Is Cody Gibson a teacher? All you need to know about The Ultimate Fighter alum who lost at UFC 292 but still got a contract
Cody Gibson was one of the talking points from the UFC 292 event that took place on August 19, 2023, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Despite coming up short that night, 'The Renegade' received praise for his performance. The 36-year-old was also lauded by MMA fans for donning multiple hats as Gibson is also a high school teacher who teaches history.
According to Gibson's LinkedIn profile, he has been employed as a high school teacher at the Lucia Mar Unified School in the Greater San Luis Obispo area. Gibson holds a bachelor's degree in history from Menlo College. He did a Master of Education (MEd) from Brandman University to make a career as a teacher.
The simultaneous pursuit of MMA and teaching career makes his achievements more impressive.
Apart from that, another interesting thing about Gibson is that he, along with his brother Keith, was adopted in 1989. After growing up, the use of social media helped 'The Renegade' discover that he also had a sister. In 2018, the Oklahama-born succeeded in meeting his biological family for the first time.
Gibson is currently a father to two daughters as well.
Cody Gibson, who was a participant in the latest season of 'The Ultimate Fighter', went up against Brad Katona in the finals in the prelims of UFC 292. The fight was a thrilling back-and-forth affair that ended with a unanimous decision victory for Katona.
But despite the loss, Gibson was awarded a UFC contract by the promotion's president Dana White at the post-fight press conference.
"Yeah, everybody was blowing me up saying give them both a contract. Yeah, he'll be sticking around," said Dana White.
Gibson also took to social media to share his reaction to the UFC president's comments.
"Well I’ll be damned," said Gibson. "I guess if you’re going to lose, 50k and a contract isn’t the worst consolation prize a guy could ask for. Can’t wait to do it again."
Cody Gibson UFC: How did 'The Renegade' do in his first stint in the promotion?
With his performance at UFC 292, Cody Gibson earned a second chance at competing in the UFC, the top-most MMA promotion in the world.
Gibson's first UFC run started way back in February 2014. After building an 11-3 MMA record, the 35-year-old entered the UFC and went up against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 170. 'The Renegade' lost his promotional debut via unanimous decision.
Gibson bounced back with a knockout victory against Johnny Bedford in June 2014. But the 36-year-old failed to build momentum and lost his next two encounters against Manvel Gamburyan and Douglas Silva de Andrade. After that, Gibson parted ways with the UFC and went on to compete in other organizations, before returning to the multi-billion dollar promotion again.
Gibson is currently on a two-fight loss streak in the UFC. After his TUF 31 Finale loss at UFC 292, the 36-year-old ended up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision loss against Miles Johns this past March. He will take on fellow veteran fighter Brian Kelleher at this weekend's UFC Vegas 94 event.