James Adam McSweeney (born 24 October 1980) is a British retired kickboxer and mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, McSweeney is well known for being a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights and competing in the UFC, but he has also competed in major European promotions such as KSW, Cage Rage and BAMMA.

Background

Born in London to an Irish father and a Northern Irish mother, McSweeney started kickboxing in England when he was six years old. At 18, he finished school and moved to Amsterdam to train full-time in Dutch kickboxing. He joined Lucien Carbin's gym. Team mates and sparring partners have included Alistair Overeem, Valentijn Overeem, and Tyrone Spong. An accomplished kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter, McSweeney has won numerous British, Dutch, European and World titles.

Mixed martial arts career

In 2006, McSweeney transitioned to mixed martial arts and moved in with The Ultimate Fighter coach Rashad Evans. The two quickly struck up a bond after McSweeney helped prepare Evans for his bout against Forrest Griffin in December 2008. While training for his fight against Travis Browne, McSweeney switched his camp from Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, New Mexico to the Grudge Training Centre in Denver, Colorado to train full-time along with fellow UFC competitors Shane Carwin, Brendan Schaub and Nate Marquardt. McSweeney recently moved out of the Grudge Training Centre to return to the tutelage of European Muay Thai legend Lucien Carbin and to open up his own gym Sledgehammer MMA in Kent, England.

The Ultimate Fighter

McSweeney was on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights fighting alongside Team Rashad. McSweeney was the first overall pick and fought on the second episode of the show against Wes Shivers defeating him via majority decision. McSweeney moved on to the next round of the tournament, fighting teammate, Matt Mitrione. McSweeney won via guillotine choke in the first round. In the semi-finals, McSweeney lost against former IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson via TKO after getting caught in the crucifix position.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

McSweeney was given another chance by the UFC despite losing on The Ultimate Fighter. He fought Darrill Schoonover on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale card in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 5 December, winning by TKO in the third round. McSweeney made his second appearance for the UFC on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale preliminary card, fighting against undefeated newcomer Travis Browne. The fight ended in a TKO victory for Browne due to punches at 4:32 of the first round. McSweeney claims he was hit with illegal elbows and briefly tried to appeal the loss. McSweeney later decided against the appeal to focus on his next fight instead. McSweeney was to drop to the Light Heavyweight division at UFC 120 to fight Tom Blackledge. However, McSweeney would instead face Fábio Maldonado after Blackledge was forced to pull out of the bout. McSweeney lost the bout in the third round via TKO due to punches. As of 20 January 2011, conversations over McSweeney's Twitter account were strongly indicative that he is no longer a part of the UFC.

Independent Promotions

McSweeney lost a unanimous decision to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez at BAMMA 5: Daley vs Shirai on 26 February 2011. He then had a further loss to submissions ace Francisco France in April 2011 at a Crowbar MMA event. Fighting on 22 July 2011, Mcsweeney defeated Lee Mein by TKO (Punches) in the 1st round. On 20 August 2011, McSweeney defeated Sam Brown by Submission (armbar) in the 1st round. McSweeney faced former MFC Light Heavyweight Champion Emanuel Newton at Superior Cage Combat 3. He lost by submission in the first round. McSweeney faced fellow UFC veteran Paul Buentello in a Light Heavyweight bout on 23 August 2013 at Legacy Fighting Championship 22. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

ONE Fighting Championship

In 2014, McSweeney signed with the Asian promotion ONE Championship. He faced Chris Lokteff in his debut at ONE Fighting Championship: Rise of Heroes in May and won via KO due to a flying knee in round 1. In his second fight for the promotion, McSweeney faced Cristiano Kaminishi at ONE FC: Reign of Champions in August. He again won the fight via KO in the first round. For his third fight with the promotion, McSweeney faced Roger Gracie at ONE FC 23: Warrior's Way in December. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.

KSW

McSweeney was expected to face Polish prospect Michal Andryszak at KSW 45 on 6 October 2018. However, Andryszak was pulled from the event due to injury and was replaced by Thiago Silva. McSweeney lost the fight by unanimous decision. McSweeney faced Hatef Moeil at Mix Fight Championship 26 on 22 June 2019, losing the bout via first-round technical knockout. In September 2021, McSweeney announced that he had retired from mixed martial arts competition in order to continue his kickboxing career.

Kickboxing career

Having already fought in numerous kickboxing bouts during his career, McSweeney signed with Glory in September 2021. He was scheduled to face Antonio Plazibat at Glory: Collision 3 on 23 October 2021. However, Plazibat was replaced by Gökhan Saki after Plazibat replaced Jamal Ben Saddik against Benjamin Adegbuyi. McSweeney lost by second-round knockout via leg kicks. In December 2022, McSweeney defeated Bugra Erdogan to win the Mix Fight Heavyweight Championship. The event took place in Frankfurt, Germany. McSweeney was expected to face Badr Hari in the main event of Glory 88 on 9 September 2023. The fight was cancelled as Hari withdrew from the fight. In 2024, McSweeney retired from kickboxing.

Personal life

McSweeney is married with one daughter. They reside in Rockwall, Texas. He is a former security guard. On 15 August 2012, he stopped an attempted robbery at a convenience store in Las Vegas by subduing a man armed with a knife.

Championships and accomplishments

Kickboxing

Kickboxing record (incomplete)

Mixed martial arts record

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

Bare-knuckle boxing