Young contemplated stepping away from fighting after his bout with Dy for the remainder of 2018 to tackle his depression after achieving the success and the fame at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Edwards of earning $50,000, where prior to the bout he had to borrow $40 to get to the airport for his flight to Singapore for the fight, and his mental health issues surrounding the break-up of his marriage[15] where he spent most of the time with his family while seeking to reconnect with his Māori culture, which helped him to return to a healthy state of mind.[16][17]

We all know there's this magic in being Māori, being in the community and being able work with each other. What got me out of it was returning to my roots, my Māoritanga. We get caught up too much in the modern-day everything - I should have this because I should be rich and I should be all these things. But I was like, what I should be is what I am, a young Māori man in Aotearoa, where you have that appreciation for the land."[18]

Young returned to fighting and he faced Austin Arnett on 10 February 2019 at UFC 234.[19] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[20]

Young is expected to face Nate Landwehr on 26 September 2020 at UFC Fight Night 178.[21]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Rolando Dy[22]

Personal life

Young was a builder and foreman prior to competing in MMA professionally.[23]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
17 matches	13 wins	4 losses
By knockout	6	0
By submission	3	0
By decision	4	4

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	13–4	Austin Arnett	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 234	10 February 2019	3	5:00	Melbourne, Australia
Win	12–4	Rolando Dy	TKO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Edwards	23 June 2018	2	4:40	Kallang, Singapore	Fight of the Night
Loss	11–4	Alexander Volkanovski	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura	19 November 2017	3	5:00	Sydney, Australia	Catchweight (150 lb) bout.
Win	11–3	Bo Yan	Submission (choke)	WLF: W.A.R.S. 13	22 April 2017	1	N/A	Zhengzhou, China
Win	10–3	Zexian Jiang	Technical Submission (rear-naked choke)	Glory of Heroes: Rise of Heroes 7	18 February 2017	1	5:00	Auckland, New Zealand
Win	9–3	Siitia Leti	Decision	Brace 43	1 October 2016	1	0:36	Canterbury, New Zealand
Win	8–3	Zhenhong Lu	TKO (punches)	Elevation Power in Cage 4	28 May 2014	1	3:29	Zhengzhou, China
Win	7–3	Rodolfo Marques	Decision (split)	Minotaur 3	1 June 2014	3	5:00	Parkville, Australia
Loss	6–3	Guan Wang	Decision (unanimous)	Wu Lin Feng 2015: New Zealand vs. China	19 September 2015	3	5:00	Auckland, New Zealand
Win	6–2	Liucai Cui	Submission (rear-naked choke)	The Legend Of Emei 3	8 August 2015	1	2:34	Shahe, China
Win	5–2	Julian Wallace	KO (punches)	Xtreme Fighting Championship 24	23 May 2015	1	1:16	Brisbane, Australia
Loss	4–2	Damien Brown	Decision (majority)	Xtreme Fighting Championship 23	28 February 2015	3	5:00	Brisbane, Australia
Win	4–1	Adrian Rodriguez	TKO (head kick and punches)	Xtreme Fighting Championship 22	24 November 2014	3	3:32	Brisbane, Australia
Loss	3–1	Adrian Rodriguez	Decision (majority)	Xtreme Fighting Championship 20	15 February 2014	3	5:00	Brisbane, Australia
Win	3–0	Hayden Watt	Decision (majority)	Shuriken MMA: Rise	23 November 2013	3	5:00	Auckland, New Zealand
Win	2–0	Jiraya Fernandes	TKO (punches)	Jiraya Fernandes	23 June 2013	1	4:50	Wellington, New Zealand
Win	1–0	Ray Karaitiana	TKO (punches)	ICNZ 18	22 September 2012	1	N/A	Auckland, New Zealand

[24]

See also

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. "Shane Young goes back to his Māori roots to get back on track ahead of UFC 234". Stuff. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
2. "MMA: Kiwi fighter Shane Young signs on for second UFC fight". Newshub. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
3. "'It's not a distraction' - Kiwi fighter Shane Young on being teammates with UFC star Israel Adesanya". TVNZ. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
4. "Shane Young (@ShaneYoungMMA) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
5. NZME @joelkula, Joel Kulasingham Joel Kulasingham is a sports reporter for (22 June 2018). "MMA: Kiwi UFC fighter Shane Young flying the flag for Māori". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
6. NZME @joelkula, Joel Kulasingham Joel Kulasingham is a sports reporter for (22 June 2018). "MMA: Kiwi UFC fighter Shane Young flying the flag for Māori". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
7. "UFC: Kiwi featherweight Shane Young bringing Māori culture to the world in Singapore". Newshub. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
8. Sherdog.com. "Shane". Sherdog. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
9. DNA, MMA. "Shane Young maakt short notice debuut tegen Alexander Volkanovski tijdens UFC Sydney". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
10. "UFC Fight Night 121 official weigh-in results: Headliner set, but four fighters heavy". MMAjunkie. 18 November 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
11. "UFC Fight Night 121 results: Alex Volkanovski dominates short-notice opponent Shane Young". MMAjunkie. 19 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
12. "Rolando Dy vs. Shane Young completes 12-bout lineup at UFC Singapore". MMAjunkie. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
13. "UFC Fight Night 132 results: Shane Young wears down Rolando Dy before brutal elbow ender". MMAjunkie. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
14. "UFC Fight Night 132 bonuses: Ovince Saint Preux among $50,000 winners for slick armbar". MMAjunkie. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
15. "How octagon success led to depression for UFC 234's Shane Young". MMAjunkie. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
16. NZME, Christopher Reive Christopher Reive is a sports reporter for (29 December 2018). "UFC: Shane Young to return from mental health break against Austin Arnett at UFC 234". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
17. "UFC fighter Young to tap out due to personal issues". Māori Television. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
18. "Shane Young goes back to his Māori roots to get back on track ahead of UFC 234". Stuff. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
19. NZME, Christopher Reive Christopher Reive is a sports reporter for (29 December 2018). "UFC: Shane Young to return from mental health break against Austin Arnett at UFC 234". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
20. "UFC 234: Shane Young's steady pressure leads to decision over Austin Arnett". MMAjunkie. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
21. DNA, MMA (12 August 2020). "Shane Young treft Nate Landwehr tijdens lang verwachte terugkeer in UFC op 26 september". MMA DNA. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
22. "UFC Fight Night 132 bonuses: Ovince Saint Preux among $50,000 winners for slick armbar". MMAjunkie. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
23. "Shane Young". UFC. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
24. Sherdog.com. "Shane". Sherdog. Retrieved 8 February 2019.

External links

• Shane Young at UFC
• Professional MMA record for Shane Young from Sherdog