"Never made an excuse. Never took a short cut. Never leveraged my relationships. Always with dignity." Matt Schnell, retirement announcement, June 7, 2026
Matt "Danger" Schnell is a retired American mixed martial artist who fought 17 times in the UFC, mostly at flyweight. He first reached a national audience on MTV's Caged (2012), a series following young fighters in small-town Louisiana. At the time he was fighting as an amateur under the Ring Rulers MMA banner, where he became champion. He turned pro in 2012 and went on to win the Legacy FC flyweight title before earning his UFC contract on The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions (Season 24, Team Cejudo).
Across nine years in the UFC he shared the Octagon with future champions Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval, collected three post-fight bonuses, and put together one of the most talked-about comebacks in flyweight history. He announced his retirement on June 7, 2026. See Matt Schnell's complete fight record or his UFC stats.
Official figures from UFC.com, UFCStats, and Sherdog.
17 W · 11 L · 1 NC
53% of all victories
Per UFC.com fighter facts
2nd most in UFC history
Plus 1 no contest, 2016–2026
4.05 per minute (UFC)
UFC career
UFC career average
Sources: UFC.com athlete profile & UFCStats (strike data), Sherdog fight finder, Wikipedia. Retrieved Sep 30, 2026.
Rocked repeatedly by punches and elbows in round two, as long as a +3000 underdog in live betting (per MMA Fighting), Schnell fired back, took mount, and choked Su Mudaerji unconscious with a triangle at 4:24 of R2. It was a 2022 President's Choice Fight of the Year nominee, UFC.com's #5 Fight of the Year, and #7 Submission of the Year.
Triangle choke at 1:23 of round one, the fastest of his three UFC triangles.
A two-minute back-and-forth scrap with the future title challenger that earned both men the bonus.
Armbarred Klayton Mai in the first round to win the flyweight title, avenging his 2014 loss to Mai.
A first-round triangle over Louis Smolka, up at bantamweight.
Seeded #6 among 16 world flyweight champions. Triangled Matt Rizzo to reach the quarterfinals.
vs. Brandon Royval (UFC 274)
vs. Su Mudaerji (UFC on ABC 3)
vs. Jordan Espinosa (UFC on ESPN 5)
Flyweight title, Legacy FC 52 (2016)
Amateur title, won vs. Shane Bridges at Ring Rulers: Reloaded (Aug 19, 2011), during MTV's Caged
3 triangle-choke wins, second most in UFC history behind Paul Craig
President's Choice Fight of the Year & Fan's Choice Comeback of the Year (vs. Su Mudaerji)
2022 Second Team MMA All-Star
2011 Louisiana State & Mid-South Golden Gloves
All 29 professional bouts, 2012–2026: 17–11 with 1 no contest overall and 7–9 (1 NC) in the UFC.
| Res | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Rd | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L | Alessandro Costa Final fight · 130 lb catchweight | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night 278 | Jun 6, 2026 | 1 | 2:28 |
| L | Joseph Morales | Sub (guillotine) | UFC Fight Night 264 | Nov 8, 2025 | 1 | 2:54 |
| W | Jimmy Flick Snapped four-fight skid | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN 66 | Apr 26, 2025 | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Cody Durden Bantamweight · left gloves in cage | Sub (ninja choke) | UFC Fight Night 242 | Sep 7, 2024 | 2 | 0:29 |
| L | Steve Erceg | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night 238 | Mar 2, 2024 | 2 | 0:26 |
| L | Matheus Nicolau | KO (punches) | UFC on ESPN 42 | Dec 3, 2022 | 2 | 1:44 |
| W | Su Mudaerji Fight of the Night · the comeback | Tech. Sub (triangle) | UFC on ABC 3 | Jul 16, 2022 | 2 | 4:24 |
| L | Brandon Royval Fight of the Night | Sub (guillotine) | UFC 274 | May 7, 2022 | 1 | 2:14 |
| NC | Rogério Bontorin Overturned after opponent's failed test | NC (overturned) | UFC 262 | May 15, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Tyson Nam Abu Dhabi | Decision (split) | UFC on ESPN 20 | Jan 20, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Alexandre Pantoja Busan · future UFC champion | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night 165 | Dec 21, 2019 | 1 | 4:17 |
| W | Jordan Espinosa Performance of the Night | Sub (triangle) | UFC on ESPN 5 | Aug 3, 2019 | 1 | 1:23 |
| W | Louis Smolka Bantamweight | Sub (triangle) | UFC Fight Night 146 | Mar 9, 2019 | 1 | 3:18 |
| W | Naoki Inoue Singapore | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night 132 | Jun 23, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Marco Beltrán First UFC win | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 216 | Oct 7, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 |
| L | Hector Sandoval | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night 108 | Apr 22, 2017 | 1 | 4:24 |
| L | Rob Font UFC debut · bantamweight | TKO (knee & punches) | TUF 24 Finale | Dec 3, 2016 | 1 | 3:47 |
| W | Klayton Mai Won Legacy FC flyweight title · avenged 2014 loss | Sub (armbar) | Legacy FC 52 | Mar 25, 2016 | 1 | 2:14 |
| W | Jonathan Martinez | DQ (illegal knee) | Legacy FC 49 | Dec 4, 2015 | 2 | 2:21 |
| W | Vanderlei Carvalho Leite | KO (punches) | Legacy FC 42 | Jun 26, 2015 | 1 | 0:19 |
| W | Albert Tapia Shreveport, LA | Sub (armbar) | Legacy Kickboxing 2 | May 29, 2015 | 2 | 3:19 |
| W | Chris Myers | Sub (guillotine) | Caged Warrior Championship 6 | Feb 21, 2015 | 1 | 0:17 |
| W | Thomas Coleman | Sub (inverted triangle) | Summit FC 10 | Nov 22, 2014 | 1 | — |
| W | Latral Perdue | KO (punch) | Global Fighting Alliance 27 | Sep 19, 2014 | 1 | — |
| L | Klayton Mai | Sub (guillotine) | Legacy FC 32 | Jun 20, 2014 | 2 | 1:24 |
| W | Roger Reyes | Sub (guillotine) | World FC 17 | Jan 25, 2014 | 1 | 1:26 |
| L | Elias Garcia | Decision (majority) | Legacy FC 20 | May 31, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Marcus Dupar | Sub (armbar) | Legacy FC 15 | Nov 16, 2012 | 1 | 1:06 |
| W | Ryan Hollis Pro debut | Decision (split) | Legacy FC 14 | Sep 14, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 |
Pro record source: Sherdog & Wikipedia (Sherdog-sourced). Excludes TUF 24 exhibition bouts (W vs. Matt Rizzo, L vs. Tim Elliott). Amateur title fight: CombatReg & UFCalendar.
Interviews and replays from the UFC, ESPN MMA, and more. Full UFC fights are available on UFC Fight Pass.
Quick answers about Danger's record, retirement and career, sourced from UFC.com, Sherdog and Wikipedia.
Yes. Matt "Danger" Schnell announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on June 7, 2026, the day after a first-round TKO loss to Alessandro Costa at UFC Fight Night 278 in Las Vegas. He had first stepped away in September 2024, leaving his gloves in the Octagon after a loss to Cody Durden, then returned in April 2025 and beat Jimmy Flick. See his final fights in the record table.
Matt Schnell finished his professional career 17–11 with 1 no contest across 29 bouts. His UFC record was 7–9 with 1 no contest. His 17 wins came by 9 submissions, 5 decisions, 2 knockouts and 1 disqualification. Browse the full Matt Schnell fight record or his career stats.
His nickname is "Danger," which is why he is known as Matt "Danger" Schnell. On Instagram he is @danger_caged.
Schnell competed mainly as a UFC flyweight (125 lb) and also fought at bantamweight, including his win over Louis Smolka at UFC Fight Night 146 in 2019.
Matt Schnell was born on January 15, 1990, in Amory, Mississippi, and fought out of Shreveport, Louisiana. He stands 5 ft 8 in with a 70-inch reach.
Yes. He won the Legacy FC flyweight title by first-round armbar over Klayton Mai at Legacy FC 52 on March 25, 2016, and earlier won the Ring Rulers amateur title in 2011. In the UFC he earned three bonuses: two Fight of the Night awards and one Performance of the Night. Read more about his career and legacy.
“Now I rest and advocate for the next generation. I believe my experiences have positioned me uniquely to give back to this sport and my region’s fighters.”
Matt Schnell · June 2026
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